March, for many, is a month of basketball-related madness. But last month, at Eastern Oklahoma State College, the madness came in a different package. Free laptops!
We know that to be successful in the modern world, you need to have the right tools. And we know that for a student to be successful, they must be able to work outside of the classroom and at their home. That’s why we were proud to announce a federally funded public-private project to expand AT&T Fiber to more than 2,700 residential and business locations in Oklahoma, including 455 locations in Latimer County. This is one of five public-private projects in Oklahoma in collaboration with the Oklahoma Broadband Office.
Following our ceremonial “fiber splicing” event in historic Veterans’ Colony, we traveled to Eastern Oklahoma State College for a second event to help close the digital divide for students from Latimer County. Working together with Human-I-T, we handed out free, refurbished laptops to 100 students.
The smiles on the faces of every student were reminders of the powerful difference that connection can make.
Samantha Dean, a Buffalo Valley teacher and resource counselor, described the event best, saying, “Children of all ages and backgrounds deserve access to tools that will help them thrive in the classroom. These laptops will help open doors and unlock a world of learning. We’re grateful to collaborate with AT&T as we work to close the digital divide in our community.”
With events like these, we are committed to helping our next generation of Sooners get connected. As part of our AT&T Connected Learning® initiative to help address the digital divide, we have committed $5 billion to help 25 million people get and stay connected to high-speed internet by 2030.
And this is already underway in Oklahoma: In 2023, we opened a Connected Learning Center in Catoosa, expanding our efforts to bridge the digital divide and connect as many people as possible to greater opportunities.
We had a great day in Latimer County. I’m grateful to everyone who joined us for this celebration of connectivity in Oklahoma.
Read more about our work to bring connectivity to Oklahomans throughout the state.
