ST. MARTIN PARISH, La. (KLFY) Highspeed internet will soon be available throughout rural St. Martin Parish.

With groundbreaking construction of the new Cajun Broadband fiber internet, multiple government officials came together Thursday to take part in the historic moment.

Governor John Bell Edwards made an appearance at the event and shared how important the movement is to the people of Louisiana.

“It means an awful lot to St. Martin Parish, but really what it signifies so much progress for the whole state and what is to come,” Edwards said.

The construction is the first of the broadband initiative projects funded by a G.U.M.B.O. grant. (Granting Unserved Municipalities Broadband Opportunities.)

G.U.M.B.O. has a budget of over $150,000,000 for underserved communities in Louisiana and will help bring high speed internet to over 600 locations in rural areas of St. Martin Parish.

“That is going to be huge for us because we want to totally close the digital divide by 2029.” Governor Edwards said.

“That means that every single address, home, and business will have access to affordable true high speed internet by 2029.”