Connecting Cabot

(Editor’s Note: Each year, Arkansas Business partners with the Arkansas Municipal League to present the Trendsetter City awards, which recognize exceptional initiatives underway in municipalities across the state. Large, medium and small-sized cities were honored in six categories: Diversity and Inclusion; Education/Workforce Development; Infrastructure and Water; Public Works/Environmental and Green Management; Technology and Security; and Tourism Development/Creative Culture. Below is one winner’s story. For more, click here.) 

Technology and Security
Winner • Over 20,000

The Challenge

Like many rural communities, Cabot faced obstacles to growth due to limited broadband access. The city’s efforts to build its own fiber network were hampered by state constitutional restrictions and the high cost of such a large-scale project. Local leaders saw that reliable internet was essential for economic development and quality of life, but financing and legal hurdles made progress seem out of reach.

The Solution

City leaders in 2021 successfully led efforts to change state legislation that prevented municipalities from offering broadband as a public utility. After securing $20 million in bond funding, the city partnered with Connect2First to develop a fiber-optic network. The project’s success has boosted economic development, improved health care and educational access and made Cabot one of Arkansas’ first multi-gig cities. Residents and businesses are now signing up for faster, more affordable internet, paving the way for long-term community growth​.

Connection Successful

Cabot was the first city in Arkansas to offer broadband as a public utility.

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