US Sec. of Commerce, Sen. Warnock to announce fiber optic manufacturing expansion in Norcross

NORCROSS, Ga. — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo will be visiting the metro Atlanta area to announce a local company will be expanding their fiber optic manufacturing operation in Norcross.

According to an announcement from Raimondo’s office, the Commerce Secretary and U.S. Sen. Rev. Raphael Warnock will be meeting at OFS Optics’ facility in Norcross to discuss broadband needs and fiber optic cable manufacturing as part of a White House internet initiative.

The release said OFS CEO Holly Hulse will meet with Raimondo, Warnock and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Alan Davidson, plus a variety of other state and local leaders, for a manufacturing announcement at the facility.

A representative from the Department of Commerce told Channel 2 Action News that the expansion at OFS Optics is coming because of more than $1 billion in funding from a 2023 allocation.

The broadband funding, $1.3 billion, will be heading to Georgia as part of President Joe Biden’s Build America, Buy America policy and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program.

The BEAD program is expected to increase demand for U.S.-produced fiber optic cable over the next several years.

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