A Huntsville manufacturing company is adding up to 300 new jobs to increase broadband access aided by funds in the federal infrastructure law passed two years ago.

Adtran in a press release this week announced the expansion of its advanced telecommunications equipment manufacturing at Cummings Research Park in Huntsville. It’s an expansion “spurred by the Biden-Harris Administration’s $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program and its Made-in-America policies in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,” according to the press release.

The total investment in the project is $5 million and the new jobs will be “high-quality, good-paying jobs,” the press release said.

Adtran is expanding its current US production of optical line termination (OLT) equipment and preparing to onshore the manufacturing of optical network terminals (ONTs).

Mitch Landrieu, senior adviser to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator, and Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and NTIA Administrator, toured Adtran’s 270,000-square-foot manufacturing facility this week.

“As a leading US telecommunications equipment provider, we look forward to partnering with state broadband offices and network operators across the country as they expand secure, high-speed internet access to millions of Americans,” Tom Stanton, CEO of Adtran, said in the announcement. “This expansion not only represents a strategic investment in Adtran’s growing workforce and manufacturing capabilities but also demonstrates our long-term commitment to strengthening the domestic supply chain and securing communications networks with American-made equipment.”

In the press release, Landrieu said, “Access to high-speed internet is no longer a luxury – it is an essential tool to access education, healthcare and jobs,” commented Mitch Landrieu, Senior Advisor to the President and White House Infrastructure Coordinator. “President Biden’s Investing in America agenda has made the largest investment in high-speed internet in our country’s history to ensure all Americans are connected to affordable, reliable high-speed internet using Made-in-America materials. Adtran’s exciting announcement today is part of a manufacturing boom that is creating good-paying jobs and boosting our economy – including here in Huntsville, Alabama.”

Congressman Dale Strong, whose north Alabama district includes Adtran, lauded the investment.

“The Tennessee Valley has long been a national leader in developing the advanced technologies that support our modern industrial base,” Strong said in the announcement. “The investments announced today will help ensure that broadband is able to reach more Americans with equipment made right here in North Alabama, supporting our economy and the United States as a whole.”