State Unveils Alabama Digital Education Network to Serve Rural Communities
ADEN is intended to bring tech skills, connectivity, and opportunity into communities that have long been left behind
State leaders joined with private partners Tuesday to launch the Alabama Digital Education Network (ADEN) to strengthen digital access and workforce training in rural parts of Alabama. The network is intended to bring tech skills, connectivity, and opportunity into communities that have long been left behind.
“I was proud to join public and private partners this afternoon for the launch of the Alabama Digital Education Network (ADEN),” said Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter.
ADEN is structured as a public-private partnership. It is backed by more than $16 million in new State funding. Ed Farm—a nonprofit already engaged in digital education work in Alabama—will lead implementation, working alongside Apple, Alabama Power, and State and local agencies.
Ledbetter described ADEN as more than a partnership. “It is a lifeline for West Alabama and will have a generational impact on the region,” he said, adding that the project had been “over two years in the making.”
At its core, ADEN will create a network of “learning hubs” in libraries, community centers, and schools—especially in the Black Belt and other underserved regions. In addition to physical spaces, the program relies on broadband infrastructure provided by Alabama Power to link those hubs.
The Montgomery hub will be located at Alabama State University (ASU), which will serve as the central anchor in the network. ASU President Quinton Ross Jr. said the university is well positioned to lead, noting its deep ties in the Black Belt as a historically Black institution.
ADEN’s educational backbone includes:
- Apple Foundation Program: A free, 8-week course targeting adults 18 and older. It covers Swift coding, design, app business, digital literacy, and professional skills—no prior experience required.
- Ed Farm’s Pathways to Tech: A year-long fellowship that helps adult learners navigate tech career pathways, receive training, and gain support from mentors and coaches.
Already, Ed Farm has launched several learning spaces that will be part of ADEN’s network, including sites in Perry and Hale counties.
In Montgomery this week, graduates of the Apple Foundation course unveiled apps they built as part of their training—projects like a tool to track local food pantries and an AI tool for digital marketing feedback. Ed Farm officials noted that such outcomes reflect how access and mentorship combine to produce solutions grounded in community needs.
A strong backbone of connectivity is essential for ADEN. Since 2017, Alabama Power has installed over 2,000 miles of fiber, part of an effort to strengthen its grid and deliver broadband capability to remote areas. Jeff Peoples, President and CEO of Alabama Power, said their infrastructure will help deliver training at scale.
Ed Farm brings to the table a track record in digital education. In recent years, its Pathways to Tech work has yielded notable wage gains for participants in Alabama.
State and local leaders emphasize that ADEN represents a long-term commitment to rural Alabama. In addition to existing hubs, dozens more sites are planned over time. Legislative support was crucial in making funding and coordination possible.
Governor Kay Ivey called the launch “a landmark moment for our State,” saying it builds on Alabama’s strengths in workforce development and broadband policy.
Senate Minority Leader Bobby Singleton, who also endorsed the initiative, remarked: “The launch of ADEN represents a transformative moment for the Black Belt and for our entire state.”
If successful, ADEN could narrow the digital divide in Alabama, bring new economic pathways to rural counties, and shape how public and private sectors collaborate in education and infrastructure.
