This week, North Carolina Governor Josh Stein announced more than $22 million in broadband grants. The funding is part of the state’s Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program. This round of funding will connect 10,810 homes and businesses to high-speed broadband in 14 North Carolina counties.
These broadband projects will be funded with $22.1 million from the state’s American Rescue Plan funds and an additional $9.6 million from the broadband providers selected for grants.
“No matter where you live in the state, you should have access to high-speed internet,” said Governor Josh Stein in the announcement of the broadband grants. “Broadband is critical to providing more economic opportunity to every corner of the state, and I am proud to create a stronger and more connected North Carolina for every person and small business owner.”
The providers and the grants they received are as follows:
- Brightspeed (Connect Holding II, LLC), serving Beauford, Cumberland, Dare, Hyde, Jones, Nash, Pamlico, Pasquotank, and Wake counties: 8,315 locations
- Citizens Telephone Company (Comporium Communications), serving Transylvania County: 473 locations
- French Broad Electric Membership Corporation, serving Yancey County: 576 locations
- Frontier Communications of the Carolinas, serving Buncombe County: 132 locations
- SkyBest Communications, serving Avery County: 805 locations
- Zito Media (Zito West Holding, LLC), serving Swain County: 509 locations
According to the announcement, the North Carolina CAB program creates a partnership between the state’s counties and the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) to identify areas needing broadband access and solicit proposals for grants from prequalified providers. These providers agree to provide broadband with symmetrical speeds of at least 100 Mbps.
Additional information about broadband in North Carolina, including links to state funding resources and grants, awards made, state-specific Telecompetitor coverage, and more can be found on the Broadband Nation webpage for the state.
