Western counties receive ‘GREAT’ news on broadband
A map of broadband adoption in North Carolina shows most Western North Carolina counties, with the exception of Buncombe, still struggle to attract broadband providers.
NConemap photo
The latest round of state grants for broadband infrastructure have landed, and represent a big win for six Western North Carolina counties that have been left on the wrong side of the digital divide.
“The broadband money is being distributed to providers currently and more money is available,” said Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin).
Several years ago, Corbin spearheaded the GREAT (Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology) grants program with then-House rep and current Republican Labor Commissioner Josh Dobson.
Since then, the program has dumped tens of millions of dollars into providing high-speed internet service in WNC for customers who often have no other options.
All told, this round of grants totals almost $19 million across Cherokee, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties. After the $4.25 million in required matching funds from county governments, the total investment in broadband expansion comes to around $23 million.
Those funds will help build out service to nearly 8,400 locations at an average cost of $2,750 per location.
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According to letters issued by the North Carolina Office of Digital Infrastructure’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity on Aug. 30, each of the six counties will see varying amounts granted to private service providers that were awarded the funds after a competitive bidding process in which the providers who proposed serving the most people for the least amount of money were selected.
In Cherokee County, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC of Young Harris, Georgia, will receive $3.7 million from the state and $1.6 million from the county to establish service at approximately 1,778 locations.
Zitel LLC, of Moneta, Virginia will serve approximately 897 locations upon receipt of $2.7 million from the state and $470,000 from Graham County government.
Haywood County will contribute around $150,000 on top of a state grant of $870,000, which will provide service to approximately 182 locations through Charlotte-based Spectrum Southeast.
Spectrum Southeast will also receive more than $3.8 million in state funding, along with a local match of $670,000, to enable service at 1,196 Jackson County locations.
Norwalk, Connecticut-based Frontier Communications was selected as the provider for Macon County, and will receive $3.8 million in state funding as well as $670,000 from county government to provide service to approximately 2,700 locations.
Swain County’s $700,000 match of the state’s $3.9 million grant will go to Zito West Holding LLC of Coudersport, Pennsylvania, to bring broadband to 1,619 currently unserved locations.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) defines broadband as having a transmission speed of at least 25 megabits down and 3 megabits up. The FCC says only 59% of North Carolinians subscribe to a service with those speeds.
According to a 2019 report, broadband access is anything but universal in the mountains and due to topography many homes and businesses can’t get it, even from satellite feeds.
All six counties receiving funding from this round of GREAT grants report more than 20% of residents as having no access to the internet at all. Graham County (36%) and Swain County (34%) top the list of least-connected WNC counties.
Nate Denny, deputy secretary of broadband and digital equity in the N.C. Office of Digital Infrastructure, said that once the final grant agreements are signed in about a month, contractors will have two years to deliver the projects.
“We know that high-speed internet — affordable and reliable high-speed internet — is absolutely central to modern life,” Denny said. “It allows people access to education and telemedicine, to look for a job and to recruit businesses locally. You have to have that connection. We’re excited because this is just the first of multiple rounds of funding to connect every North Carolinian.”
