NCDIT awards $63 million to expand high-speed internet across 30 counties

More than 22,000 homes and businesses across 30 North Carolina counties are set to receive high-speed internet access, thanks to more than $63 million in new broadband infrastructure awards announced today by the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT).

The funding includes more than $44 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds and nearly $19 million in matching funds from selected internet service providers. The projects are part of the state’s Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program, a partnership between counties and NCDIT designed to quickly expand reliable internet service to unserved and underserved areas.

These projects will be awarded by NCDIT and are funded by more than $44 million from the federal American Rescue Plan and nearly $19 million from selected broadband providers:

• Alamance: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) and Spectrum Southeast, LLC These awards will provide high-speed internet access to 469 homes and businesses (20.51% of the county’s 2,287 eligible locations).
• Alexander: Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership Corporation (Zirrus) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 394 homes and businesses (14.78% of the county’s 2,665 eligible locations).
• Bertie: Roanoke Connect Holdings, LLC (Fybe) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,380 homes and businesses (91.39% of the county’s 1,510 eligible locations).
• Brunswick: Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative (FOCUS Broadband) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 192 homes and businesses (57.31% of the county’s 335 eligible locations).
• Burke: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 82 homes and businesses (3.32% of the county’s 2,473 eligible locations).
• Camden: Wilkes Telephone Membership Corporation (RiverStreet Networks) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 921 homes and businesses (82.97% of the county’s 1,110 eligible locations).
• Catawba: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 648 homes and businesses (28.38% of the county’s 2,283 eligible locations).
• Chowan: Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative (FOCUS Broadband) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 132 homes and businesses (91.67% of the county’s 144 eligible locations).
• Columbus: Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative (FOCUS Broadband) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 108 homes and businesses (14.86% of the county’s 727 eligible locations).
• Currituck: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,354 homes and businesses (83.94% of the county’s 1,613 eligible locations).
• Durham: Frontier Communications of the Carolinas, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 123 homes and businesses (22.49% of the county’s 547 eligible locations).
• Franklin: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,415 homes and businesses (53.80% of the county’s 2,630 eligible locations).
• Granville: Roanoke Connect Holdings, LLC (Fybe) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 2,164 homes and businesses (90.96% of the county’s 2,379 eligible locations).
• Harnett: Spectrum Southeast, LLC  This award will provide high-speed internet access to 300 homes and businesses (7.87% of the county’s 3,810 eligible locations).
• Jackson: ERC Broadband, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 570 homes and businesses (12.63% of the county’s 4,512 eligible locations).
• Johnston: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,439 homes and businesses (24.10% of the county’s 5,970 eligible locations).
• Martin: Roanoke Connect Holdings, LLC (Fybe) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 215 homes and businesses (35.66% of the county’s 603 eligible locations).
• Montgomery: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed)This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,661 homes and businesses (73.40% of the county’s 2,263 eligible locations).
• Northampton: Roanoke Connect Holdings, LLC (Fybe) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 288 homes and businesses (73.47% of the county’s 392 eligible locations).
• Perquimans: Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative (FOCUS Broadband) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 121 homes and businesses (77.07% of the county’s 157 eligible locations).
• Person: Spectrum Southeast, LLC  This award will provide high-speed internet access to 240 homes and businesses (9.34% of the county’s 2,189 eligible locations).
• Rockingham: Spectrum Southeast, LLC  This award will provide high-speed internet access to 198 homes and businesses (13.24% of the county’s 1,495 eligible locations).
• Rowan: Windstream North Carolina, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 507 homes and businesses (17.51% of the county’s 2,896 eligible locations).
• Scotland: Spectrum Southeast, LLC  This award will provide high-speed internet access to 135 homes and businesses (20.06% of the county’s 673 eligible locations).
• Union: Windstream North Carolina, LLC and Spectrum Southeast, LLC  These awards will provide high-speed internet access to 1,189 homes and businesses (28.94% of the county’s 4,108 eligible locations).
• Watauga: SkyBest Communications, LLC This award will provide high-speed internet access to 178 homes and businesses (67.94% of the county’s 262 eligible locations).
• Washington: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,043 homes and businesses (96.48% of the county’s 1,081 eligible locations).
• Warren: Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 793 homes and businesses (66.86% of the county’s 1,186 eligible locations).
• Wayne: Spectrum Southeast, LLC  This award will provide high-speed internet access to 420 homes and businesses (13.96% of the county’s 3,008 eligible locations).
• Yadkin: Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership Corporation (Zirrus) This award will provide high-speed internet access to 210 homes and businesses (88.61% of the county’s 237 eligible locations).

The CAB program’s procurement process creates a partnership between counties and NCDIT to identify areas that need access, solicit proposals from prequalified internet service providers, and quickly make awards. Awardees must agree to provide high-speed service that reliably meets or exceeds speeds of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload.

Governor Stein is committed to closing the digital divide. Today’s awards add to the $533 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants and previous CAB projects that will connect more than 211,000 North Carolina households and businesses to high-speed internet. See progress here.

For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity, visit ncbroadband.gov.