Governor Josh Stein has announced the allocation of over $31 million for the Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects. These initiatives aim to provide high-speed internet to 10,810 households and businesses across 14 counties in North Carolina.
Governor Stein emphasized the importance of internet access, stating, “No matter where you live in the state, you should have access to high-speed internet.” He added that broadband is vital for economic opportunities throughout North Carolina. NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Teena Piccione highlighted that these projects will facilitate online work, education, telehealth, and economic strengthening. “We will continue to announce CAB project awards every two weeks throughout April in order to help connect more homes and businesses,” she mentioned.
The funding for these projects includes over $22.1 million from the federal American Rescue Plan, awarded by NCDIT, and nearly $9.6 million from selected broadband providers.
Specific county awards include:
– SkyBest Communications, Inc. in Avery will connect 805 locations.
– Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) will serve counties like Beaufort, Cumberland, Dare, Hyde, Jones, Nash, Pamlico, Pasquotank, and Wake, with varying numbers of connections depending on county needs.
– Frontier Communications will cover 132 locations in Buncombe.
– Zito West Holding, LLC (Zito Media) will cover 509 locations in Swain.
– Citizens Telephone Company (Comporium Communications) will cover 473 locations in Transylvania.
– French Broad Electric Membership Corporation will cover 576 locations in Yancey.
The CAB program promotes collaboration between counties and NCDIT to identify and address areas requiring internet access. Service providers chosen are tasked with delivering high-speed services that maintain or exceed speeds of 100 Mbps for both downloads and uploads.
Governor Stein’s efforts are part of a larger initiative to address the digital divide in North Carolina. These awards will be prominently featured on NCDIT’s dashboards, illustrating federal American Rescue Plan Act-funded programs’ details and advancements. This round of funding adds to the ongoing $516 million in GREAT grants and previous CAB projects, which collectively aim to deliver high-speed internet to approximately 190,000 households and businesses in the state.
For further details about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity, interested parties can visit ncbroadband.gov.
