The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity today announced more than $10 million in Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects to connect 2,762 households and businesses in Cherokee, Clay and Macon counties to high-speed internet. These projects will be funded by more than $7.5 million from the federal American Rescue Plan awarded by NCDIT and nearly $2.6 million from selected broadband providers:
- Cherokee County: CND Acquisitions Corp. (Peachtree Broadband Fiber)
This award will provide high-speed internet access to 749 locations (27.43% of the county’s 2,731 eligible locations). - Clay County: Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation (BRMEMC)
This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,602 locations (99.26% of the county’s 1,614 eligible locations). - Macon County: Frontier Communications of the Carolinas, LLC
This award will provide high-speed internet access to 411 locations (13.25% of the county’s 3,102 eligible locations).
“We are excited to be partnering with counties and broadband providers to bring high-speed internet access to counties in western North Carolina,” said NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Teena Piccione. “We will be making CAB project awards on a rolling basis throughout March and April to continue making significant progress on closing the state’s digital divide.”
NCDIT announced the awards during a broadband town hall in Franklin, N.C., with Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Dist. 50); Rep. Mike Clampitt (R-Dist. 119); Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Dist. 120); Rep. Mark Pless (R-Dist. 118); Matt Calabria, director of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC); municipal representatives; local internet service providers and residents.
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.
These CAB program awards will be added in April to NCDIT’s dashboards that show details and progress on programs funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act as part of Governor Josh Stein’s initiative to close digital divide. The awards add to the nearly $505 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants and previous CAB projects that will connect nearly 187,000 North Carolina households and businesses to high-speed internet.
For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity, visit ncbroadband.gov.