A mix of clouds and sun. High 88F. Winds light and variable..
Some clouds. Low near 65F. Winds light and variable.
Gov. Roy Cooper, right, introduces himself to PCC student Michai Edwards in March.
Gov. Roy Cooper, right, introduces himself to PCC student Michai Edwards in March.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration announced $206 million in broadband grants on Wednesday, by far the largest tranche of high-speed internet awards coming from federal recovery funds for North Carolina.
Cooper’s office said the competitive matching grants to internet providers and an electric cooperative should benefit nearly 85,000 households and over 2,400 businesses in 69 counties. The Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology, or GREAT grants, are designed for unserved and underserved areas.{/span}
Connect Holding II was awarded the grant for Pitt County and is expected to extend service to 2,935 houses and businesses that do not have service today, said Deputy County Manager/Chief Information Officer Mike Taylor.
“This particular application has a good covering of everywhere around Greenville; north, south, east and west,” Taylor said. “This is not really a Greenville-proper application in terms of potential service. It is truly western part of the county, northern part, southern and eastern.”
The service will go as far south as Grifton, as far west as Fountain, to the Stokes area and northwest corner of the county and east and south of Grimesland, he said.
Taylor said it’s estimated that delivering broadband service to these areas will be a $12.12 million investment. While the final numbers haven’t been presented, Taylor said its estimated the state will award $4 million to Connect Holding II. Pitt County government has agreed to contribute $3.9 million from American Rescue Plan Act funding for the project, and Connect Holding will put up $4.17 million of its own money.
It has not been announced when installation will begin. The company has up to Dec. 30, 2026, to complete the project.
Winning providers also must offer low-income residents a $30-per-month discount on high-speed internet or access to a comparable program.
Cooper unveiled the awards at an event at the Mebane Public Library also attended by the CEO of Lumos, a fiber-optic internet provider receiving grants for services in Alamance and Randolph counties
“These funds will go a long way in closing the digital divide by bringing equitable access to both rural and urban communities,” said Jim Weaver, secretary of the state Department of Information Technology.
Legislation approved by the General Assembly and signed by Cooper laid out how federal American Rescue Plan funds would be used for broadband. The state this summer already announced $54 million in GREAT grants out of the $350 million allocated.
Contact Bobby Burns at baburns@reflector.com and 329.9572.
www.Reflector.com 1150 Sugg Pkwy Greenville, NC 27834 Main Phone: 252-329-9500 Customer Care Phone: 252-329-9505
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Invalid password or account does not exist
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
A receipt was sent to your email.