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Governor Josh Stein has announced more than $63 million in Completing Access to Broadband program projects to connect 18,889 households and businesses in 30 counties to high-speed internet.

Stein said: “Broadband is key 21st Century infrastructure, and these partnerships among counties across the state and internet providers will help connect more North Carolinians.”

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.

One of the projects funded is in Currituck County. Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) received an award of $2,865,396 to provide high-speed internet access to 1,354 homes and businesses (83.94% of the county’s 1,613 eligible locations). Terms of the award include that project construction must be completed by December 31, 2026, and service must be offered to subscribers for a minimum of three years after completion of construction, stated a Currituck County news release.

The Completing Access to Broadband 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 awards add to the $533 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants and previous Completing projects that will connect more than 211,000 North Carolina households and businesses to high-speed internet.

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