Three counties in western North Carolina are set to receive high-speed internet service thanks to more than $10 million in Federal and private funding.
The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity confirmed that more than $10 million in Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects are set to connect 2,762 households and businesses in Cherokee, Clay and Macon counties to high-speed internet service.
These projects will be funded by more than $7.5 million from the Federal American Rescue Plan Act awarded by NCDIT, along with nearly $2.6 million from selected broadband providers:
“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 noted that 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.
