RALEIGH — Gov. Josh Stein announced nearly $26 million in awards Monday to connect 5,161 rural North Carolina homes, businesses and community anchor institutions to high-speed internet. The funding, distributed through the state’s Stop-Gap Solutions program, will expand infrastructure across 66 counties.
[ ALSO READ: Gov. Stein secures $300M to expand high-speed internet in North Carolina ]
The Stop-Gap Solutions program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity. Funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act, the initiative is designed to accelerate internet expansion to unserved and underserved households, businesses and state facilities.
The Stop-Gap Solutions program focuses on targeted broadband line extensions. This approach is designed to reach individuals and small pockets of homes or businesses in hard-to-reach areas where traditional expansion might be difficult. The program is intended to complement other statewide deployment efforts to ensure smaller clusters of locations are not overlooked.
Stein emphasized the role broadband plays in supporting daily needs for rural residents. He stated that the investment is part of a broader commitment to ensure all communities have the tools necessary to participate in the modern economy.
“These broadband projects will ensure more families can soon access telehealth, students can complete their homework, businesses can compete in larger markets and communities can thrive,” Stein said. “I am committed to improving broadband access across the state and making sure no community is left behind.”
Teena Piccione, NCDIT secretary and state chief information officer, described high-speed internet as a critical foundation for various state services and economic sectors. Piccione noted that the program provides the state with the ability to address specific coverage gaps.
“High-speed internet access is the foundation for health care delivery, public safety operations, workforce development and economic growth in our state,” Piccione said. “This program allows us to move with urgency and precision to connect more North Carolinians.”
The high-speed internet infrastructure projects are scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026.
Awards for the following broadband providers will support projects across the state to connect homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions:
- Atlantic Telephone Membership Cooperative/FOCUS Broadband ($1,653,500): 145 locations in Duplin and Pender counties
- Citizens Telephone Company/Comporium Communications ($4,017,302): 344 locations in Transylvania County
- Connect Holding II, LLC/Brightspeed ($1,677,000): 2439 locations in Alamance, Beaufort, Bladen, Caldwell, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chatham, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Edgecombe, Franklin, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hoke, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Martin, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Orange, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Person, Pitt, Randolph, Rockingham, Sampson, Stokes, Surry, Tyrrell, Vance, Wake, Warren, Washington, Wayne, and Wilson counties
- ERC Broadband, LLC ($1,261,581.35): 118 locations in Buncombe and Henderson counties
- Frontier Communications of the Carolinas, LLC ($3,524,952): 147 locations in Buncombe, Durham, and Macon counties
- HarvestBeam Inc. ($413,259.60): 95 locations in Craven and Pitt counties
- LREMC Technologies, LLC/RIVR Tech ($3,812,780.71): 43 locations in Hoke, Robeson and Scotland counties
- North State Communications Advanced Services, LLC/Lumos ($3,965,221): 402 locations in Orange County
- Roanoke Connect Holdings, LLC/Fybe ($2,406,500): 826 locations in Bertie, Chowan, Gates, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, and Northampton counties
- Skyrunner, Inc. ($788,500): 78 locations in Jackson County
- Star Telephone Membership Corp/Star Communications ($443,155): 78 locations in Bladen and Sampson counties
- Wilkes Telephone Membership Corporation/RiverStreet Networks ($959,828.18): 306 locations in Camden, Currituck, Stokes and Wilkes counties
- Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership Corporation/Zirrus ($520,940): 65 locations in Alexander, Forsyth, Iredell, Rowan, Yadkin counites
NCDIT has already contracted more than $670 million in broadband projects scheduled for completion this year to connect more than 252,000 homes and businesses.