By Alyssa Burr for the North Carolina Independent.
Broadcast version by Zamone Perez for North Carolina News Service reporting for the North Carolina Independent-Public News Service Collaboration
More than 93,000 homes and businesses throughout North Carolina are scheduled to receive high-speed internet access by 2030 thanks to Biden-era funding.
Gov. Josh Stein announced in an April 23 press release that the state had received final approval from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to move forward with the first round of a $1.53 billion federal investment in broadband projects.
The funding comes from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which is financed through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law in 2021 by former President Joe Biden. The program aims to build broadband infrastructure in unserved or underserved communities across the United States with the help of community groups and internet service providers to increase access to fast and affordable internet service. North Carolina received the fifth-largest allocation among all U.S. states and territories.
According to the governor’s press release, the initial wave of projects will utilize $319 million of the state’s BEAD program dollars, although it doesn’t specify how many locations it will cover.
Stein and other state officials are touting the new projects as a way to boost North Carolina’s economy, as well as to improve residents’ financial and social wellbeing.
“Reliable high-speed internet opens doors of opportunity, helps businesses grow, connects people with health care, and strengthens our economy,” Stein said. “These new projects will move us ever closer to connecting every household and community in the state with broadband.”
About 96% of adults use the internet, but there are still large gaps in home internet access, particularly among low-income and rural communities. Some are “smartphone-dependent,” according to the Pew Research Center, meaning they rely on their smartphone to go online because they don’t have a subscription to a high-speed internet service.
Patrick Woodie, the president of nonprofit NC Rural Center, said in the press release: “The BEAD program offers a once-in-a-generation investment to close the digital divide and unlock economic opportunity, educational access, and health care connectivity for rural North Carolina. Reliable, high-speed internet ensures that rural communities and regions are not left behind but are positioned to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.”
The BEAD program projects will build on prior work the state has done to connect North Carolina households with the internet. In the April 23 announcement, the governor’s office also highlighted the launch of an additional 257,000 broadband projects with $700 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act, another measure enacted during the Biden administration. The N.C. Department of Information Technology has also given $50 million to agencies and organizations to distribute computers and support digital skills training.
“Expanding high-speed internet access is foundational to North Carolina’s long-term economic competitiveness and residents’ quality of life,” Nate Denny, the department’s secretary and state chief information officer, said in the press release. “We are very excited to get to work bringing reliable access to every North Carolinian.”
Alyssa Burr wrote this article for the North Carolina Independent.
Source: Public News Service
