A number of broadband projects in place in Macon County are nearing completion and will provide Macon County residents better internet access in 2026, according to Jeff Lee, chair of the Macon County Broadband Committee.
Two recently completed projects include offering public WiFi at Cowee School Arts & Heritage Center and the Carson Community Center. Cowee School began providing public internet in the fall and work on the Carson Community Center project wrapped up on Dec. 19.
The North Carolina GREAT grant program has awarded grants to two ongoing projects (and the Cowee School project) to expand broadband access in the county. The GREAT grant given to Frontier will provide fiber service to 2,700 locations and is expected to be completed by June 2026, though Lee expects more non-grant locations to be connected after that. BalsamWest’s GREAT grant will give fiber access to around 270 locations in the Otto and Scaly Mountain area, scheduled to be completed by fall 2026.
“This project builds from the fiber backbone constructed as part of the South Macon Broadband Expansion project completed in 2022,” Lee said. “To date, BalsamWest has completed all of their underground fiber work and is working to finish up the remaining aerial fiber installation. They have already begun connecting homes in the Otto area and should begin connections in Scaly Mountain after the first of the year.”
Future broadband projects are slated to begin in 2026 or the following years. The Frontier CAB grant will connect more than 400 locations in the Sanderstown area with construction to continue throughout 2026. The Charter/Spectrum RDOF Subsidy Award awarded in 2022 to Charter/Spectrum will provide fiber service to more than 8,000 locations in Macon County. Lee said the company has until 2028 to complete the work and hopes the company will begin after the first of the year.
“You can go to Frontier’s website at frontier.com and enter your address to check on fiber availability. If fiber is already available to your location, you can schedule installation, and if not you will be put on an email list to notify you of updates,” Lee said.
The Dec. 31 edition of the Press includes a related story about the $318 million in federal BEAD money coming to North Carolina for broadband expansion. It is estimated that 1,632 locations in Macon County will receive improved internet access through the BEAD funds, including 1,464 to receive fiber through Charter Spectrum and 168 to receive Amazon satellite internet.