Macon County was one of 69 counties to receive a GREAT grant to expand broadband service. Frontier Communications of the Carolinas will receive the $3,769,602.95 grant to connect 2,622 households and 78 businesses to high-speed internet.
The project will take about 24 months to complete from when the contracts with the state are executed or Dec. 31, 2024, whichever one comes first, said Chrissy Murray, Frontier’s vice president for external communications.
She said they will begin finalizing the contracts with the state and construction authorizations, such as required permits. The project will cover primarily the central and southern portion of Macon County and must reach what the state defines as “unserved” households.
“Our goal is to connect people as quickly as possible,” Murray said. “Service will become available on a rolling basis but no later than the end of 2024. We will work with the county to make sure the community is aware of the various phases and the timelines as they evolve.”
The grant requires a match of $665,224.05. Prior to the application deadline, the Macon County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in March to set aside $200,000 of the county’s American Rescue Plan funding to use as a match for the four projects being submitted. Balsam West, Altice and Frontier submitted projects.
County Manager Derek Roland said by committing county funds toward the projects, the County Commissioners and the Broadband Committee helped give Macon County a competitive edge in the funding process. Frontier’s share of that allocation is $50,000.
“We’re very excited about it,” Roland said. He said the county will be talking with Frontier this week about how the project will move forward.
Murray said Frontier will provide the remainder of the match as part of a larger project. “In addition to the grant, Frontier has committed $600,000 to deploy fiber to thousands more in and around the grant-eligible locations,” she said.
Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Macon) coordinated a meeting earlier this year with leaders from throughout Western North Carolina to help them learn more about the grant program and how to apply for the funding.
“All seven of my counties have gotten GREAT grants amounting to millions of dollars and hooking up thousands to high-speed internet,” Corbin said. “This is a direct result of the GREAT grants and the meeting we had here in March bringing together providers, county and town leaders and other stakeholders.”
Corbin said he has been in touch with the state’s broadband office every week since the grant application process opened and wrote letters of support for providers applying for the money.
“This is the biggest increase in internet connectivity we’ve ever seen,” Corbin said. “This is good for our folks and good for our businesses.”
Corbin said there is still money available that providers can apply for.
As part of the GREAT grant eligibility requirements, all internet service provider applicants must be participating in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible low-income households a $30 per month discount on high-speed internet service or provide access to a comparable low-cost program.
“Rural districts are at a significant disadvantage because of the lack of broadband,” said Rep. Karl Gillespie (R-Macon), who serves Macon, Cherokee, Clay and Graham counties. “The GREAT grants are part of an effort to bring affordable, reliable broadband to rural North Carolina.
Other nearby counties and providers receiving funding include:
• Cherokee County: $3,676,595.65 to Blue Ridge Mountain EMC
• Graham County: $2,663,954.55 to Zitel LLC
• Haywood County: $869,049.35 to Spectrum Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications dba Spectrum)
• Jackson County: $3,822,863.10 to Spectrum Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications dba Spectrum)
• Swain County: $3,979,001.29 to Zito West Holding, LLC (Zito Media)
Clay County/Blue Ridge Mountain EMC received a GREAT grant in the July round of funding.
Last week’s grant awards total more than $206 million and will provide high-speed internet to nearly 85,000 households and more than 2,400 businesses in 69 counties across the state. The funds were awarded from the American Rescue Plan Act State Fiscal Recovery Funds, as appropriated by the N.C. Session Law 2021-180.
The state allocated $350 million for GREAT grants. Over $260 million in GREAT grants have been awarded to providers since July 2022; $23.4 in grants was awarded on July 18 and $30.8 million on Aug. 1. Additional grants are expected to be announced this fall.
“High-speed internet access is critical for people to work, learn, access telehealth and connect with one another,” said Gov Roy Cooper in making the grant announcement on Aug. 31.
N.C. Department of Information Technology received 305 applications in this round, and internet service providers proposed to serve more than 487,000 homes and businesses. Applications were scored based on the number of households and businesses they propose to serve, the average cost to serve those locations, and the speeds offered.