The project to bring reliable internet access to all of Macon County is coming along in Otto and Scaly Mountain, despite a less than favorable climate for construction.
Jason Maples of BalsamWest said the broadband provider is taking a “very targeted and deliberate approach” as they progress with the South Macon backbone, the fiber apparatus that will become the primary source of high-speed internet for the southern portion of the county. They’ve been collaborating for several months on the project with Macon County officials and Little T Broadband, which is not an internet service provider but a nonprofit broadband expansion advocacy group.
The business is currently reaching out to local entities to guarantee early hookups where they’re needed most, including businesses and South Macon Elementary School. Eventually, the entire communities will have access, but funding is the name of the game for now. Maples feels fortunate that construction has stayed on track for as long as it has with competition and prices rising across the industry. That makes nailing down an exact timeline difficult.
“Giving an expansive answer right now is impossible,” Maples said. “It all comes down to grants right now.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has provided a call to action for governments to make internet more widespread so people can keep communicating and working from home. North Carolina alone has made more than a billion dollars available for broadband infrastructure investments through grants since the pandemic began, and much of that is targeted at rural communities specifically through the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Program. Maples said it’s as good a time as any to be looking for financial support in this industry.
“I’ve never seen a billion dollars available in one state alone,” he said. “And then there’s even more federal money available on top of that.”
In Raleigh, politicians have become increasingly concerned with closing the “digital divide,” or the gap in economic opportunities between communities with reliable internet access and those without. Last summer, Gov. Roy Cooper established the Office of Digital Equity and Literacy to oversee the GREAT Program and other initiatives in hopes that rural North Carolinians wouldn’t be left behind.
"The pandemic showed us more than ever the importance of digital equity in North Carolina," Cooper said of the program. "Creating the Office of Digital Equity and Literacy will enable us to accelerate the critical work of bringing all North Carolinians up to speed with the digital society so they can live more equitable, prosperous, educated and healthier lives."
BalsamWest’s backbone project is following that vision and local leaders are pleased with the progress. Maples gave an update at the most recent meeting of the Macon County Economic Development Commission and the members felt they were well on their way to a connected future for the county as a great place to live and work.
“It’s going to be important to have that fiber built from Franklin through Otto, through Scaly and eventually to Highlands with the kind of growth we’re trying to accomplish,” EDC Director Tommy Jenkins said. “It sounds like we’re pretty much there.”