NC is receiving over $1.5 billion to expand high-speed internet. Here’s what to know.
Tired of laggy Zoom meetings or buffering videos? The government may soon be of help.
North Carolina is set to receive more than $1.53 billion in federal funding to build out high-speed internet infrastructure as the state’s share of $42.45 billion to expand access to faster internet across the country.
The funding, announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Commerce, comes from a federal program created by Congress as part of its infrastructure bill.
“State and federal partnerships are critical to helping us close the digital divide and we are grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for this historic investment to expand high-speed Internet access in North Carolina,” Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper said in a press release. “Through this program, we will continue to make tremendous progress in making sure every household and business in our state is connected.”
North Carolina is set to receive the fifth-highest funding allotment of all the states, trailing California, Missouri, Michigan and Texas, which is getting a whopping $3.31 billion. Nineteen states are receiving allocations of over $1 billion. The funding amounts were primarily determined by looking at the number of unserved locations — those that lack access to internet with sufficient download and upload speeds — in each state or jurisdiction.
Earlier this month, an additional 115,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina were identified as lacking high-speed internet, affecting the funding allocation. At least 1.1 million North Carolina households “lack access to high-speed internet, can’t afford it or do not have the skills needed to take advantage of the digital economy,” according to the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT).
“There’s a lot of issues that are top of mind in rural communities,” Patrick Woodie, president of the N.C. Rural Center, told The News & Observer in 2021. “But broadband is up there. And the thing about broadband is it underpins all the other things they’re worried about, like health care (and) supporting small businesses and entrepreneurs.”
The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program was approved when the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, was signed into law by Democratic President Joe Biden in 2021.
“I’m proud to have worked on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will deliver more than $1.5 billion to expand access to high-speed internet across the state,” Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, who voted for the law, said in a press release. “This is a game-changing investment that will help bridge the digital divide for North Carolina’s rural communities and deploy the resources that families need and deserve.”
A congressman at the time, North Carolina’s other senator, Ted Budd, had voted against the law, calling it “fatally flawed” and a “liberal trojan horse for a socialist agenda.” Other Republicans, who represented the main opposition to the law, had also complained about the law’s spending priorities and overall price.
North Carolina will have until the end of the year to submit a proposal on how to spend the new funding, and, once the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) gives its approval, a request can be made to access at least 20% of the allocated funds. A five-year plan has already been drafted by the NCDIT’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity and is available for public comment via email to NCDITpartnerfeedback@nc.gov until Monday, July 17 at 5 p.m.
