U.S. Representative Mark Walker (R-N.C.) announced a $234,000 grant has been approved for the city of Greensboro to fund a plan to provide free broadband Internet access in low-income areas using transit and transportation infrastructure.
“I am proud to see Greensboro has received much-needed support to tackle critical broadband issues facing our community and its students -- many of whom are learning virtually this year,” Walker said. “As we continue to get through this pandemic together, expanding broadband access to low-income areas is a fundamental step to ensuring all North Carolinians have the resources needed to firmly take our state into the 2020’s and beyond.”
Greensboro’s plan will study the capacity for transit shelters and street lights to extend access to free high-speed Internet, particularly important during the COVID-19 public health emergency, when 7,000 local students currently lack online access.
Walker is also a co-sponsor of the RURAL Act and applauded last year’s $23.7 million USDA grant for high-speed broadband infrastructure in North Carolina.
The full grant is available to view here.