Qualified internet service providers and electric membership cooperatives providing internet service can now apply for up to $350 million in grants to expand broadband infrastructure in North Carolina and get more people connected to high-speed internet.
Rural Development State Director Reginald Speight and state and local officials will be traveling to make announcements for the Community Connect Grants program totaling $5.2 million on December 21.
A bipartisan group of senators is crafting legislation that would find ways to expand broadband access in North Carolina.
Governor Roy Cooper announced that the North Carolina Department of Commerce will pilot the Community Economic Recovery and Resiliency Initiative (CERRI) to support communities with their recovery and response to the economic impacts of COVID-19.
More N.C. counties would be allowed to post public notices online instead of paying to run them in newspapers, under two local bills introduced in the House.
Nearly $30 million will go to fund 18 broadband infrastructure projects with a goal of connecting 15,965 households and 703 businesses in rural North Carolina to high-speed internet, Governor Cooper announced Thursday. The grants are part of the 2020 Special Supplementary Round of the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program and will be distributed through the N.C. Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) Broadband Infrastructure Office (BIO).
