CarolinaLink Highlights 2020 Member Accomplishments

Raleigh, NC – CarolinaLink, North Carolina’s Broadband Cooperative Coalition, today released a list of highlights accomplished by their members throughout 2020. CarolinaLink is made up of North Carolina’s seven broadband membership cooperatives who provide advanced technology services to many of the state’s most rural areas. The seven members include ATMC, Randolph Communications, Riverstreet Networks, Skyline/Skybest, Star Communications, Surry Communications and Yadtel.

CarolinaLink has highlighted the successes of its members as detailed in the list below:

• Three members, ATMC, Randolph Communications and Yadtel were awarded a total of $26.2 million in federal grant funding through the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) ReConnect Broadband Program to expand fiber optic services to unserved areas of Pender, Moore, Davie, Yadkin and Iredell Counties.
• ATMC and Star Communications were awarded a total of $14.8 million in NC GREAT Grant funds to serve rural areas of Brunswick, Bladen, Columbus, Duplin, Robeson, and Sampson Counties.
• Star Communications and ATMC completed grant projects in Bladen County and Columbus County from awards received in the 2019 NC GREAT Grant Program. These projects allowed CarolinaLink members to expand fiber optic service to more than 1,600 homes and businesses.
• Riverstreet Networks began construction on their USDA Community Connect grant in Columbus County.
• Skyline/Skybest began construction of a Wide Area Network which will serve educators and students of Avery County Schools.
• Surry Communications increased their Fiber to the Premises capacity for structures in their traditional service area from 83% to 93% in one year.
• Over the past two years, CarolinaLink members received more than $76 million in state and federal grant funds and will invest an additional $33 million in matching funds for broadband expansion projects in rural North Carolina.
• CarolinaLink members supported their customers through the COVID-19 pandemic by taking part in the FCC’s Keep Americans Connected pledge, providing free and discounted services to thousands of families, working with school systems across much of the state to create hotspots in rural areas and offering assistance for small business customers.

“Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, our cooperative members have worked hard to find ways to continue to expand rural broadband to some of the most rural areas of the state,” commented Dwight Allen, Executive Vice President of CarolinaLink. “We are proud of the collective success of CarolinaLink members in a year where connectivity has proven to be more essential than ever.” 

Coalition members serve over 150,000 rural homes and businesses in North Carolina and are committed to expanding rural broadband to unserved and underserved communities throughout the state. CarolinaLink members serve residents and businesses in thirty counties throughout the state and employee more than 1,000 North Carolinians.

For more information about CarolinaLink and their members, visit www.carolinalink.org.

About CarolinaLink

CarolinaLink is a political advocacy group for the North Carolina Broadband Cooperative Coalition (NCBCC). NCBCC is made up of the North Carolina’s seven Broadband Membership Cooperatives, who together provide advanced technology services to many of the state’s most rural areas. Through CarolinaLink these companies advocate for public policy goals which improve the lives of North Carolinians living in rural areas, such as ensuring access to state-of-the-art communications services at reasonable prices, whatever their address. CarolinaLink member companies include ATMC, Randolph Communications, RiverStreet Networks, Skyline/Skybest, Star Communications, Surry Communications and Yadtel. For more information about CarolinaLink, visit carolinalink.org.

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