Raleigh, NC – North Carolina Governor Josh Stein recently announced nearly $26 million in Stop-Gap Solutions program awards, aimed to accelerate broadband deployment to more than 5,100 eligible locations throughout North Carolina. As part of that announcement, CarolinaLink members FOCUS Broadband, RiverStreet Networks, Star Communications and Zirrus were named as recipients of program funding.
In total, the cooperatives will connect approximately 600 addresses in areas of Alexander, Bladen, Camden, Currituck, Duplin, Forsyth, Iredell, Pender, Rowan, Sampson, Stokes, Wilkes and Yadkin counties with high-speed internet. This latest funding builds upon previous federal and state broadband grants and projects awarded to the cooperatives, which enabled the companies to expand high-speed internet access in many rural areas of these counties.
The Stop-Gap Program is administered by the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) and utilizes American Rescue Plan Act funds to address broadband coverage gaps. The program is designed to complement previous broadband funding programs by using targeted broadband line extensions to reach individuals and small pockets of homes and businesses in hard-to-reach areas.
“High-speed internet access is the foundation for health care delivery, public safety operations, workforce development, and economic growth in our state,” said Teena Piccione, NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer, in an official statement. “This program allows us to move with more urgency and precision to connect more North Carolinians.”