An estimated 20.3 percent of Bladen County residents are currently without access to high speed internet. Source: Metro

An estimated 20.3 percent of Bladen County residents are currently without access to high speed internet.

Source: Metro

RALEIGH — Bladen County is one of the 33 counties which will be increasing access to high-speed internet for 25,825 households and 862 businesses thanks to nearly $80 million in additional Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.

“We want all North Carolinians connected to high-speed internet so they can take full advantage of digital opportunities for work, learning, health and more,” Governor Cooper said. “These grants will fund projects in communities from all corners of our state so more families and business will have access to affordable, reliable broadband.”

These latest grant awards add to the more than $269 million total awarded in 2022 to connect 117,405 households and businesses. The GREAT grant program, established in 2018 as part of Governor Roy Cooper’s plan to close the digital divide, is a competitive program that provides matching grants to internet service providers that may partner with individual North Carolina counties to expand high-speed internet service to unserved areas of the state.

“This grant program is already set to bring high-speed internet to numerous households and businesses across North Carolina, and we’re pleased that we will now reach even more unserved areas,” said NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Jim Weaver. “These grants are just one of the many ways we are working to expand internet access and ensure digital equity.”

As part of the federally-funded GREAT grant eligibility requirements, all internet service provider applicants must participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) to offer eligible low-income households a $30 per month discount on high-speed internet service, or provide access to a comparable low-cost program. Learn more about $30 per month reliable, high-speed internet packages offered by internet service providers at getinternet.gov.

NCDIT has now awarded all of the $350 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding available for the GREAT grant program. For this round of funding, the Division of Broadband and Digital Equity reviewed a total of 104 eligible applications in 58 counties.

Grants are being awarded to the highest-scoring internet provider that applied in each county based on the number of households and businesses they propose to serve, the average cost to serve those locations, and the speeds offered, among other criteria required by law. For Bladen County, that provider is Star Communications.

Applicants must agree to provide high-speed service, defined as a minimum of 100 Megabits per second (Mbps) download and 20 Mbps upload, scalable to 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload on or before Dec. 31, 2026. All awards are contingent on final executed grant agreements with broadband provider partners. The division plans to make additional awards to remaining counties using additional federal funds later this month.

For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Equity and Governor Cooper’s plan to close the digital divide, please visit www.ncbroadband.gov.