– information courtesy of the Office of N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon
N.C. Rep. Frank Sossamon has scheduled upcoming forums – one in Vance County and one in Granville County – to provide updates on the status of expanding broadband internet across the counties he serves.
Leaders from the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity will provide in-person updates on the state’s efforts to close the digital divide, according to a press statement from Sossamon’s office.
The Vance County forum will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at Perry Memorial Library from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. NCDIT Deputy Secretary for Broadband and Digital Equity Nate Denny will be the speaker.
The Granville County forum will be held on Wednesday, Aug. 7, also from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., at the Granville County Expo Center. NCDIT Broadband Infrastructure Deputy Director George Collier will be the guest speaker.
To date, the Division of Broadband and Digital Equity has awarded more than $500 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funding to deploy high-speed internet infrastructure across North Carolina. This funding also supports initiatives to help residents afford internet access, obtain digital devices, and access digital literacy resources.
Specific to Granville and Vance counties, nearly $12 million has been awarded for projects connecting 5,828 homes and businesses. Highlights include:
- Fybe: Awarded $1.8 million in June through the Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program, with an additional $1.8 million from Granville County and over $1.5 million from Fybe, to expand high-speed internet to 1,720 homes and businesses in Granville County.
- Spectrum: Awarded $4 million in CAB funds in 2023 to connect 1,530 homes and businesses in Granville County.
- Brightspeed: Received $4 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants to connect 1,914 homes and businesses in Granville County and nearly $2 million to connect 664 locations in Vance County.
Granville County Schools have also benefited from these efforts, recently receiving $400,000 to expand device lending programs, offer digital literacy training led by student interns, and establish community Wi-Fi locations through the division’s Digital Champion grant program.
Attendees at both sessions will have the opportunity to ask questions about the state’s broadband initiatives and individual projects aimed at bringing high-speed internet service and digital literacy resources to their county.