Approved ARPA Project: Broadband GREAT Grant Funding, $1,000,000

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology's (NCDIT) Broadband Infrastructure Office provided state-funded grants to commercial providers of broadband services, specifically the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grant, to promote the rollout of broadband Internet services. The GREAT grant program offers matching funds to internet service providers and electric membership cooperatives that can compete for financing to provide high-speed internet access to unserved and underserved parts of the state to unserved and underserved areas of North Carolina. The Henderson County Board of Commissioners approved a $1 million ARPA dollar investment, which will be matched by a GREAT award, to expand internet connection among the county's underserved communities. As part of the GREAT grant eligibility requirements, all internet service provider applicants must participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), which provides eligible low-income households with a $30 per month discount on high-speed internet service, or provide access to a comparable low-cost program.