On April 1, 2025 , North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein announced more than $31 million in Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects, which will connect 10,810 households and businesses in 14 counties to high-speed internet. 

“Thanks to these projects, North Carolinians across the state will be getting high-speed internet access so they can work, access online learning opportunities, participate in telehealth, and build a stronger state economy,” said NCDIT Secretary and State Chief Information Officer Teena Piccione in a press release. “We will continue to announce CAB project awards every two weeks throughout April in order to help connect more homes and businesses.”

These projects will be funded by more than $22.1 million from the federal American Rescue Plan, which is awarded by the N.C. Department of Information Technology (NCDIT,) and by nearly $9.6 million from selected broadband providers. 

In Cumberland County Connect Holding II, LLC (Brightspeed) was awarded $1,870,705.20 from NCDIT and contributed $801,730.80 for the project. 

This award will provide high-speed internet access to 496 homes or businesses (60.71% of the county’s 817 eligible locations).

The CAB program’s procurement process creates a partnership between counties and NCDIT to identify areas that need access and solicits proposals from prequalified internet service providers. Awardees must agree to provide high-speed service that reliably meets or exceeds speeds of 100 Mbps download and 100 Mbps upload.

“No matter where you live in the state, you should have access to high-speed internet,” said Gov. Stein in a press release. “Broadband is critical to providing more economic opportunity to every corner of the state, and I am proud to create a stronger and more connected North Carolina for every person and small business owner.”

As part of the governor’s initiative to close the digital divide, these CAB program awards will be added in April to NCDIT’s dashboards, which show details and progress on programs funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act. The awards add to the existing $516 million in Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants, as well as previous CAB projects that will connect close to 190,000 North Carolina households and businesses to high-speed internet.

For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity, visit ncbroadband.gov.