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Harnett and Cumberland Counties to receive additional funding to expand internet access through broadband program

By Staff Report, posted Jul 3, 2024 on BizFayetteville.com

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Equity announced earlier this week that an additional $112 million in Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program projects to connect 25,903 households and businesses in 19 counties (including Harnett County and Cumberland County) to high-speed internet. 

“We are excited so many counties and internet service providers have partnered with us on the CAB program,” said NCDIT Deputy Secretary for Broadband and Digital Equity Nate Denny in a press release. “These awarded projects will help us make significant progress on closing the state’s digital divide.”

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

CAB funding will support high-speed internet in unserved and underserved locations in Harnett County. The broadband provider selected to complete the CAB project in Harnett County is Connect Holding II, LLC (dba Brightspeed). The two providers selected for Cumberland County are Connect Holding II, LLC (dba Brightspeed) and StarVision, Inc. This award will provide high-speed internet access to 1,539 locations throughout Harnett County and 1,692 locations in Cumberland County.

“Broadband is crucial in our digital era, because it enables seamless communication, and facilitates access to information, education, and services for all,” said Ira Hall, Harnett County Chief Information Officer, in a press release. “Harnett County continues to collaborate with NCDIT and local service providers to increase broadband access to our unserved areas.  The NCDIT Completing Access to Broadband Program is the next step toward greater accessibility of broadband in our county.”

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