One way or another, major public funding coming for NC broadband expansion
Hundreds of millions of dollars are earmarked in plans from House Republicans and Gov. Roy Cooper's administration.
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House leaders put their plan on the table Thursday to spend roughly $750 million on expansions, most of it through grants paying companies to expand in unserved areas.
The House plan focuses almost entirely on infrastructure, while Cooper's plan also includes subsidies to help low-income families pay for monthly internet subscriptions and, for 96,000 households, to buy them a computer.
Lawmakers will eventually bridge the gap between the proposals, and the process will also include the state Senate, which may have its own ideas. But both chambers and the Cooper administration have been in agreement on the concept: use public money to expand internet access around the state.
And now they have billions in federal stimulus funding to help do it.
The House proposal is in House Bill 947, which would expand the state's existing GREAT grant program to incentivize private companies building internet infrastructure in rural areas. It would also create the CAB program to build out internet service in other counties with unmet needs.
“We will be able to start broadband in all 100 counties by the end of this year … simultaneously," Rep. Dean Arp, R-Union, a bill sponsor, told colleagues during a Thursday committee meeting on the bill.
This is the latest pitch in a long-running effort to expand high-speed internet in the state and by far the largest investment to emerge with legislative support.
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