RALEIGH — Sen. Carl Ford announced that Rowan County’s portion of state grants to expand access to high-speed internet is $4 million.

More than 1,000 households and businesses are set to receive high-speed internet under funding that comes from the Growing Rural Economics with Access to Technology (GREAT) grant program. The General Assembly allocated an additional $350 million in the 2021 state budget to the grant program to support a new round of grants.

The grant funding will ensure Yadkin Valley TMC (Yadtel | Zirrus) can begin work to deploy high-speed internet in Rowan County.

This round of GREAT grants leverages federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide matching grants to internet service providers and electric membership cooperatives that may partner with counties to expand access to broadband internet in underserved areas of the state.

More than 13,000 households and 582 businesses across North Carolina will have access to high-speed internet thanks to more than $30.8 million in grants, Gov. Roy Cooper announced earlier this week. The N.C. Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) also awarded GREAT grants to Cabarrus County: Spectrum Southeast, LLC (Charter Communications), Davie County: Yadkin Valley TMC (Yadtel | Zirrus) and Iredell County: Yadkin Valley TMC (Yadtel | Zirrus).

 

For more information about the NCDIT Division of Broadband and Digital Equity, visit https://www.ncbroadband.gov.