Internet provider working on fiber upgrades
Robbinsville – According to July 28's broadband meeting, the immediate future should usher in a competitive market; in turn, giving residents both lower pricing and better internet reliability across Graham County.
Kevin Brown with the GREAT (Graham Revitalization Economic Action Team) organization said during his presentation that Zito Media – which is established across much of the county – has already received $619,916 from the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (also, GREAT) grant.
Brown said that Zito also received grants from the CAB (Completing Access to Broadband) Program and the RDOF (Rural Digital Opportunity Fund), but Brown did not have the specific amounts awarded by each. The Graham Star was unable to independently verify the amounts, as well.
"By this time next year, every person (in Graham County) that has Zito will be converted over to optical fiber," Brown said, while recounting a conversation with representatives of the Coudersport, Penn., communications provider.
"That's massive news. We've been fighting, begging and pleading for years to try and get fiber in here. We're finally getting results."
Brown said that Zito has already started upgrading to in areas like Cochrans Creek and Yellow Creek. The Zito representative Brown spoke with also said that Graham and Swain counties would have access to better fiber-optic connections that many major cities.
Awards for the federal BEAD (Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment) program will be announced in December. The program also zeroes in on bringing high-speed internet to underserved and unserved communities, with a focus on rural and low-income areas.
If an area is classified as "served" (100 mpbs download/20 mpbs upload), it is not eligible for funding.
Brown received permission from homeowners across the county to measure internet speeds and submitted a formal challenge of what was considered a "served" area.
Over a two-year span, Brown compiled the data and successfully had much of Graham earmarked as either unserved or underserved.
"This is all great news," said Brown. "We've really been working to get internet in this area for years and to actually see results is very exciting."
Brown later recounted a separate meeting he attended, which featured members of Charter Communications, Frontier Communications and Zito. Each indicated a desire to either debut or expand its presence in Graham County.
"Competition is good," Brown stated. "If we have two or three companies in here, competition brings down the price."
The meeting can be viewed in its entirety on The Graham Star's YouTube channel.