Blue Ridge Mountain EMC awarded nearly $5.5 million grant for expansion in county
By Becky Long
Publisher
In Clay County, the digital divide appears to be getting more narrow.
Residents waiting to receive high speed internet received a big boost on Monday thanks to a nearly $5.5 million grant designated for our area.
On July 18, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC was awarded $5,491,000 in funding through the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology Grant program.
The grant money will be used to expand BRMEMC’s fiber-optic network in the general areas of Shooting Creek, Fires Creek and Qualla Road in Clay County, according to Blue Ridge Mountain EMC Communications Manager Kelly Crawford.
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC engineers will begin the planning and design of the project very soon with construction beginning a few months later, dependent on material shipments, according to Crawford. The project will be constructed in phases so residents can begin receiving service as sections of the project are completed.
“We are very excited and fortunate to be awarded funding through the GREAT Grant program to get broadband to under-served areas like Shooting Creek, Fires Creek and Qualla Road. This will help us to continue closing the gap in our fiber-optic network and get members in our service territory the reliable high-speed internet service they need,” said Director of Broadband, Alex King.
At project completion approximately 2,000 additional residences and small businesses will have access to Blue Ridge Mountain EMC’s fiber-optic internet service.
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC applied for a second GREAT Grant specific for the Tusquittee area of Clay County along with GREAT Grant funding for a large area in Cherokee County. As of Wednesday morning, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC had not learned if these have been awarded.
The GREAT grant program is part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to invest nearly $2 billion in federal and state funds to close the “digital divide” in North Carolina.
Clay was among 12 counties to receive funding from the program which provides matching grants to internet service provides and electric membership cooperatives that partner with individual counties to compete for funding to expand high-speed internet to unserved areas. Blue Ridge Mountain will cover 30 percent of the total grant and the state will cover the other 70 percent.
To be eligible for a GREAT grant, all internet service provider applicants like BRMEMC must participate in the Affordable Connectivity Program.
The program provides eligible low-income households a $30 per month discount on high-speed internet service, or provide access to a comparable low-cost program. Learn more about the ACP and how to get $30 per month reliable, high-speed internet packages offered by BRMEMC at: www.brmemc.com/acp.