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Brightspeed Confirms North Carolina Grants (June 2025)

Brightspeed has officially confirmed the receipt of targeted broadband grants from the state of North Carolina, signaling a substantial investment in building out high-speed internet infrastructure. Designed to accelerate the deployment of fiber networks, these grants will support Brightspeed’s efforts to deliver reliable service to underserved and rural communities across the state.

North Carolina's commitment to closing the digital divide gains momentum through this development. In areas where inconsistent or nonexistent connectivity has long stalled economic opportunity, the expansion of broadband access marks a strategic shift. With fiber at the core of this rollout, Brightspeed aims to reach households still disconnected from essential online tools, from remote work platforms and telehealth services to virtual classrooms.

The conversation around digital equity grows louder in every state looking to connect its unserved populations. Broadband is more than a convenience—it functions as a foundation for modern life. When access becomes universal, entire regions transition from limitations to potential. Will this initiative redefine North Carolina’s digital landscape? The groundwork has begun.

Uneven Ground: North Carolina’s Broadband Gaps in Focus

Access to high-speed internet remains significantly uneven across North Carolina. While urban centers like Raleigh and Charlotte benefit from reliable broadband infrastructure, large portions of the state—especially rural and low-income communities—continue to struggle with limited or no access to high-speed internet. Infrastructure deficits, last-mile connectivity obstacles, and minimal competition among service providers are common barriers that prevent equitable access.

Persistent Gaps in Underserved Communities

In rural counties, the digital divide is far from abstract—it defines daily life. Students in parts of Bertie or Hyde County often rely on mobile hotspots or public Wi-Fi outside libraries just to get online. Small business owners in Vance or Robeson County face inconsistent connectivity that slows operations and limits digital growth. This patchwork of digital access forces a large segment of the population to choose between opportunity and geography.

How Widespread is the Problem?

According to the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) 2023 report, approximately 1.1 million North Carolinians still lack access to high-speed broadband, defined as internet with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps and upload speeds of 3 Mbps. That represents more than 10% of the state’s population, with the vast majority residing in Tier 1 counties—those ranked by the NC Department of Commerce as most economically distressed.

Additional survey data from the 2021 Broadband Survey by NCDIT found that:

Without targeted infrastructure investment, these disparities will widen, perpetuating cycles of economic stagnation and social exclusion. How do these conditions shape education, healthcare, and economic opportunity in affected communities? The numbers tell part of the story, but the personal costs run deeper.

Brightspeed’s Mission to Modernize Internet Infrastructure in North Carolina

Driving Rapid Expansion with a Clear Vision

Brightspeed operates as a next-generation telecommunications provider with a central goal: extend high-speed fiber internet access to underserved and unserved communities. The company emerged with a sharp focus on infrastructure overhaul and digital equity, pledging aggressive investment in advanced fiber-based systems.

Unlike legacy providers bound by dated copper networks, Brightspeed positions itself at the heart of future-ready connectivity. By building new infrastructure from the ground up, the company bypasses traditional limitations. North Carolina is a critical component of this rollout strategy, with Brightspeed targeting over 300,000 locations in the state within just a few years.

Part of a Larger National-Scale Commitment

Beyond state lines, Brightspeed has committed to invest over $2 billion in deploying fiber optics across 20 states. This expansion covers more than 3 million homes and businesses, prioritizing rural and suburban areas where internet service remains patchy or outdated. North Carolina ranks among the top beneficiaries of this commitment due to its significant connectivity gaps and growing demand for scalable infrastructure.

How the Fiber Network Drives Performance

Brightspeed’s network uses fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) architecture. This design enables significantly faster upload and download speeds compared to DSL or cable. Households connected to Brightspeed Fiber can access symmetrical speeds up to 1 Gbps, which supports high-bandwidth demands—streaming 4K video, remote work, telehealth, and more—with low latency and greater reliability. The scalability of fiber also ensures that the network can adapt to growing data demands without degradation in performance.

What sets Brightspeed apart is its ability to deploy greenfield fiber projects in regions where few providers have invested in modern infrastructure. While many telecoms focus urban-first, Brightspeed builds in smaller municipalities and rural townships—often starting where others have long overlooked.

Filling the Gaps Left by Larger Providers

Several counties across North Carolina have operated with limited broadband options for years. Brightspeed enters the market with tailored engineering plans, optimizing routes for fiber threads to reach remote homes and community institutions. The result: communities previously left behind now enter the digital economy at full speed.

Brightspeed’s role in transforming internet access starts with a clear mandate: build smarter, faster, and for everyone not yet connected. That ambition takes root in North Carolina—and expands outward with every mile of fiber laid.

Major Investments Secured: Brightspeed Confirms North Carolina Grants

Funding Breakdown and Project Scope

Brightspeed has secured a significant share of North Carolina’s recent broadband funding, winning over $90 million through the North Carolina Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program. These funds will support 29 individual fiber infrastructure projects across the state.

The awarded grants target high-need areas, focusing on closing the digital divide in underserved communities. Brightspeed's projects under the GREAT Grant initiative will directly impact more than 38,000 households and businesses that currently lack access to reliable high-speed internet.

Targeted Counties and Rural Expansion

The selected expansion areas cover a broad geographic scope. Among the counties with funded projects are:

These counties represent a mix of rural and semi-rural communities where high-speed infrastructure has lagged behind the state average. Each project has been mapped to areas designated as unserved or underserved according to the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s broadband availability maps.

Timeline and Project Milestones

Construction timelines vary by location but share a common delivery framework. Brightspeed expects to begin physical network deployment by Q2 2024. Detailed engineering and permitting have already begun in high-priority zones.

By leveraging its internal project management systems and local contractor partnerships, Brightspeed will complete most projects within 18 to 24 months of the grant agreement execution. Governor Roy Cooper’s administration has set a benchmark for full utilization of the 2022-2024 broadband grant cycle by the end of 2025, aligning state objectives with Brightspeed’s accelerated delivery commitments.

Accelerating Connectivity: Brightspeed’s Broadband Expansion and Fiber Deployment

Transforming Infrastructure with Next-Generation Fiber

Brightspeed has launched a dual-phase deployment strategy designed to modernize North Carolina's digital backbone. Central to this plan is the extensive installation of new fiber-optic lines, capable of delivering symmetrical gigabit speeds. These new cable routes span both densely populated corridors and underserved rural zones, forming a contiguous network built for scalability and long-term performance.

In addition to new installations, Brightspeed is upgrading legacy copper and hybrid networks to fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) configurations. This transition eliminates bandwidth bottlenecks and dramatically reduces signal degradation over long distances. FTTP infrastructure supports speeds exceeding 1 Gbps while enabling future upgrades to 10 Gbps through passive optical networking (PON) technologies such as XGS-PON.

Tackling Last-Mile Gaps with Scalable Solutions

The last-mile connection typically presents the greatest challenge in broadband deployment, especially in remote areas. Brightspeed is addressing these gaps using a modular approach. By deploying centralized splitters and utilizing flexible pre-connectorized drop terminals, technicians can connect individual homes rapidly while keeping implementation costs in check.

Moreover, Brightspeed's architecture supports network slicing and segmentation through software-defined networking (SDN), which allows bandwidth allocation per user or application in real-time. This ensures uninterrupted service during peak usage, even in high-traffic zones such as schools or healthcare sites.

Performance-Boosting Technology Stack

Each node is built with redundancy in mind—supporting failover routes, dual power sources, and environmental sealing to maintain uptime through harsh weather or local disruptions.

What does this mean for households and businesses? A stable gigabit connection that adapts to their evolving needs, from weekend streaming to mission-critical business operations.

Driving Change Together: Government and Public-Private Collaboration

Strategic Alliances Fueling Broadband Expansion

Brightspeed’s efforts in North Carolina operate at the intersection of public funding and private innovation. The company's collaboration with state agencies and local governments illustrates how targeted investments and shared objectives unlock large-scale infrastructure achievements. These partnerships didn't happen by chance—they reflect deliberate alignment around a common goal: reducing the digital divide across underserved regions.

Public-Private Partnerships: A Proven Model

North Carolina’s broadband expansion strategy relies heavily on public-private partnerships. Through programs like the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant Program, the state provides financial support to internet service providers capable of quickly scaling high-speed broadband access in rural areas. Brightspeed, selected as a key grant recipient, meets stringent criteria for scalability, performance, and local engagement.

Incentivizing Private Sector Investment Through Government Support

North Carolina’s grant model incentivizes significant private investment by offsetting upfront capital expenses for broadband deployment. Brightspeed matches or exceeds state-provided funds with its own resources, leading to a multiplying effect on total investment. For example, in previous grant cycles, awardees were required to provide at least 50% matching funds, and many—including Brightspeed—committed far more to extend fiber deeper into rural markets.

This coordinated funding mechanism accelerates project viability. It cuts through the high cost barriers often associated with delivering fiber networks across miles of rural terrain. Without these grants, many of these regions would continue to lack sufficient market incentives for private deployment.

Collaborating with Local Partners on the Ground

Local governments play a vital operational role. From permitting and right-of-way coordination to community outreach and regional planning, these stakeholders ensure that broadband rollout aligns with community needs. Brightspeed engages directly with county commissions, local economic development offices, and planning boards to navigate local logistics and foster community buy-in.

This three-way coordination across state, local, and corporate lines produces a broadband expansion model that’s scalable, accountable, and responsive to real-world conditions. Every stakeholder contributes distinct capabilities—policy, funding, technical execution—and together, they form a network as strong as the fiber lines laid across North Carolina soil.

Driving Growth: The Economic and Social Impact of Expanded Connectivity

Broadband expansion in North Carolina is doing more than enhancing internet speeds—it is unlocking economic mobility, reshaping education, modernizing healthcare access, and fueling rural development. With Brightspeed’s deployment of high-speed fiber under newly confirmed state grants, multiple sectors stand to gain both immediately and over the long term.

Reinforcing Local Businesses and Entrepreneurship

Fast, reliable internet changes how small businesses operate, especially in historically underserved areas. E-commerce becomes viable for rural entrepreneurs; secure cloud services streamline operations; and access to VoIP and high-definition video conferencing cuts communication costs. According to a Deloitte study, communities with robust broadband infrastructure experience a 1.8% higher employment growth rate and 1.0% greater GDP growth compared to those without it.

In retail and hospitality, point-of-sale technologies depend on stable connectivity. Inventory systems sync in real time, digital marketing reaches wider audiences, and online customer service platforms become feasible even in the most remote counties. Rural economies no longer fight a location disadvantage—they become digitally open for business.

Shaping the Future of Education

Students in areas with upgraded broadband can participate in synchronous virtual classrooms, access high-quality learning platforms, and interact with personalized tutoring services. Public school systems across North Carolina's rural districts report increased digital engagement when home internet speed exceeds 25 Mbps. With Brightspeed’s fiber rollout delivering gigabit-capable connections, educational equity accelerates.

Higher education follows suit. Online degree programs, continuing education for adults, and virtual trade schools become viable options for residents who previously lacked access. The bandwidth ceiling that once restricted learning no longer applies.

Enabling Telehealth Across Underserved Regions

With high-speed internet, rural patients gain consistent access to video medical consultations, remote monitoring devices, and electronic health records. The North Carolina Office of Rural Health indicates that in counties with improved broadband access, telehealth usage rates nearly double within one year of deployment.

Telemedicine reduces the travel burden for chronically ill patients, minimizes costs associated with hospital readmissions, and extends specialist consultations to communities previously cut off from advanced care. Infrastructure laid by Brightspeed supports healthcare transformation at both clinical and household levels.

Job Creation and Long-Term Workforce Benefits

The scale of Brightspeed’s broadband initiative already supports hundreds of construction and engineering jobs. Fiber deployment, node installation, project management, and maintenance roles are being filled across North Carolina. Additionally, local workforce development boards report a rise in demand for IT and telecom-skills training programs tied directly to this expansion.

Service provision creates ongoing employment beyond infrastructure buildout. Technicians, network administrators, and customer support staff will support and scale operations in line with user demand, energizing regional job markets.

Empowering Rural Economic Development

Accessible high-speed internet positions rural counties to attract remote workers, digital freelancers, and tech startups. Locations like Wilkes and Caldwell counties are already rebranding as work-from-anywhere hubs. The economic multiplier effect is tangible: when internet investment rises, so do housing upgrades, commercial activity, and local tax revenues.

Broadband doesn’t just connect—it compounds opportunity. By linking communities to the global economy, it builds a foundation for sustainable growth and enhanced quality of life.

Advancing Digital Equity and Inclusion Across North Carolina

Breaking Down Barriers to Access

Brightspeed’s broadband expansion in North Carolina directly targets longstanding disparities in internet access. By focusing deployment in underconnected counties such as Robeson, Edgecombe, and Halifax, Brightspeed ensures rural residents—many of whom belong to historically marginalized communities—receive the same high-speed connectivity as urban centers. This geographic strategy intersects with demographic need: in several awarded areas, more than 25% of households fall below the poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Extending fiber into these zones closes the infrastructure gap that has limited access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.

Affordability Measures and Assistance Programs

One critical component of Brightspeed’s initiative lies in its participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Eligible households receive up to $30 per month in broadband subsidies, and up to $75 for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Brightspeed actively promotes awareness of ACP enrollment through partnerships with community-based organizations and multilingual campaigns targeting hard-to-reach residents.

In tandem, the company has introduced lower-cost internet tiers designed specifically for low-income users. These plans provide at least 100 Mbps download speeds—sufficient for video conferencing, remote learning, and telemedicine sessions—at substantially reduced rates.

Driving Digital Readiness Through Education

Beyond access, digital inclusion hinges on literacy. Recognizing this, Brightspeed has committed funding to local education initiatives, including collaborations with community colleges and libraries. In Wayne County, for instance, the company is funding digital skills workshops that cover topics from basic internet navigation to cybersecurity best practices.

Participants gain skills to apply for jobs online, complete course certifications, or access e-health platforms. These community learning hubs are primarily aimed at older adults, first-generation users, and those transitioning from analog systems after receiving residential fiber installations for the first time.

Partnering with Local Voices for Lasting Impact

Brightspeed’s success in bridging the digital divide is amplified by its engagement with local advocacy groups. In eastern counties, the company works alongside organizations like the North Carolina Inclusive Technology Initiative and the Rural Advancement Foundation International-USA (RAFI-USA). These partnerships inform culturally competent outreach strategies, ensuring residents are not only connected but also empowered to use connectivity as a tool for advancement.

What does inclusive broadband development look like at the neighborhood level? In Pender County, it includes mobile enrollment vans that visit remote areas and provide sign-up support. In Vance County, it means working with school districts to ensure students have devices and access at home—not just on campus.

Connectivity as a Pathway, Not a Privilege

Closing the digital divide transforms internet access from a privilege into a utility. Brightspeed’s North Carolina deployment prioritizes equity by intentionally serving test case communities—those long excluded from tech-forward infrastructure. By embedding affordability, digital literacy, and local input into the rollout process, the company isn’t just laying fiber. It’s building the foundation for lasting digital inclusion.

North Carolina’s Vision for Technological Advancement

North Carolina is pushing forward with a structured, high-impact agenda for digital infrastructure. The state’s ambition goes beyond bridging connectivity gaps—it aims to establish a forward-looking digital framework that supports long-term growth, education, innovation, and prosperity. At the heart of that agenda lies the alignment of public and private strategies, such as those led by Brightspeed, with long-range government planning efforts.

Modern Infrastructure as a Growth Catalyst

North Carolina’s State Digital Equity Plan and Broadband Plan 2021–2025 together outline a statewide blueprint for technology-first development. These plans prioritize fiber infrastructure in underserved communities, interoperable systems for public services, and seamless internet access for all residents. Coordinating with Brightspeed’s expansion projects, these policies are not abstract positioning—they are tied to funded projects, defined benchmarks, and measurable outcomes.

Backed by bipartisan support, these efforts target both rural and urban zones. Investment is being funneled not just into hardware but also into resilience, cybersecurity, and high-speed data capacity that can future-proof networks for decades.

Fueling Progress Through National Funds and Partnerships

To accelerate deployment, North Carolina is drawing from federal initiatives such as the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and the American Rescue Plan’s Capital Projects Fund (CPF). Combined, these initiatives have steered hundreds of millions into critical broadband upgrades across the state.

These multi-level strategies are unlocking dense layers of bandwidth for rural hospitals, transforming educational hubs into connected campuses, and enabling remote work infrastructure far from urban cores. Brightspeed’s confirmation of grant funding now operates within this larger ecosystem, harmonized with both state and federal resource channels.

A Long-Term Strategy for the Connected Economy

North Carolina does not view broadband purely as a utility; it sees it as an enabler of transformation. As such, state-level digital initiatives consider emerging technologies—smart grids, advanced manufacturing, telehealth, and digital government—within the scope of broadband readiness. These forward-thinking policies are designed to make the state competitive in both national and global terms by 2030.

Brightspeed’s involvement now rides the momentum of this wide-angled vision. Their infrastructure aligns with the state’s drive toward a resilient, future-ready North Carolina—defined not just by access to data, but by what residents and institutions can truly do with it.

Looking Ahead: Brightspeed’s Strategic Investments in the Region

Brightspeed has already laid the groundwork with its commitment to North Carolina, but this is only the beginning. The company will continue scaling its fiber-optic network across underserved and rural areas, not just within the state but throughout its multi-state footprint.

Over the next five years, Brightspeed aims to deliver fiber-based internet to more than 3 million locations in 20 states. North Carolina remains one of its top priorities, with continued deployments planned in both Tier 1 counties and economically growing metropolitan regions. By leveraging cutting-edge GPON and XGS-PON technologies, the company will offer symmetrical speeds reaching up to 10 Gbps—capabilities that support next-generation applications in telehealth, smart agriculture, remote learning, and advanced manufacturing.

Strategic planning plays a central role. Rather than deploying infrastructure sporadically, Brightspeed uses GIS-based analytics to identify communities where future access will have the greatest economic multiplier effect. In doing so, the company avoids duplication with existing providers while closing real access gaps with precision-first engineering.

What does the roadmap look like?

At the company level, Brightspeed has publicly committed to building an infrastructure that supports not only connectivity, but also quality of life improvements in regions long overlooked by legacy network operators. High-speed internet is not the final product—what it enables across education, economic growth, and community cohesion is what drives strategy.

This forward-looking investment approach positions Brightspeed as more than a service provider. It becomes an infrastructure partner focused on long-term impact—starting with North Carolina and extending across digitally underserved corners of the country.

A Connected North Carolina for All

The broadband grants confirmed by Brightspeed signal a definitive shift in North Carolina’s digital future. These investments support a network transformation that renders high-speed internet a reality for communities that have waited too long. With fiber-backed infrastructure entering regions where slow speeds or no access once defined the norm, the digital divide continues to narrow block by block, zip code by zip code.

Reliable connectivity now touches more households and businesses—strengthening opportunities for remote work, telehealth, virtual education, and digital entrepreneurship. School districts facing bandwidth constraints gain new digital tools. Rural clinics connect more efficiently with regional hospitals. Local startups access the cloud without latency barriers. These aren’t potential benefits. They’re unfolding outcomes, driven by deliberate action and targeted funding.

Brightspeed’s broadband rollout doesn’t operate in isolation. It works alongside local leaders, state initiatives like GREAT (Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology), and a wave of public input shaping community-first solutions. Grants have amplified momentum; now, it’s time to align public awareness with deployment schedules, infrastructure planning, and user participation.

Residents, business owners, educators—how will you engage? Attend town halls, track progress through local digital equity dashboards, and connect with area providers as infrastructure arrives. Ask how your region plans to use its bandwidth advantage. Demand faster timelines, clearer communication, wider adoption. This isn’t about watching broadband come to town. It’s about shaping what a connected North Carolina does with its new bandwidth power.