Last week, that project got a boost from the Hancock County Commissioners, who voted unanimously to give the towns $888,000 in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the broadband work.
A bipartisan group of senators is crafting legislation that would find ways to expand broadband access in North Carolina.
The bill, filed Monday, appears unfinished. Several sections remain unfilled, presumably with details to come in later editions.
But the goals are significant, starting with the title: “Innovative Statewide Broadband Infrastructure.” The legislation would convene the Institute for Emerging Issues to tackle ways to remove regulations that prevent broadband expansion from happening more rapidly.
Other goals include allowing easements for other utilities to be used for broadband and expanding the state’s grant program for extending high-speed internet to rural parts of the state. This program, known as Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology, was created by the General Assembly in 2018.