The information superhighway in the Southwestern part of Surry County may be getting ready for some long overdue improvements that would finally deliver broadband speeds to residents who have so far been left out in the cold by previous expansion projects.
The county late last month of savings by Andy Hull of Surry Communications who informed, “The majority of the original six projects are within the final phases for completion.”
Far from chump change, Hull is referring to some serious dollars that Surry Communications wants to use on a new set of projects. “I have surplus funds of $270,328.82 from the original projected budget of $1,690,373.05,” he said of money set aside for earlier broadband expansion.
Hull and Surry Communications is eyeing three projects in the State Road and Thurmond communities as the next targeted population for broadband expansion. “These projects are within areas that will benefit the county the most and with unserved customers and will set up other potential projects for future expansion,” Hull said.
Surry Communications was awarded a contract to construct a fiber-based network to provide broadband service to unserved areas of the county in June 2022, as part of the Invest in Surry program; Spectrum had also been in the running for the contract.
“While many communities lack adequate connectivity needed to access healthcare, education, remote employment opportunities and business resources, the investment by county officials demonstrates their commitment to bridge the digital divide that still exists within many rural areas,” the company said in a statement.
Areas that were identified as part of that expansion included Devotion, Round Peak, and the same areas around State Road that the new project seeks to improve on. A listing of addresses provided to the county from Hull listed over 75 unique addresses from areas around H. G. Lewis Road, Haystack Road, and Union Hill Road.
That part of the county has long been identified as in need of expansion and Commissioner Eddie Harris has been advocating for residents of this part of the county strongly as long as broadband expansion grants, funding, and projects have been discussed by the board of county commissioners.
Harris was bullish on the investment paying off dividends. “This is money well spent from the Invest in Surry monies, and it goes a long way to help in areas in our county that would probably never receive broadband and if they did it would be many, many years.”
“As far as getting fiber internet to rural areas and places that don’t have it, or it would be years and years (before they do), it’s one of the best things we’ve done for families, kids, and economic development,” he said last year.
Commissioner Bill Goins said broadband expansion efforts “will upgrade quality of life and economic development opportunities, providing a better place to live and do business.”
Richie Parker, CEO of Surry Communications, said that it was his firm’s honor to play a part in deploying the infrastructure that will provide a high speed connection to the internet for scores of residents. “Having reliable, high speed access to the internet is vital to the growth of our rural schools, businesses, healthcare systems, and government facilities,” he said.
The board was also provided with an update on the state’s Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program. Denise Brown, Surry County grants & special projects manager, reminded the board the county could receive up to $8 million for expansion from the program but would have been required to provide a 35% match to the state contribution.
Earlier this year the board decided to table an application for CAB in hopes that the General Assembly may reduce or remove the county match component; such relief from the legislature was not forthcoming.
However, there is some relief to be found. Brown said that North Carolina Department of Information Technology has implemented stop-gap funding to cover the county match with a proposed baseline for each eligible county of $500,000. That baseline can be adjusted based on factors such as previous participation in CAB and the number of underserved or unserved internet customers.
The deadline for the county to make an application for CAB is Sept. 9. In the last round of funding, the program doled out $112 million to 19 counties.
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