Harvest Beam expansion to reach 2,000 homes

HarvestBeam chief executive Jessica Zufalo updated Grifton commissioners on expansion efforts that will bring wireless broadband service to 2,000 homes.

Zufalo and her business partner Jack McNary told the Board of Commissioners in July it is upgrading facilities so that everybody in the Grifton and Ayden area can get a minimum of a 100- to 500-megabit downlink. She said the company will be upgrading all facilities across its footprint in eastern North Carolina.

HarvestBeam is co-locating on a cell tower at 488 E. Hannahan Road owned by America Tower. The lease started on Aug. 1 and the company is deploying equipment between 250 and 300 feet high on the 402-foot tower.

“Our household coverage will be able to cover close to 2,000 homes that will provide coverage across five to seven miles,” said Zufalo. “We really wanted to reach people all the way down to Stokestown-St. Johns Road and all in that area, so it’s exciting.”

Zufalo said that HarvestBeam is upgrading their network because the people of Grifton have spoken to them and have said “we want more service, we want to upgrade, and we want to see you grow.” She said the company has invested in state-of-the-art next-generation Tarana Wireless equipment.

“We’re going higher, which means we can go farther, and we’re using new technology that’s more powerful,” said Zufalo.“We are so grateful to the town of Grifton for giving us our chance to start, and this is such a great success story for this town.”