The retired teacher of Buncombe County, Donna Pate, lives in the upper Hominy Valley. She has been living in the same woods for 23 long years. However, she, along with her neighbors, has been denied broadband Wi-Fi connections.
She said, “Every morning I have to turn on the router,” because the DSL connection doesn’t work. Pate added, “It’s the same message over and over again. It can happen five, six, seven times. It’s happened three times since we got here.”
However, after long years of struggle, the locals and Pate are finally thrilled, as they have secured $10 million in funding for a contract with AT&T (North Carolina) to expand internet access to 967 rural homes.
They received this fund along with 18 other counties from the NCDIT Broadband Infrastructure Office, a part of the department’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity, which is running the GREAT grant program.
Furthermore, the Buncombe County Commissioners also approved a contribution of $3.6 million from the American Rescue Funds for this project.
The commissioner, Terri Wells, added, “The reality is: whenever they build out the infrastructure for the internet… other households will be able to go ahead and connect, too.” Pate and the locals have been appreciative of this contribution and thanked Wells.
This project will finish in 2026, taking two years to install fiber along phone poll lines or underground, until everyone in the valley can access the internet.
