Randolph County to receive boost in internet coverage

Randolph County is one of 26 counties in the state receiving expanded internet coverage in a program announced by Gov. Josh Stein.

The awards in Randolph County will provide high-speed internet access to 1,403 homes and businesses. This comes in conjunction with Randolph Communications and Brightspeed.

The “Completing Access to Broadband” involves $58 million to connect 10,076 households and businesses statewide in this round of the project, according to the North Carolina Department of Information Technology.

The funding includes $41 million from the American Rescue Plan and $17 million from selected broadband providers.

“We’re making historic investments to close the digital divide, and more programs are on the way to connect additional communities across the state,” said Teena Piccione, NCDIT secondary and chief information officer.

For Randolph County, the addition is boosting 60.1% of the county’s 2,333 eligible locations.

Among other adjacent or nearby counties set for expanded broadband in this phase of the project are Chatham, Guilford, Moore and Rowan.