Brunswick County, NC – FOCUS Broadband CEO, Keith Holden, participated in an Investing in Rural American Infrastructure Panel at the White House this past Tuesday. The panel was part of the White House’s Communities in Action: Building a Better America series and featured rural leaders highlighting success stories from the historic investments in infrastructure that have been made in rural America by the Biden-Harris Administration.

Over the past 15 years, FOCUS Broadband has been a leader in expanding high-speed internet to rural communities throughout eastern North Carolina. Since 2021, the company has received approximately $65 million in grant funds from both federal and state broadband programs to bring fiber optic delivered high-speed internet to rural residents and businesses across ten counties in North Carolina.

“The COVID-19 pandemic really shined a light on how important broadband was to the communities around us,” said Holden. “Our [cooperative] members were fortunate in that we offered high-speed broadband throughout, but surrounding communities often weren’t served, so we started looking for ways to edge out into those neighborhoods and we found the USDA ReConnect Program, the USDA Community Connect Program and also North Carolina state grant programs, which were funded through the American Rescue Plan.”

Thanks to the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), grant funding was allocated to facilitate broadband infrastructure deployment in rural areas. Funds from the BIL were distributed to seven major program areas, including the Rural Broadband Programs at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, and the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).

Examples of these federal broadband grant-funded projects include the USDA Community Connect Grant awarded to FOCUS Broadband in 2021 to serve over 500 addresses in northeastern Robeson County and the USDA ReConnect Grant awarded to FOCUS Broadband in 2022 to bring high-speed internet service to over 4,500 addresses in Robeson and Scotland counties. In the past three years, FOCUS Broadband has also worked to secure ten Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grants from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT).

“Each one of those homes has their own story,” said Holden after discussing how broadband grant funds can help offset the high costs of constructing fiber optic networks in rural areas, which has historically been a barrier in bringing broadband to many rural communities. He mentioned how so many of those who received broadband service as a result of these projects found it to be life-changing in terms of career advancement, educational opportunities, and access to healthcare resources.

Holden then shared how at a groundbreaking ceremony for one of FOCUS Broadband’s first grants in Columbus County, an older gentleman stopped to ask about the purpose of the ceremony. Upon learning that FOCUS Broadband would be bringing high-speed internet to the area, he shared his excitement because he would be able to have a reliable internet connection which would allow his heart to be remotely monitored by his doctor at Duke Health.

The panel also spoke about the federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) and how it played a key role in ensuring broadband accessibility. April was the last fully funded month for the ACP, ending the monthly $30 discount on broadband services for millions across the country. On the panel, Holden shared insights about how impactful the ACP was in the lives of many subscribers, especially those in socially vulnerable communities, and how federal programs like the ACP can help internet service providers in making broadband more affordable.

“It was an honor to be asked to participate on this panel and share success stories from our hard work with lawmakers and other rural leaders,” said Holden. “I’m proud of the work that FOCUS Broadband has done to connect thousands in rural communities to high-speed internet and create opportunities for economic growth, telehealth, online education, and remote work.”