Lumos continues to improve its fiber broadband reach in Wayne County, North Carolina, having recently received a Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grant. Funding from this grant will support Lumos’ earlier investment to build its fiber network to over 14,000 underserved homes in Goldsboro.
The North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) awarded over $80 million in grants to private companies, including Lumos, to provide underserved households and businesses across 33 N.C. counties with broadband services.
Set to launch in early October, Lumos will host a celebratory ribbon cutting in Goldsboro, where local, state, and federal dignitaries are expected to attend. Lumos will become the first fiber internet provider to more than 1,000 homes and small businesses in Wayne County, reaching nearly 100% of households in the Goldsboro city limits and providing residents with fiber internet.
“We thank NCDIT’s Broadband Infrastructure Office for accepting Wayne County’s GREAT grant application with Lumos Fiber,” said Barbara Aycock, Chairwoman of the Wayne County Board of Commissioners. “This announcement is exciting for the County as we expand access to high-speed internet and expand service for generations to come using grant funding. We will continue working on broadband expansion and apply for grants to ensure that children can learn, businesses flourish, and residents are connected.”
Through private investments and public partnerships, Lumos is bringing its fiber network into unserved and underserved neighborhoods.
Wayne County is not the only part of North Carolina where Lumos is partnering with local communities to enhance its fiber broadband reach. In August, Lumos and Orange County, North Carolina, celebrated the launch of the telco's fiber service.
According to Lumos, the previously announced partnership between Lumos and Orange County remains one of the most significant public-private partnerships for fiber infrastructure in North Carolina history. The network build will leverage investments from Lumos and Orange County’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to reach over 6,300 unserved homes in the County. Lumos also committed millions more to increase the project scope to serve another 22,000 addresses.
Lumos currently provides fiber broadband services to over 225,000 homes and businesses across North Carolina and Virginia.
Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.