Lumos and Orange County, North Carolina, celebrated the launch of the telco's fiber service this week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Orange County Rural Fire Station #2 in Hillsborough, North Carolina.
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 is working on its six-phase plan to build its network quickly, using nearly 1,000 miles of fiber. About 400 addresses are ready for service.
As part of the partnership with Orange County, Lumos will also provide fiber internet service to approximately two dozen county-owned anchor institutions, including the fire station where the ribbon cutting was held.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners’ Broadband Task Force was created in 2021 to facilitate high-speed, affordable internet access in rural areas.
The Task Force, chaired by Orange County Vice Chair Earl McKee and Commissioner Sally Greene, awarded Lumos a $10 million grant from its ARPA funds to build approximately 1,000 miles of fiber infrastructure in unserved or underserved areas. Orange County was one of the first in the state to utilize ARPA funds to provide broadband services to its community.
“This project will help ensure that Orange County residents have access to affordable, high-speed internet,” said Jamezetta Bedford, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. “The pandemic highlighted how important reliable internet service is for our children’s education, small businesses, public health, and other critical needs for our residents. Improving Internet access for our rural areas has long been a priority for the Board of Commissioners, our state delegation, and we are truly excited to be taking the lead in providing this critical piece of infrastructure throughout the county. We appreciate the federal ARPA funds supporting this partnership."
Orange County, NC is one of several communities where Lumos is expanding its fiber broadband presence. The service provider currently provides service 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.