During this past legislative session, expanding access to rural broadband and closing the digital divide was a top priority of mine and the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly. 

In rural areas, especially in my district in Eastern North Carolina, connection to reliable high-speed internet service is critical to attracting and retaining businesses, improving health care access and ensuring that our children are not left behind in the digital age.  

The COVID-19 pandemic fallout has only heightened the need for expanding access to rural broadband, especially with remote learning.

It is estimated that 261,000 households across North Carolina lack access to broadband – with 197,139 of those including a student in the home. Furthermore, there is an estimated 1.6 million households who either can’t sign up for internet service or can’t afford to purchase it.

This is unacceptable – and it’s exactly why the General Assembly has worked so hard to find solutions to bridge the digital divide for North Carolina’s rural and underserved areas.  

This past legislative session was no different, and I was proud to support the passage of several important pieces of legislation that will go a long ways in helping connect more homes and businesses to reliable, high-speed broadband.

This includes investing tens of millions of dollars through the GREAT program to expedite the deployment of rural broadband by encouraging partnerships and competition among utility providers. 

The General Assembly created the GREAT program in 2018 and appropriated $10 million for it that year. The program received $15 million in 2019 and $9 million earlier this year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

With the recent passage of HB 1105, which created a special $30 million round of funding, the General Assembly has now allocated a total of $64 million through the GREAT program to expand rural broadband.

Overall, the state legislature plans to commit $150 million over the next 10 years to help increases access to rural high-speed broadband. 

Across North Carolina we are already seeing the benefits. In fact, just in 2019, the GREAT program helped provide broadband access to 9,520 households and 580 business and agriculture operations across 18 counties in North Carolina.

This legislative session we also approved a bill that removes regulatory barriers to allow electric cooperatives to use existing fiber network to expand internet service while allowing them to access federal broadband expansion funds and form partnerships to better serve rural areas.

Lastly, we passed legislation to establish a new grant program through the Department of Information Technology to encourage the expansion of satellite-based broadband service in underserved regions.

From jobs and health care to education and public safety, I recognize the critical need for access to high-speed internet and I am proud to support each of these efforts in the General Assembly to close the digital divide for all North Carolinians.

Rep. Chris Humphrey is in his first term representing House District 12, which includes Lenoir and Pitt counties.