SALISBURY — Making high-speed broadband internet available to everybody in the state, regardless of how rural their area is, has seen large investments by the state government in the past few years. Rowan County, particularly the western and eastern reaches, has been one of the beneficiaries of those grants and programs, with Rowan County Chief Information Officer Randy Cress giving an update to the county commissioners on Tuesday.

Cress’ update covered the progress made by the various programs in Rowan County since October of 2023, which he said was the last update he provided to the commissioners.

The first program that Cress covered was the Rural Digital Opportunities Fund, which is a federal grant given to Charter Spectrum, which has allowed for over 1,200 households to be “passed” by broadband, meaning that the properties can access the cable. Cress noted that Charter Spectrum had until 2028 to finish the project, but that representatives indicated to him they would be finished by the beginning of 2026.

The Growing Rural Economic with Access to Technology grant came second, with Cress saying that $4.5 million out of the program’s total $350 million was committed to improving broadband access in Rowan County. Rowan County also committed a $100,000 contribution to the GREAT project, which will be payable upon completion. Charter Spectrum, who was the recipient of the GREAT funding in September of 2023, has stated that the project will bring access to 758 households and 11 businesses in the far reaches of western and eastern Rowan. As of Tuesday, the company had passed 683 of those households.

For upcoming funding and project opportunities, Cress said that the county will receive approximately $3.3 million from the state for the Completing Access to Broadband program out of the program’s total $400 million. Final responses for interested contractors, a list of which has been preapproved, are due on Feb. 17. The project originally would require a 35 percent local match, but that has since been scrapped and the county would not be required to commit any funds.

Cress said that the federal government has also begun a relatively new program titled Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment, which will provide $1.5 billion in funding to North Carolina. That program would likely be utilized by the county to fill in areas that still did not have adequate access to broadband after the aforementioned projects were completed.

“I told (the commissioners) in 2023 that it was going to take quite a few million dollars at the current rate of $4,000 to $5,000 per house per passing. The money is there, it’s just a process and takes time,” said Cress.

To answer Vice-Chairman Jim Greene’s question about what exactly these projects entailed, Cress said that the companies were laying fiber-optic or coaxial cables that would be able to provide the “truly high-speed (connection) that you’re going to need for multi-home or multi-family (developments).”