Western North Carolina, a region that has long needed high-speed Internet into its rural and mountainous communities to provide vital information, services, and employment, has placed itself in line for federal stimulus funds for broadband.

 

The largest of these applications is the Education & Research Consortium of Asheville, N.C., which reports Ashvegas, is seeking $38.8 million to “add 72 miles of sustainable middle mile fiber infrastructure in Graham and Buncombe counties supporting anchor institutions, public safety facilities, and government entities. A last mile fiber-to-the-home network to 97 percent of households and businesses in Yancey and Mitchell counties will be combined with a 43-mile middle mile fiber build through McDowell County for redundancy.”

 

Some of the other projects outlined by Ashvegas, include:

 

*          Cherokee Cablevision wants a $2.69 million grant plus $75,000 in a loan to upgrade the CATV at the Cherokee Reservation to all fiber architecture to provide broadband Internet access and enhanced services to residents of the Cherokee Indian Reservation. “Due to the rugged, mountainous terrain of this area, no other broadband service is available on the reservation and the residents therefore only have access to dial-up,” says the application 

 

*          French Broad Electric has put in for a $1.47 million grant for a broadband over power line (BPL) project will utilize the existing power lines and fiber optic cable already in place to provide high speed Internet to the rural areas of Madison County. “Residents will be able to have an affordable, reliable service from their electricity provider,” reports the description

*          The Mitchell County Virtual Learning and Communications Center Program will, if it receives a $239,000 grant supply a broadband-connected public computer center. In collaboration with Mitchell County Public Library and Mayland Community College, the center will provide access to broadband programs and services. These will address, it says, “specific educational and communication needs of displaced workers, farmers, high school dropouts, residents wanting college courses, health care workers, EMS personnel, educators, government officials, and small business persons”

 

 *         The Skyrunner Rutherford County, NC Phase 1 project could go live if an application for approximately $176,000 in grants and loans is approved. This project will provide broadband fixed-wireless Internet access to all residents of Rutherford County who have line-of-sight contact with Skyrunner's proposed network of transmitters

Commenting on the $38 million application, the news site said: “this kind of infrastructure is critical for WNC [Western North Carolina] if we're going to continue to attract high-tech jobs and people who want to live in our mountains and who want to work, shop or network online. Critical.”