Stimulus funds could spur local broadband access

The availability of wireless Internet access for remote areas of Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties — as well as much of coastal North Carolina — could become a benefit of federal stimulus money.

At least 41 private companies have filed applications to serve North Carolina with federal stimulus money designated to expand broadband or wireless Internet or phone service access and some of them would serve Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties.

About 200 companies across the country are looking for part of the $7.9 billion in federal stimulus money expected to be allocated in two or three rounds, with the first expected in October.

One of them, California-based Cleartalk, has applied to serve a 38-county coastal area including Craven, Pamlico and Jones counties that would provide competitively-priced broadband and wireless for a 19,625-square-mile area.

Matthew Merritt of Cleartalk was scheduled to meet with Rep. G.K. Butterfield’s staff on Monday as part of that company’s effort to get $48 million in 50-50 loan-grant federal stimulus money to build a 3G wireless network. It would deliver mobile broadband service with download speeds in excess of 2.5 megabytes per second and upload speeds of 700 kilobytes per second. It will also be able to accommodate future technologies with download speeds up to 50 Mbps.

There are dead spots for wireless in Craven County around Harlowe, northwest of Vanceboro and west of Fort Barnwell, in Pamlico County east of Bayboro, and much of Jones County.

“There are still places in Craven County that don’t have access to broadband,” said Dennis Holton, Craven County information technology director. “Cove City can’t get DSL and we just got high speed in parts of Pamlico.”

He said the coastal region includes a lot of counties with low-tier economy ratings and could be in a good position to help the right company qualify for federal stimulus aid.

Holton led Craven County’s now-completed effort to provide high speed Internet to all county schools and Craven Community College by installing a fiber network that joined with area municipalities’ to limit cost.

He has just been named to serve on the N.C. Broadband Technology Opportunities Committee that will review the applications from companies including Cleartalk and assess their credibility and viability for endorsement by the state.

Merritt said, “In the last 10 years, NTCH-Cleartalk built networks in Colorado, Idaho, Arizona, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Texas.”

He said the company’s plan would offer mobile broadband for $35 a month, about 64 percent less than the national average, and affordable voice service. It includes a 25 percent discount to critical community facilities such as hospitals, schools and libraries.

In the case of Craven, Merritt said, the company’s proposal would ask to use some of the county-wide fiber optic network in place to keep costs down.

Holton said there is capacity that could be used by a private company without compromising transmission security, but using it would require approval from Craven County and the municipalities presently networked.

Merritt said the company’s proposal has the support of several “several prominent North Carolinians” including U.S. senators Kay Hagan and Richard Burr, and U.S. representatives Butterfield and Mike McIntyre, N.C. Library Association president-elect Wanda Brown, and Elizabeth City State University Chancellor Willie J. Gilchrist.

But Merritt said the application also needs public support to win approval. The company has an online petition at ConnectTheCoast.com.

Sue Book can be reached at 252-635-5666 or sbook@freedomenc.com.