CHARLOTTE – Charter Communications, which offers internet and related services through its Spectrum brand, says it will expand its high-speed internet footprint to about 128,000 homes and small businesses where broadband is not available as part of a multi-year US project $ 442 million. This is a large part of the approximately 200,000 households in the state that do not have access to broadband.
The federal government, through the FCC, will provide $ 142 million as part of the FCC’s Digital Rural Opportunity plan.
Charter says its offering over an expanded fiber optic network will have speeds up to gigabit – much faster than traditional cable offerings. The company’s footprint already covers much of the state, including the Triangle and Charlotte, with interent offers between 200-940 megabits per second. Plans under the expanded program will start at 200 mgps. The company has six years to complete the project.
“Most of our network is already fiber optic,” a Charter spokesman told WRAL TechWire. “We don’t have an estimated number of [additional] miles to share now. “
About 5% of North Carolina households do not have access to broadband, according to the North Carolina Broadband Infrastructure Office.
Several other companies, such as Windstream and CenturyLink, will also expand broadband services across the state, but the Charter program is by far the largest, based on figures provided by the FCC. About 27,000 other locations are included.
The federal program provided US $ 9.2 billion to providers covering 5.2 million locations.
“Preparation for building RDOF Phase I broadband has started and will include expanding its existing construction organization to focus on the deployment of this new fiber optic network,” said the company.
According to Charter, its program will reach 83 of the 100 municipalities in the state, including 12 not currently served by the company, and 83% of locations in areas selected for the FCC plan. The service will be expanded in 67 rural municipalities.
Half of the sites to be reached are located in 38 of the state’s 40 “most economically stricken counties”, Spectrum noted.
“The pandemic has highlighted the need for broadband availability and adoption and Charter is committed to continuing its efforts as part of the comprehensive solution needed to address these challenges and positively impact the local communities we serve,” said Tom Rutledge, President and CEO of Charter Comunicações, in a statement. “As Americans across the country increasingly rely on broadband to work, learn, access health care and keep in touch with family and loved ones, taking broadband access to more unattended areas should be a priority. for all interested parties.
The federal program targets about 1 million families and small businesses in 24 states where the broadband service defined as a 25 megabit download / 3 megabit upload is not available.
However, Charter warned that the project’s implementation could be hampered by issues such as the permission required to use poles.
“With fewer homes and businesses in these areas, broadband providers need to access multiple posts for each new home served, as opposed to multiple homes per post in high-density environments,” said the company. “As a result, pole applications, pole replacement rules and their affiliate problem-solving processes are factors that can have a significant impact on the time it takes to complete projects in these rural areas.”
Charter’s CEO noted: “We look forward to working with local municipalities, electrical cooperatives and public utility concessionaires owned by investors to ensure that licenses are obtained in a timely, fair and economical manner.”
Charter says the service will have no data limits or modem fees. WiFi will be included at home and customers can also choose to add access to the Spectrum cordless phone, said the Charter spokesman.
The company is investing about $ 5 billion in expanding its network of 41 states, with the federal government covering more than $ 1 billion in costs. The expectation is to hire more than 2,000 workers and contractors for the project.
Charter employs approximately 11,000 people in North Carolina.