FOCUS Broadband

FOCUS Broadband has announced that high-speed internet service is now available to more than 7,000 addresses in Chowan and Perquimans counties (NC), with additional addresses coming soon. Residents and businesses in rural areas of both counties may now take advantage of fiber optic broadband service with speeds up to 5 Gig, enabling them to work and learn remotely, access telehealth services, and more.

FOCUS Broadband announced that nearly 4,000 addresses in Chowan and Perquimans (NC) counties now have access to fiber optic high-speed internet with speeds of up to 5 Gbps, thanks to two North Carolina Department of Information Technology Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology Grants totaling $8 million. These grants, awarded to FOCUS Broadband in late 2022, have already connected over 1,200 homes and businesses. Work is currently underway with substantial progress having already been made on two additional projects in Chowan and Perquimans counties.

The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Equity (NCDIT) has announced that FOCUS Broadband is a recipient of two Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) program awards. The $5.4 million in awarded CAB funding will allow FOCUS Broadband to extend their fiber optic network in both Chowan and Perquimans counties, bringing high-speed internet to an additional 800 rural homes and businesses.

FOCUS Broadband is accepting orders for high-speed internet service in the first phases of their Perquimans County (NC) broadband project. In 2022, FOCUS Broadband partnered with Perquimans County government to apply for a grant through the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant Program.

FOCUS Broadband completed its Faster Bladen broadband project, making high-speed internet service available for over 700 residents and businesses living near Tar Heel and along portions of North Carolina Highway 701 between Clarkton and Elizabethtown. This project was made possible using $2.9 million in funds awarded to FOCUS Broadband in 2022 from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program.

FOCUS Broadband announced the completion of its ReConnect Grant in Columbus County (NC). With the project’s completion, more than 2,750 homes and businesses in rural parts of the county surrounding Tabor City, Hallsboro, Bolton, Lake Waccamaw, and areas north of Whiteville now have access to high-speed fiber optic internet services. This project was made possible through a $7.9 million ReConnect grant awarded to the company by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in December of 2019.

FOCUS Broadband has completed work to bring fiber optic high-speed internet to rural communities near Magnolia, Rose Hill, and Teachey (NC). These projects were made possible through two grants totaling more than $2.5 million dollars awarded in 2020 through North Carolina's Growing Rural Economies through Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant Program as well as the Special Supplementary Round of the GREAT Grant Program. FOCUS Broadband contributed more than $1 million dollars in matching funds to bring service to these rural areas in Duplin County.