County manager says broadband grant awarded to Bridal Speed for 1,400+ connections; company to brief commissioners June 2

County Manager Hester informed the board that Johnston County was awarded a state broadband CAB grant selecting Bridal Speed (as named in the meeting) to provide just over 1,400 connections, primarily in southern Johnston County. The county manager characterized broadband as infrastructure and a commission priority and said Bridal Speed (company representative) will present a status update at the June 2 board meeting on both the initial Great Grant project and the newly awarded project.

The manager thanked the county public-information office for issuing a press release and map of the awarded area. He described southern Johnston County as having more dispersed housing patterns, which influenced the location of the grant-funded connections. The manager said the county considers broadband a county infrastructure priority and that the update at the June 2 meeting will include a company representative’s briefing on the project.

No contract, cost breakdown or schedule for construction and service activation was provided in the meeting record. The manager stated the company representative planned to attend the June 2 meeting to update commissioners.