Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
County staff recommend '5' proposal as preferred for CAP/CAB broadband award; NCDIT confirmation pending
Loading...
Summary
Halifax County staff and NCDIT reviewers recommended the proposal referred to in meeting materials as “5” as the preferred award under the state’s CAP/CAB process; the proposal would serve 2,613 locations and provide 100 Mbps symmetrical service options starting at $60 per month. County staff said final award requires state confirmation.
County staff told the Halifax County Board of Commissioners during a briefing that a single proposal in the county’s Competitive Access/Community Anchor Broadband (CAP/CAB) review ranked highest and is their recommended preference for a state grant award, though the county said official confirmation from the North Carolina Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) was still pending.
Staff said three CAP/CAB proposals were reviewed with NCDIT: submissions identified in the packet as BrightView, Charter Spectrum and the bidder described in materials and discussion as “5.” Staff and NCDIT concluded the “5” proposal scored highest primarily on three factors: number of locations served, average cost per location and consumer pricing for high‑speed service.
According to staff presentation, the “5” proposal would serve 2,613 locations (2,194 households, 418 businesses and one community anchor institution), cost about $1,204 per location to serve and has a total project cost of approximately $3,243,879. Staff reported the bidder would offer 100 Mbps symmetrical service for $60 per month and a 2 Gbps symmetrical tier for $80 a month; the presenter noted the vendor said it would provide in‑house subsidy programs for qualifying customers.
County staff emphasized the recommendation did not constitute a final award: NCDIT must confirm the selection and the county expects formal notice before any contract or county commitments are final. Commissioners asked staff to schedule ISP presentations in July so the board can hear directly from providers and to run community meetings in places like Hollister and Tillery to explain build timing and availability.
Staff also updated the board on two other projects: a USDA ReConnect award (a federally funded project) in the Hollister area delivered by AccessOn, and a separate BrightSpeed (and related) project serving other parts of the county. Staff said those projects and the CAB award together could raise the county’s served locations to the low‑ to mid‑90s percentage of currently unserved locations, though no county has yet reported 100% coverage under these programs.
Commissioners did not take a binding vote on the CAB recommendation at the meeting; staff said they would return with follow‑up details and mapping once NCDIT confirms awards.
