Carroll County announces $5,005,000 grant to bring fiber to roughly 1,800 homes

Carroll County officials announced that Citizens Telephone Cooperative has received a $5,005,000 rural development grant to deploy fiber broadband to approximately 1,800 homes and 22 businesses in parts of the county.

County Administrator Watson told the board that the grant targets roughly the Laurel Fork and Duxbury areas and that staff will work with the cooperative to narrow exact locations and schedules. "Citizens telephone cooperative received the announcement official announcement for a $5,005,000 grant to provide fiber to approximately 1,800 homes and 22 businesses in Carroll County," Watson said.

Watson also said the county plans to leverage an earlier Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant of a little over $1 million that will serve about 400 homes in the Pipe of Gap area. He cautioned that details remain to be finalized: specific addresses and construction timing have not been set and will depend on follow-up work between the county and the cooperative.

Board members described the news as an important step to expand service in rural parts of Carroll County. Supervisor Moore told colleagues the award will bring the county "closer to where we need to be" on broadband access. County staff did not provide a construction start date during the meeting.

Next steps identified by staff include mapping the grant‑funded locations, finalizing agreements with Citizens Telephone Cooperative, and coordinating public notices; additional approvals or contract actions were not listed in the meeting record.