Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Broadband topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Martin County commissioners make broadband a top legislative priority
Summary
Commissioners prioritized expanding broadband access at a Jan. 26 special meeting, hearing that CenturyLink has limited investment in rural fiber, that Cloudwyze cannot reach some bid areas, and that roughly 15 miles of new fiber would be required in one eastern corridor to connect underserved households.
Martin County commissioners on Jan. 26 agreed to make expanded broadband access a leading request for the county’s legislative advocacy, while also calling for regional coordination and private-sector engagement to reach rural residents.
Chairman Ronnie Smith opened the discussion saying broadband was a top priority for Martin County and for North Carolina officials. Commissioner David “Skip” Gurganus presented a multi-year timeline of unsuccessful efforts to bring reliable service to rural areas and said local technical constraints remain: CenturyLink has moved away from maintaining copper DSL and is investing in fiber only where it sees a sufficient return; Mediacom serves limited portions of the county; and smaller ISPs cannot serve many unserved households because the county’s fiber backbone ends before reaching those areas. Gurganus said he mapped CenturyLink equipment in the eastern part of the county and estimated “it would take about 15 miles of fiber” to extend reach to some underserved communities.
Gurganus outlined short- and long-term steps the board could pursue: compile customer complaints and outage histories for CenturyLink and the Federal Communications Commission, press potential new entrants that have bid on FCC rural subsidies, extend county-accessible fiber to a connection point where smaller ISPs could deliver last-mile service, and explore wireless or satellite solutions offered by carriers such as AT&T for households that can pay for higher-cost service.
Commissioner Emily Biggs and Sheriff Tim Manning framed broadband as part of broader community needs. Biggs urged greater school funding and said many students in places such as Jamesville had struggled with virtual learning because of unreliable internet. Manning tied broadband to public-safety work and noted the county currently has nine school resource officers, including ones at Martin Community College, that support school safety and community policing efforts.
Chairman Smith said the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) will continue to press for broadband at the state level and suggested outreach to neighboring counties (Pitt, Washington and others) to coordinate regional solutions and leverage potential funding or vendor interest. Commissioner Gurganus also said a federal FCC bidding process for rural service areas may determine which provider ultimately serves portions of the county; he urged the board to monitor that process and to assemble documentation to support requests to providers and regulators.
No formal board action was taken specifically to award funding or enter a contract for broadband at the meeting; commissioners directed staff to continue outreach, gather evidence of outages and coverage gaps, and pursue regional collaboration. The board noted that any practical fiber-extension option could take several years and that interim technologies—wireless, satellite or limited commercial offerings—may provide partial relief sooner.
