Old North News

Warren and Halifax counties will be among the next areas in North Carolina to receive funding for improved broadband service.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis said in a release those areas would be getting a $17.5 million grant, part of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Tillis helped negotiate, to get internet access to broader sections of the state.

“The @usdaRD's $17.5 million grant will go a long way to provide reliable broadband in rural areas necessary for North Carolinians in Warren & Halifax Counties,” Tillis tweeted recently. “I was proud to help negotiate and support the bipartisan infrastructure law to bring this investment to our great state. 

Halifax and Warren counties are included as part of a $759 million deal from the third funding round of the ReConnect Program. The program will also secure broadband for 24 other states, Puerto Rico, Guam and Palau. In North Carolina, this will connect 5,434 people, 100 businesses, 76 farms and 22 educational facilities to high-speed internet, rrspin.com reported.

“People living in rural towns across the nation need high-speed internet to run their businesses, go to school and connect with their loved ones,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, said in that report. “USDA partners with small towns, local utilities and cooperatives, and private companies to increase access to high-speed internet so people in rural America have the opportunity to build brighter futures.”