One of the biggest challenges to working, and even conducting some basic modern home functions, in Cherokee County has been the lack of broadband high-speed internet service in many of the more rural areas. We’re happy to report that a solution may be floating in the skies above us soon.
That’s because Space Exploration Technologies Corp., better known as ultra-rich guy Elon Musk’s SpaceX, received $17.4 million in federal grant money to supply broadband service to 19,552 locations across the state. As part of that, $2,864,363 was awarded to serve 3,229 locations in Cherokee County, which works out to about $887 each – much less than what some providers have been charging local residents to get online.
While the grant money is coming through the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, which is administered by the Federal Communications Commission, state Sen. Kevin Corbin (R-Franklin) deserves credit for helping get the ball rolling on broadband in Raleigh. He and others worked hard to ensure that rural areas with the worst internet service in North Carolina came first.