HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - 06-20-2023; 12-4 - Information Item - Memorandum - Orange County Lumos Broadband Project 1
ORANGE COUNTY
NORTH CAROLINA
MEMORANDUM
DATE: June 20, 2023
TO: Orange County Board of County Commissioners
Bonnie Hammersley, Orange County Manager
Travis Myren, Orange County Deputy Manager
FROM: Todd McGee, Community Relations Director
RE: Orange County/Lumos Broadband Project
Orange County and Lumos Fiber (formerly known as NorthState) entered into a public-
private partnership in April 2022 to bring ultra-high-speed fiber internet service to
approximately 28,000 homes and businesses in Orange County, including nearly 6,400
locations that previously had little or no internet service. The project, one of the largest
fiber infrastructure public-private partnerships in N.C.'s history, is made possible by
significant investments from Lumos and Orange County.
Orange County is using $10 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to
provide fiber service to 6,370 addresses in unserved and underserved areas. Lumos'
own investment expands the project and will result in access to best-in-class fiber
technology and a competitive choice for fiber service for the additional 21,000 Orange
County homes and businesses.
As part of its partnership with Orange County, Lumos will also provide fiber internet
service to approximately two dozen county-owned anchor institutions, including fire
stations, EMS and community centers.
Lumos' product offering in Orange County will offer speeds up to 2000 Mbps x 2000
Mbps — equating to 154x faster uploads and 12x faster downloads than traditional
cable. Residents in the expansion areas will receive communications by mail before
construction begins and again when the service is available to order.
Under the terms of the agreement, Lumos will offer a low-cost service with a minimum
speed of 100 Mbps symmetrical for no more than $30 per month, prior to any federal or
state subsidies available, until at least two years from the date construction is
completed. Consistent with the terms of the American Rescue Plan Act, Lumos must
also participate in the Federal Communications Commission' s Affordable Connectivity
Program as long as it is available.
The project is scheduled to be completed in six phases. Lumos has released detailed
maps showing the first five phases. These are available on the county website and
included in this memorandum.
The first phase of the project was scheduled to be finished by June 30. Due to
unforeseen circumstances with permitting and construction, Lumos has made the
following schedule adjustment. Approximately 320 addresses in Phase 1 are expected
2
to be completed by July 31 with the remaining Phase 1 addresses to be completed
during the third quarter of 2023. Lumos expects to have fiber built to approximately
3,200 of the unserved homes in the Orange County contract by the end of the year,
putting future phases on, or ahead, of schedule. The entire project is expected to be
complete by Dec. 31, 2024.
Orange County provides current information about the status of the project on its
website at https://www.oran eq countync.gov/2924/LumosARPA-Broadband-Project.
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