Mid-Atlantic provider Lumos this week turned up service in Burlington, North Carolina, claiming it will be the first fiber provider for many of the city’s residents.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the launch, Asad Ramzanali, Chief of Staff for the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, commended Lumos for its expansion across North Carolina.
“Today we're thrilled to see Lumos invest in expanding internet access to almost 40,000 people in Alamance County; that means 40,000 children who can more easily complete homework or 40,000 more patients who can access telehealth appointments,” said Ramzanali at the event.
For Lumos’ part, CEO Brian Stading stated the Burlington launch “represents our ongoing commitment to bridge the digital divide” and the operator will look forward “to working with our federal, state, and local partners to continue this expansion in the months and years to come.”
Lumos serves more than 225,000 locations across North Carolina and Virginia. It’s also undertaking fiber builds in Columbia, S.C., and South Carolina’s Spartanburg County.
Earlier this month, Lumos scored three grants to expand in North Carolina’s Durham, Guilford and Wayne counties. Lumos’ awards were part of the state’s new $80 million funding round.
North Carolina received $1.53 billion in Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding – one of the highest allocations after states like Texas, California, Missouri and Michigan.
“Today we celebrate Lumos and the work that their team is doing to help expand high-speed internet access in Alamance County and across the state,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Wednesday. “Together, we can ensure that every North Carolinian has the tools they need to succeed in our increasingly digital society.”
The state is also seeing activity in the fiber manufacturing space. Corning in March launched a new fiber optics plant in Hickory, North Carolina, which the vendor said will add hundreds of jobs to the state workforce. CommScope is using its two North Carolina facilities to increase production of its HeliARC fiber cable.