Robeson County, NC – FOCUS Broadband announced this week that their fiber optic internet service is now available to more than 2,700 homes and businesses in Robeson County near the communities of Proctorville, Orrum, Marietta, Five Forks and Fairmont. These projects were made possible through two grants totaling more than $4 million dollars awarded in 2020 through the Growing Rural Economies through Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant Program as well as the Special Supplementary Round of the GREAT Grant Program. 

FOCUS Broadband has also invested more than $1.5 million dollars in matching funds to bring service to these rural communities. With the completion of these grants, residents and businesses in these areas can now enjoy the benefits of fiber optic internet with speeds up to 1Gig.

“Receiving these broadband grants through the GREAT Grant program has allowed us to bring critical connectivity to these rural areas in Robeson County,” commented Keith Holden, FOCUS Broadband CEO. “We know that our fiber optic service will bring a wealth of opportunities for residents and businesses here, and we are thankful to Governor Cooper and NC DIT for continuing to make rural broadband a priority through the NC GREAT Grant Program.”

FOCUS Broadband has been working to bring fiber optic service to customers in Robeson County over the last three years. In December of 2021, FOCUS Broadband won a $2.9 million dollar USDA Community Connect grant to bring high-speed internet to the communities of Barker Ten Mile, Howellsville and Tolarsville. Service is now available to many in these areas, and as part of that project, FOCUS Broadband opened a community center equipped with computers, printers, and wi-fi access at the Barker Ten Mile Community Center. In August of 2022, the company won an additional $4 million GREAT grant for Robeson County that will allow it to expand high-speed internet service to more than 1,800 addresses near the communities of Parkton and Lumber Bridge and construction is now underway in these areas. Last September, FOCUS Broadband announced a $24.6 million dollar USDA ReConnect grant to serve Robeson and Scotland counties. These funds will be used to bring fiber optic, high-speed internet to more than 4,000 homes in rural, underserved communities between Rowland, Raemon and Maxton and areas along Singletary Church Road in Robeson County. Funds for this project were only recently released and design work is underway with construction expected to begin in August.

FOCUS Broadband has been serving rural North Carolinians for more than 65 years and has a great track record of using grant funds to provide high-speed internet to rural areas. Since 2019, FOCUS Broadband has secured more than $120 million from four federal grants through the USDA’s ReConnect Broadband and Community Connect Programs and 16 state grants through the NCDIT’s Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grant program. With these grants, FOCUS Broadband is building a fiber optic network capable of providing multi-gigabit broadband internet to more than 35,000 homes and businesses in Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin, Robeson, Pender, Hoke, Scotland, Bladen, Chowan, and Perquimans counties.

To find out where FOCUS Broadband service is available in Robeson County, visit www.fasterrobeson.com. Residents and businesses interested in signing up for FOCUS Broadband service can call 888-367-2862 to speak to a customer care representative.