WKRK 105.5 FM 1320 AM
  • Home
  • News
  • Weather
  • Closings & Traffic
  • Missing Pets
  • Shop Local
  • Contact Us

BRMEMC Receives GREAT Grant Funding to Expand Broadband

1/28/2021

 
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC (BRMEMC) was recently awarded $1.3 million in funding through the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program as part of Gov. Roy Cooper’s $30 million initiative to expand internet access to rural areas. BRMEMC officially signed the grant agreement on Wednesday, Jan. 27.

Funds from this grant will be used to expand BRMEMC’s fiber optic network in the Pine Log area of Clay County in North Carolina. This includes Pine Log Road, Pine Log Church Road, Greasy Creek Road, Trout Cove Road, Beach Cove Road, a portion of Old Hwy 64 and additional secondary roads within the surrounding area. At project completion approximately 600 residents will have access to BRMEMC’s fiber optic internet service.
Picture
According to the grant agreement this project must be completed within two years. BRMEMC will begin the planning and design of the project on Feb. 1 and the build out will begin a few months later. The project will be done in phases so that residents can sign up for service as portions of the project gets completed.
“We are very excited to be awarded funding through the GREAT Grant program to get broadband to an underserved area like Pine Log. This will help us to continue closing the gap in our fiber optic network and get folks in our service territory the reliable high-speed internet service they need,” said Manager of Broadband Services Alex King.

BRMEMC did apply for a large area in Cherokee County, North Carolina, but did not receive grant funding for that area.

In 2020, BRMEMC completed 18 broadband expansion projects throughout its service territory in Georgia and North Carolina; and now serves over 10,000 broadband customers. These expansions brought the Co-op’s fiber network to 1,600 miles of fiber lines. 

For more on Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, visit brmemc.com or follow BRMEMC on social media.
​
About Blue Ridge Mountain EMC
Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned electric cooperative headquartered in Young Harris, Georgia, serving over 53,000 member-customers in Cherokee and Clay Counties in Western North Carolina, and Towns, Union and Fannin Counties in Northeast Georgia.  Organized locally in 1937, BRMEMC has invested well over $270 million in physical infrastructure in its mission to provide reliable electric and broadband services to its members where those services would not otherwise have been available. Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
Feel free to share any post from the WKRK website that you feel is beneficial to your community. We encourage input from local law enforcement, government officials, emergency management officials, schools and other public service organizations. To send us information, use the form on our Contact Us page.

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    October 2022
    September 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015


    RSS Feed

  • Home
  • News
  • Weather
  • Closings & Traffic
  • Missing Pets
  • Shop Local
  • Contact Us