Company works to provide high-speed internet across county
By Steve Herring
Published in News on March 23, 2018 5:50 AM
The company that is working to provide wireless internet service across Wayne County will eventually offer gigabit speed in Goldsboro.
"Gigabit speed is a thousand megabits per second. It is as fast as what Google Fiber is doing in the Triangle," said Alan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Open Broadband.
Fitzpatrick briefed Wayne County commissioners during their Tuesday morning meeting on bringing broadband to undeserved areas in the county.
The availability of gigabit speed is big news, Commissioner Joe Daughtery said.
"Having ultra-fast internet can be a very big deal," Fitzpatrick said. "Communities that lack the access are going to miss out on economic opportunities. Businesses that need high-speed internet might just bypass the county entirely.
"People may move out of the county because they can't get fast internet speed."
Education also benefits from broadband, he said.
Agriculture is another big need, Fitzpatrick said.
"Look at the farms today, they are so high-tech," he said. "A lot of data is collected, the artificial intelligence that is starting to be used to determine when to plant your seeds, how much pesticide to put on, moisture control."
Also some tractors use GPS location technology.
"We are really looking address the concerns that were raised in a survey the county conducted on internet speed," Fitzpatrick said.
The survey turned up three needs, the first being broadband availability in areas where broadband is not available today, he said.
The FCC defines broadband as 25 megabits download speed as a minimum.
The second was producing higher speed -- higher than 25 megabits even -- and the third was affordability.
The company is currently working along the N.C. 55 corridor from Seven Springs to Grantham.
Antennas are being placed on water towers and smaller receivers at the home of customers.
"We have gotten a lot of interest in the community," he said. "There is a strong need particularly as you get outside of Goldsboro. Goldsboro overall itself has good internet speeds for the most part."
There had been some initial concern about the Seven Springs area and the number of residents who might be interested, he said.
However, there has been a lot of interest from that area over to Mount Olive, he said.
The Grantham area has been particularly interested as well, he said.
More than 30 people in Grantham already have signed up, and the service is not even live there yet, he said.
"So we are sort of starting with the southern end of the county," Fitzpatrick said. "After we get everything installed we do eventually plan to cover the rest of the county."
Customers can purchase the equipment upfront at a cost of $150 or lease it for $10 a month. Under a lease the company is responsible for the equipment.
The cost of the internet service will start at $30 per month.
The gigabit speed will be $350 month and is really designed for businesses, Fitzpatrick said.