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2 <br /> Broadband Task Force Members <br /> Doug Noell Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schls. Super. (Designee) <br /> Earl McKee Board of Commissioners- 1 <br /> Erica Bryant County Manager (Designee) <br /> Patricia Hull Orange County Resident-At-Large <br /> Paul Cardillo Orange County Resident-At-Large <br /> Ryan Miller Orange County Schls. Super. (Designee) <br /> Sally Greene Board of Commissioners - 2 <br /> Terri Buckner Orange County Resident-At-Large <br /> Todd Broucksou Orange County Resident-At-Large <br /> Vasu Kilaru Orange County Resident-At-Large <br /> Victoria Deaton Durham Technical Community College Repr. <br /> The American Rescue Plan Act also recognized the necessity of high speed internet connections <br /> throughout the nation and specifically named broadband expansion as one of the eligible uses for <br /> funds distributed to local governments through this program. The Board of Commissioners <br /> originally reserved $5 million of the County's $28.8 million direct allocation from the American <br /> Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to fund a broadband infrastructure design and implementation program. <br /> The Broadband Task Force reviewed different models to deploy broadband technology and chose <br /> to seek alternatives that delivered upload and download speeds of at least 100 mbps, consistent <br /> with the terms of the American Rescue Act Plan. The Task Force designed a request for proposal <br /> (RFP) to seek providers that could meet that standard and serve the County's unserved and <br /> underserved homes. The Task Force also created a detailed scoring matrix and appointed a <br /> member to serve on the evaluation and contract negotiation team. The RFP was issued on <br /> September 13, 2021, with one amendment added on October 11, 2021. <br /> In November 2021 the NC General Assembly expanded County authority to provide grants for the <br /> purpose of accelerating broadband service in unserved areas. As part of the Appropriations Act <br /> (SL 2021-180), state and federal grant funds were now allowed to be used under this authority <br /> (as opposed to only unrestricted general funds previously) and the potential providers expanded <br /> except by limiting any location where a private provider has been designated to receive funds <br /> through State or federally funded programs designed specifically for broadband service <br /> deployment (i.e. the G.R.E.A.T. grant fund). <br /> The County received four proposals from internet service providers in response to the RFP. The <br /> evaluation team scored the proposals and began contract negotiations with North State <br /> Communications Advanced Services, LLC. The information below summarizes the major <br /> provisions contained in the attached contract. <br /> 1. Network and Coverage <br /> North State Communications will engineer, build, operate, and maintain a fiber to the premises <br /> (FTTP) network in Orange County consisting of over 615 miles of fiber that will enable <br /> connections to approximately 9,898 unserved locations. The network's coverage is depicted <br /> on a map in Attachment A. The precise address points served are listed in Attachment B (138 <br /> Page Document Only Available at: www.orangecountync.gov/servicesites). Any address <br /> points that were inadvertently omitted from Attachment B, but are in the coverage area, will be <br /> added to the list of addresses covered automatically. The provider will be responsible for <br />