Agenda - 06-20-2023; 12-4 - Information Item - Memorandum - Orange County Lumos Broadband Project

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1 ORANGE COUNTY NORTH CAROLINA MEMORANDUM DATE: June 20, 2023 TO: Orange County Board of County Commissioners Bonnie Hammersley, Orange County Manager Travis Myren, Orange County Deputy Manager FROM: Todd McGee, Community Relations Director RE: Orange County/Lumos Broadband Project Orange County and Lumos Fiber (formerly known as NorthState) entered into a public- private partnership in April 2022 to bring ultra-high-speed fiber internet service to approximately 28,000 homes and businesses in Orange County, including nearly 6,400 locations that previously had little or no internet service. The project, one of the largest fiber infrastructure public-private partnerships in N.C.'s history, is made possible by significant investments from Lumos and Orange County. Orange County is using $10 million in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to provide fiber service to 6,370 addresses in unserved and underserved areas. Lumos' own investment expands the project and will result in access to best-in-class fiber technology and a competitive choice for fiber service for the additional 21,000 Orange County homes and businesses. As part of its partnership with Orange County, Lumos will also provide fiber internet service to approximately two dozen county-owned anchor institutions, including fire stations, EMS and community centers. Lumos' product offering in Orange County will offer speeds up to 2000 Mbps x 2000 Mbps — equating to 154x faster uploads and 12x faster downloads than traditional cable. Residents in the expansion areas will receive communications by mail before construction begins and again when the service is available to order. Under the terms of the agreement, Lumos will offer a low-cost service with a minimum speed of 100 Mbps symmetrical for no more than $30 per month, prior to any federal or state subsidies available, until at least two years from the date construction is completed. Consistent with the terms of the American Rescue Plan Act, Lumos must also participate in the Federal Communications Commission' s Affordable Connectivity Program as long as it is available. The project is scheduled to be completed in six phases. Lumos has released detailed maps showing the first five phases. These are available on the county website and included in this memorandum. The first phase of the project was scheduled to be finished by June 30. Due to unforeseen circumstances with permitting and construction, Lumos has made the following schedule adjustment. Approximately 320 addresses in Phase 1 are expected