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27 <br /> 1 The first benchmark of passing 3,000 homes was also achieved which triggered the second <br /> 2 benchmark payment of $3 million. Releasing the final benchmark payment of $6 million is <br /> 3 contingent on the company passing all 6,370 homes as detailed in the agreement. The original <br /> 4 deadline to serve these homes was December 31, 2024. <br /> 5 <br /> 6 During spring 2024, Lumos began experiencing delays due to construction and budget issues, <br /> 7 and much of the construction activity on the project slowed considerably. Those issues were <br /> 8 resolved, and construction resumed in earnest in late summer 2024. However, those delays did <br /> 9 have an impact on the overall project schedule. Under the original agreement, all 6,370 <br /> 10 unserved and underserved homes identified were to have service available by December 31, <br /> 11 2024. The delays experienced in the spring have pushed final project completion into 2025. <br /> 12 This amendment establishes a new deadline of December 31, 2025 to serve all homes <br /> 13 identified in the original agreement and to receive the final benchmark payment of$6 million. <br /> 14 <br /> 15 The County has complied with the first ARPA deadline by committing ARPA funding through the <br /> 16 contract with Lumos by December 31, 2024. The final deadline to spend the ARPA funding is <br /> 17 December 31, 2026, so this contract amendment does not jeopardize the availability of ARPA <br /> 18 funding. <br /> 19 <br /> 20 To date, Lumos has installed 407.5 route miles of fiber in Orange County. This network is <br /> 21 available to 13,964 total homes including 3,236 previously unserved and underserved homes <br /> 22 contained in the agreement. Lumos expects an additional 900 unserved and underserved <br /> 23 homes will be added in December 2024, an additional 750 homes will be added in the first <br /> 24 quarter of 2025, and the final 1,484 contracted homes are expected to have service available <br /> 25 upon successful completion of the project by December 2025. <br /> 26 <br /> 27 The original Lumos project did not reach all of the unserved and underserved homes in the <br /> 28 County. These areas have been referred to as doughnut holes where approximately 600 <br /> 29 unserved and underserved homes are located. The County has consulted with the North <br /> 30 Carolina Division of Broadband and Digital Equity, and the most likely funding solution to serve <br /> 31 those homes will be through the Broadband Equity and Deployment (BEAD) Program which has <br /> 32 the goal of reaching 100% of unserved and underserved homes. The funding process for the <br /> 33 BEAD program is expected to begin in Fall of 2025. County staff will provide updates as more <br /> 34 details become available. <br /> 35 <br /> 36 Robert Reynolds, Chief Information Officer, reviewed the background information for the <br /> 37 item and made the following presentation: <br /> 38 <br /> 39 Slide #1 <br /> Lumos <br /> Broadband <br /> Project <br /> ORANGE COUNTY <br /> NOW114 CAROLINA I <br /> 40 <br />