"We appreciate the Rural Internet Access Authority's support of this project, which will provide a major economic boost for Eastern North Carolina," said Cliff Copeland, chairman of the the Albemarle-Pamlico Economic Development Corp. (APEC) fiber committee. "The fiber backbone will result in aggregated demand, lower costs and greater access to affordable high-speed Internet service to improve the quality of life for the average citizen in this part of our state."
Also providing funding for the project are EMC Fiber LLC, the N.C. Research Education Network, the University Health Systems of Eastern Carolina and the Golden Leaf Foundation.
Construction of the fiber project began last fall and is scheduled for completion in spring 2004.