(TNS) — Residents tried but failed Tuesday night to hold Orange County and its wireless broadband partner accountable for a 2022 promise to deliver higher internet speeds to every rural home without reliable service.
“As the stewards of our public utility, I would ask you to look at this very carefully and not make any precipitous decisions, but really hold any potential providers’ feet to the fire,” county resident Ken Bradley said.
The commissioners debated a few options Tuesday, before voting 5-2 to amend the $10 million contract with Lumos Fiber. The new, $9.2 million deal gives Lumos until Dec. 1, 2026, to extend broadband service to 579 more customers, for a total of 5,852 homes. About 600 homes would still lack reliable internet service.
Commissioner Earl McKee called the removal of several hundred homes an equity issue before voting with Commissioners Vice Chair Jean Hamilton to reject the amended contract.
Families without reliable broadband internet struggle to keep up in a digital world, often traveling to parking lots, coffee shops and other public places to work and complete classroom assignments. The issue came to a head during the COVID shutdown.
Commissioner Amy Fowler defended Tuesday’s decision, saying the commissioners worry the company might walk away at this point. The county’s options are limited, because it can’t seek other grants when a grant is already in place, she noted.
“I am willing to say yes to [the contract] as structured, as frustrating as that is to many of you out there, because I am trying to get broadband to as many people as we possibly can and make it clear who is not included,” so the county can find other money to serve those homes, Fowler said.
Commissioner Sally Greene urged residents to press the legislature to change in state law, so local governments can provide internet service or contract with a broadband provider.
“The free market does not want [broadband] to be” a regulated utility, Greene said. “It is a shame. It should be regulated. It should be available to everyone, just like electricity and telephones.”
Project hit delays, additional costs
Lumos officials blamed weather delays and unforeseen bedrock issues for not being able to meet the original Dec. 31, 2025, deadline. The $48 million project has also run over budget, adding $18 million to $20 million to the estimated cost, they said.
Work was delayed for several months last year, followed by a two-month delay this summer. In April, T-Mobile and the investment company EQT acquired Lumos Fiber for $1.45 billion.
The county’s contract is now worth $9.2 million to Lumos, or about $1,572 per home. The county has paid $4 million for previous work and plans to pay the rest in three installments, each contingent on Lumos extending its network to a set number of homes.
The money — from the federal American Rescue Plan Act — must be spent by Dec. 31, 2026 or returned to the federal government. It cannot be used for another purpose.
“I think we should continue with what’s provided here so that they can get to work and not waste more time,” Commissioners Chair Jamezetta Bedford said.
McKee, however, continued to challenge a Lumos official to explain how the company chose the homes to exclude, suggesting the delays were “a ploy to force an amendment.”
The decision was based on “where we thought we could get the most bang for our buck,” replied Andrew Stevenson, Lumos director of market development. It also boils down to the cost overruns, he said under further questioning.
McKee noted T-Mobile’s almost $52 billion in profits last year and $81 billion in revenues. The additional cost, he said, “is nothing more than pocket change.”
He unsuccessfully tried to get the board interested in offering a $3 million bonus if Lumos completed all the work by the 2026 deadline, before suggesting the county return the money and use local dollars to find an internet provider who can finish the job.
“We are dealing with a company that, because their margin didn’t hit what they wanted, decided to be a bully, and their tactic was to stop working,” McKee said. “If they had continued working through the spring of 2025, they would have over 600 of these homes done, and that is offensive to me, and should be offensive to this board.”
Residents frustrated, fear no progress
Several county residents who spoke also dismissed the project’s challenges as poor planning on the part of Lumos. Robin Mulkey said she doesn’t “have any faith at all” that Lumos will finish the work, even with more time.
“Get the project moving so we don’t run out of time or that money runs out,” Mulkey told the board. “You vote against this amendment, then you show us that rural Orange County does matter to you. You vote for T-Mobile, you show us we don’t matter at all. It’s that simple.”
Jack Vest, who lives on Dairyland Road, about five miles west of Carrboro, called the decision to amend the contract unfair.
His dial-up service barely hits 6 Mbps when downloading and uploads at speeds that are “a ridiculous 1/10th of that,” Vest said, but “only if it doesn’t rain and short out the break in the cable that AT&T refuses to find and repair.”
Cell phone service is spotty, too, sometimes only working through the DSL lines, he added.
“It is so grossly unfair for me to have to pay $80 for six megabit service when friends that live just a little closer to town are paying $10 less for nearly 100 times that speed,” Vest said. “I guess you can imagine the dismay I felt when I learned (about) plans to break your promise to me and 599 other county residents.”
The board unanimously adopted Hamilton’s suggestion that the county re-engage a task force formed in 2021 to study broadband expansion in rural areas. A few affected residents could join the original task force members to look at ways to get high-speed internet to the remaining homes.
“Given where we’re at, and knowing that there’s still holes … we need to bring this task force back and figure out how we’re going to serve the whole county,” Hamilton said.
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