A $17 million broadband project is expected to bring high-speed internet access to thousands of homes and other locations in rural Halifax and Warren counties, including the Haliwa-Saponi community, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.
AccessOn Internet and USDA Rural Development celebrated the project Tuesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Essex Central Fiber Hub on N.C. Highway 561 in Hollister.
According to USDA, AccessOn utilized a $17 million ReConnect Program grant for a fiber network expected to connect approximately 2,100 households, 100 businesses, 76 farms and 22 educational facilities in Halifax and Warren counties and the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal Statistical Area.
AccessOn Internet site manager Jan Harris opened the ceremony and said Tuesday's event represented more than the facility where those gathered stood.
“Today is about much more than this site or the equipment to be held here,” Harris said. “It represents another important step in a journey to bring reliable, high-speed fiber internet to rural communities in Warren and Halifax counties, communities where access to broadband has historically been limited or in some places simply unavailable.”
Harris said the work leading to Tuesday's ceremony began years before construction.
“The story that brings us here today didn't begin when the first piece of fiber went into the ground on a very cold day in January,” Harris said. “It began years earlier with conversations in these communities, listening to residents and local leaders, identifying a very real need for reliable broadband and believing that something could be done about it.”
Before remarks about the project continued, Martin Richardson, tribal historic preservation officer and tribal development director for the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe, blessed the site and those gathered for the ceremony.
Martin said the occasion reflected the tribe's history of adapting to changes while maintaining its identity.
“Realizing that our people, we are modern people, we are people of a contemporary society, and the things that come to us, we try to use in the best manner as we can,” Martin said. “We've done that ever since time immemorial. Ever since contact, we've adapted to what's been brought to us in order to maintain our identity.”
Martin included the broadband service in his blessing.
“We're gonna have fast internet,” Martin said. “We're not gonna have any dropages or drops in coverage. We're gonna pray that our internet stays affordable.”
Martin also recognized former Haliwa-Saponi Chief W.R. Richardson and spoke about what he said were the lasting effects of the former chief's work.
“A lot of the things that he put into place are what we're reaping those benefits from, the things that he did,” Martin said.
Martin then sang “Talking Eagle” as part of the blessing and ceremony.
AccessOn strategic adviser for business development Eric Dixon said the company's interest in providing broadband to rural communities grew out of his and CEO Steve Ledford's backgrounds.
“It started actually when Steve and I retired from creating technology for the internet, and we came out of retirement because we're from rural areas ourselves, and we wanted to try to do something a little bit better with the rest of our life,” Dixon said. “We saw these rural communities that we were very familiar with, without internet.”
Dixon said AccessOn's mission was to serve those communities rather than focus on maximizing profits.
“We want to serve the communities,” Dixon said. “We're not trying to extract maximum profit because nonprofits do not do that. So that was our mission and our goal.”
Dixon said a Halifax County Board of Commissioners meeting he attended in late 2021 or early 2022 played a role in AccessOn's decision to pursue the project.
“A young woman and her two children spoke in the open part of the meeting, and she was tearing up and crying because her school-age children didn't have access to the internet,” Dixon said. “She was asking and telling the board, ‘How can I get access? My children can't do their schoolwork.’”
Dixon said the woman's comments stayed with him.
“I saw that, and it was very hard to not tear up yourself,” Dixon said. “So that's what led to this area.”
Dixon credited Halifax County officials, Warren County, the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal Council and others with helping move the project forward.
“Almost everybody here has had some key part in keeping this rolling and supporting us through the process,” Dixon said.
Dixon said AccessOn received the grant in 2022 and officially began the project in 2023 before proceeding through design, environmental reviews and other requirements.
He said AccessOn intends to maintain a physical presence in the community rather than have customers deal exclusively with people outside the area.
“The people you interface with, they're from the community,” Dixon said. “There's a physical office here. You can go and talk to someone physically to their face if you have concerns, issues, problems or just want to understand what's going on.”
Dixon said AccessOn's approach also applies to what customers pay for service.
“Your rates will not go up after we give you a promo for a year,” Dixon said. “You will keep your same rate, again, because our goal isn't to figure out a way to profit the most; it's to provide a service.”
Dixon said AccessOn is installing fiber in phases and will continue connecting residents as that work progresses.
“We'll get to you,” Dixon said. “And we look forward to having as many of you as possible being part of what I'll call our family.”
Haliwa-Saponi Chief Ogletree Richardson described Tuesday's ceremony as a milestone for the community.
“Today, we gather to mark a milestone that will be remembered in the history of our community,” Ogletree said. “This ceremony represents more than the achievement of this part of the project. It is the beginning of a new chapter, one defined by greater opportunity, stronger communications and a brighter future for all.”
Ogletree said the significance of the project extended beyond the physical infrastructure.
“As we cut this ribbon today, we are celebrating more than fiber equipment and infrastructure,” Ogletree said. “We are celebrating the possibilities that will come with being connected. Most importantly, we are investing in future generations.”
Ogletree thanked AccessOn, USDA and others involved in the project.
“We are indeed proud of how far we've come,” Ogletree said. “We're hopeful for what lies ahead and excited to see the opportunities this project will bring.”
Greg Richardson, executive director of the N.C. Commission of Indian Affairs, said he considered the inclusion of the American Indian community in the planning process particularly significant.
“What is just so amazing to me is the process did not exclude the American Indian community,” Greg said.
Greg recalled being at Wake Technical Community College when the $17 million project was announced and said he believed the collaboration could provide a model for other communities.
“Very unique, and I think this is a model that can be applied throughout the nation and other communities to make sure that the whole community is involved,” Greg said. “Our community here is very important. The history is very important, and it's important for us to have an opportunity to be part of planning like this.”
Greg also used his remarks to put the arrival of fiber internet into the context of how communications have changed in Hollister.
“The connectivity started here, Chief, with a red phone booth in Hollister over here,” Greg said. “You had to drive over there, and you had to have a dime to make a phone call to that phone booth.”
Greg said residents later had party-line telephone service before the technology available to the community continued to advance.
“So now we have high-speed internet coming, so hundreds and thousands of us can be online, talking to each other and getting educated at the same time,” Greg said. “So these are just remarkable things happening in our community.”
Halifax County Board of Commissioners Vice Chair Chenoa Richardson Davis said she had spent years telling residents that expanded broadband service was coming.
“It's here because I'm tired of telling my constituents that it's coming, it's coming, but it's finally here and that we're going to be able to use it,” Davis said.
Davis said broadband grants were beginning to move forward around the time she was elected to the board in 2022 and different providers were expected to serve different areas of Halifax County.
Davis said other providers began entering the area, but she chose to wait for AccessOn because of what she described as the company's connection to the community.
“We were waiting for AccessOn because they were my community,” Davis said.
Davis said she went to school with Harris' sister at Warren County High School and said those local ties mattered to her.
“What that meant to me was that this was a community,” Davis said. “This was my folks, my people, and they were going to hire from the community.”
Davis said she also wanted money residents spend for internet service to remain in the community.
“So that's why I've chosen to wait for AccessOn as well and telling everyone, just wait, just be patient,” Davis said. “It's coming, and it's going to be awesome when it gets here.”
State Rep. Rodney Pierce said he has been aware of the problems residents have faced obtaining broadband throughout Halifax County, particularly around Hollister.
“I have known about broadband issues throughout Halifax County, but particularly on this end and how these communities get overlooked a lot,” Pierce said.
Pierce said he has long recognized differences in resources available in different portions of the county.
“As someone who grew up here in Halifax County on the other end, I always knew that, well, we may have some things on the other end that this end does not have,” Pierce said.
Pierce also returned to Dixon's story about the mother who went before county commissioners because her children lacked adequate internet access.
“What did he say happened?” Pierce said. “He said somebody went to a local government meeting and spoke up. They advocated, right, for their needs. ‘Hey, this is about my children and their education.’”
Pierce, a former teacher, said broadband also has implications beyond students completing schoolwork.
“You also have to think about telehealth, right?” Pierce said. “Some people don't have reliable transportation, can't get to the doctor's office, but they may not need to be there physically, but they can, you know, do a telehealth appointment and speak.”
Pierce also announced during the ceremony that work is underway to establish a historical marker honoring former Haliwa-Saponi Chief W.R. Richardson.
“We've been working over a year on getting a historical marker for Chief W.R. Richardson,” Pierce said.
Pierce thanked Greg for providing a letter of support and the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal Council for adopting a resolution. Pierce said he believed Halifax County commissioners had also provided a resolution supporting the effort.
“I guarantee you, next year we will be erecting a marker for Chief W.R. Richardson right down the road,” Pierce said.
U.S. Rep. Don Davis said Dixon's story about the mother and her children brought him back to the challenges students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic, when internet access became increasingly important to education.
Don recalled his work in the N.C. Senate as state leaders dealt with whether students should return to classrooms.
“We can't just keep kids out of school, especially in the East,” Davis said. “It's not like we have connectivity and we can just keep the kids out of school. Because when they're out of school, guess what? They're not learning whatsoever.”
Don said Dixon's story also illustrated what can happen when residents speak up about problems affecting their families.
“Thank you for just a subtle reminder of the inspiration that gets us here,” Don said. “Thank you for the subtle reminder of what it means to put people first, our family first here in Eastern North Carolina.”
Don said broadband also has applications for agriculture, health care, education and businesses.
“That's where agriculture's heading these days,” Don said of connectivity for farms. “There's so many real-world applications.”
Don, who serves as ranking member of the House Agriculture subcommittee overseeing rural development, said he has voted to keep the USDA ReConnect program funded so projects like AccessOn's can continue.
Don also recognized David Camacho, who identified himself during the ceremony as the general contractor overseeing site development through Double Eagle Realty and Construction.
Robert Hosford, director of state operations for USDA Rural Development in North Carolina, said the $17 million USDA investment is intended to reach thousands of locations in the two-county area.
“To give you a little feeling about what this is all about, it's going to be 2,100 homes,” Hosford said.
Hosford said the project will also reach 100 businesses, 76 farms and 22 educational facilities.
He said one of the ways broadband could affect residents is by expanding their ability to use telehealth services.
“I know this area we're in,” Hosford said. “I know that there's people that can't get around. Maybe they're aged out where they can't drive. This can help get that doctor's appointment, at least the initial one, to that resident. That's part of this job.”
Hosford emphasized that USDA's $17 million investment was a grant.
“This is a $17 million grant, and I say grant,” Hosford said. “But this is our mission, is to deliver for communities that may otherwise couldn't get that last mile. Everybody knows the last mile; that's the hardest mile, and we try to get there.”
Hosford recalled another USDA broadband project involving the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe, where he said a tribal chief told him his children had to go to McDonald's at night to complete their homework because they did not have adequate internet access at home.
“That's not right,” Hosford said. “We are going to do better. You know, we have the ability to do better.”
Hosford said Tuesday's ceremony was particularly meaningful to him because it took place in his home state.
“As I travel around the country, I do a lot of these, but I'm home,” Hosford said. “This matters.”
Hosford said the effort to extend broadband into rural communities follows earlier infrastructure efforts that brought telephone and electrical service to rural America.
“We changed with the times, and it's going to change again,” Hosford said. “And we're going to be here to support your community.”
In a USDA statement issued in conjunction with the ceremony, Hosford further described what the agency believes the investment will mean for the region.
“This $17 million ReConnect investment is about more than expanding high-speed internet — it is about strengthening American agriculture, creating opportunities for rural businesses, supporting education and ensuring families in Halifax and Warren counties and the Haliwa-Saponi Tribal Statistical Area are not left behind in today's economy,” Hosford said.
N.C. Department of Administration Secretary Gabriel J. Esparza said several areas overseen by his department could be affected by expanded broadband access, including non-public education and small businesses.
“For all of those kids who are homeschooled, we touch those kids,” Esparza said. “There's going to be kids here that can benefit from internet access because of that.”
Esparza said the ceremony also illustrated what he sees as a disconnect between national discussions surrounding increasingly advanced technology and communities that are still working to obtain basic internet access.
“So much of the national conversation today is about the impacts of artificial intelligence and AI and data science, and yet it assumes that the fundamental infrastructure allowing access to the internet is already taking place,” Esparza said.
Esparza said the situation in rural communities demonstrates that universal access to that infrastructure has not yet been achieved.
“We are still in the process, celebrating this today, of just ensuring basic digital access for everyone,” Esparza said. “So for me, this is a national conversation manifesting at the local level.”
Esparza said he viewed the project as an example of different levels of government and organizations working together.
“It is a spectacular example of the federal government, state government, county government, nonprofits — all coming together with the tribe, with the local community to make things happen here,” Esparza said.
He said the people living in the communities receiving service are ultimately the reason for the work.
“At the end of the day, who does it matter most for?” Esparza said. “Matters most for our kids and our community.”
Harris closed the ceremony by returning to the partnerships she said were necessary to bring the project to the area.
“As you've heard today, bringing fiber to rural communities takes far more than fiber equipment and construction crews,” Harris said. “It takes investment. It takes partnerships, and it takes people who are willing to work together, sometimes for years, because they believe that where someone lives should not determine whether they have access to the connectivity so many of us depend on every day.”
Harris said the ribbon cutting represented another stage of AccessOn's work rather than the end of it.
“Every new section of this network means another family, another student, another small business, another farm, another community has the opportunity to be connected,” Harris said.
“Thank you for celebrating with us,” Harris said, “and welcome to the next chapter of AccessOn Internet.”
