Connectivity

High-speed Fiber Optic Broadband Project

Recent grant money from North Carolina Department of Information Technology – Division of Broadband and Digitial Equity has a substantial amount of money to be spent by December 31, 2026.  Hopefully through the state and our local electric co in Mitchell County: French Broad Electric Membership Corporation (French Broad Fiber) there will be expanded broadband starting in 2024.

Mitchell and neighboring Yancey County received a USDA Community Connect Grant for over $25 Million in 2010 to bring 100 mbps speed to 95% of the combined areas. The counties have used this federal funding to complete a high-speed fiber optic broadband project. The project resulted in fiber being made available to 97% of homes and businesses in Mitchell and Yancey Counties. The project provides internet speeds up to 100 Mbps (megabits per second) to homes, and up to 1 Gig (gigabyte) for businesses.


  • AT&T
    LaVoy Spooner
    Regional Director of External Affairs
    24 O’Henry Avenue, Room 202
    Asheville, NC 28801
    Lavoy.spooner@att.com
    (828) 258 7005
    Provides DSL and broadband Internet in Spruce Pine and outlying areas including parts of Grassy Creek.

  • Charter Communications
    451 N Main St, Suite 104
    Marion, NC 28752
    (888) 692 8635
    Charter Business provides a full range of advanced Spectrum broadband services and solutions to business organizations, including Charter Business Internet, Charter Business Phone and Charter Business TV in Digital entertainment programming. Spectrum is the trade name of Charter Communications, which is widely used by market consumers and commercial cable television channels, internet, telephone, and wireless service providers.

  • Country Cablevision
    Bryan Hyder
    9449 State Hwy 197S
    Burnsville, NC 28714
    (828) 682 4074
    Provides broadband service to outlying areas of Estatoe, Ledger, Buladean, and Little Switzerland. In last mile service areas County Cablevision has a standard of 11 customers per mile, but has considered providing service to areas of 9-10 customers per mile.

  • French Broad Electric Membership Corporation
    Jeff Loven, General Manager
    PO Box 9
    Marshall, NC 28753
    Jeff.loven@frenchbroademc.com
    (828) 649 2051
    Provides fiber optic broadband internet service in downtown Bakersville.

  • Frontier Communications Corporation
    Business Services
    Residential Services
    Provides high speed internet, phone, and cable TV.

  • MAIN
    Walley Bowen
    34 Wall Street – Suite 407
    Asheville, NC 28801
    Wallyb@main.nc.us
    (828) 255 0182
    Provides DSL broadband internet in Bakersville and outlying areas including Red Hill and Bandana (3-4 mile radius from center of Bakersville) and also offers mobile broadband service.

  • Verizon Communications
    James Johnson
    40 North Garden Street
    Marion, NC 28752
    (828) 652 6136
    Provides DSL broadband internet in Bakersville and outlying areas including Red Hill, Bandana and much of Mitchell County.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Provides phone, internet and video s DSL broadband internet in Bakersville, Spruce Pine, Little Switzerland and outlying areas including Red Hill and Bandana (3-4 mile radius from center of Bakersville) and also offers mobile broadband service. 18 HWY 19EBurnsville, NC 28714 (828) 652 6136 sales@zitomedia.com