WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development has awarded Robeson County and Scotland County a $25 million grant to improve broadband and comes from the bipartisan infrastructure package which Senator Tillis helped negotiate and pass into law. The grant will be used to help the Atlantic Telephone Membership Corporation deploy a fiber-to-the-home network. This network will connect 13,972 people, 198 businesses, 166 farms and 18 public schools to high-speed internet.   

Atlantic Telephone Membership Corporation will make high-speed internet affordable by implementing the FOCUS Broadband's Faster Internet for Robeson and Scotland Today (FIRST) program and offering four internet packages. This project will serve the Lumbee state designated tribal statistical area and the socially vulnerable communities of both Scotland and Robeson counties.

“This grant is a big deal for businesses, farmers, and schools in both Robeson and Scotland County and will help connect more than 13,000 people,” said Senator Tillis. “Reliable broadband is crucial to perform the functions of everyday life and I was proud to help negotiate and support the bipartisan infrastructure law to bring this investment to our great state.”

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