Press Releases

Avery County Chamber of Commerce President presents a ceremonial fund reimbursement check to President and co-Owner Bill Shillito (LightLeap by North Carolina Wireless).

The occasion marks a milestone in the ongoing efforts of The Avery County Commissioners, the County Managers Office, and the Chamber of Commerce to expand Broadband capabilities in all parts of Avery County. The primary focus on this effort is the unserved and underserved regions of the county.

This recent milestone includes the expansion of the capabilities of LightLeap by more than doubling our thru put capacity. With this increased infrastructure capacity, we were able to expand deeper into the underserved areas of the County by adding Mini-Pops (points of presence) that allows us to reach additional house-holds stated Mr. Shillito.

The critical element in this expansion of broadband capability in Avery County was the recent release of Appalachian Regional Commission grant.  The funds were made available thru the efforts of The Avery County Manager’s Office, the Avery County Chamber of Commerce, and the High County Council of Governments.

The County Manager released a Request for Proposal (RFP).  The aim of the RFP was to expand Broadband in Avery County, with a focus on unserved areas of the County. LightLeap was chosen as the best respondent to that RFP.  With a solid proposal in hand the County applied for a grant with the help of the NC Dept of Information of Technology representatives to the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). The ARC approved the grant.

The Grant must be administered thru a Non-profit entity.  The Avery County Chamber offered to fill this critical role. Chamber Executive Director, Melynda Pepple stated that the Chamber continues to be highly motivated to assist this effort and chartered as a Non-profit Organization that strives for the growth and progress of our great county, this was a natural fit for us to foster this grant.

Ms. Pepple turned to the High-Country Council of Governments to assist in the intricate details of managing a complex contract and agreement required by the Grant agreement.  Ms. Pepple stated that the High-Country COG is instrumental in implementing the detailed work required.

The primary aim of the grant is to expand broadband to unserved and underserved regions of Avery County.  The results to date of the grant are a doubling of capacity on the fixed wireless infrastructure in Avery County.  This additional capacity has allowed LightLeap to expand coverage areas with additional Mini-pops in the Jonas Ridge region and further south. With these additions LightLeap now reaches an additional 96 households with non-data capped broadband service. The original goal of the grant was to reach 75 households. The success of the project is directly attributable to the excellent team work among the participants: The Avery County Manager’s Office, the Avery County Chamber or Commerce, the High-Country COG, the NC Department of IT, and private partner LightLeap by NC Wireless.

LightLeap is ably assisted in identifying, installing and servicing new households by Highland Electronics (Radio Shack) in Newland.  The owner Doug Gragg stated that it is exciting to see the additional households covered and that I can now fulfill their internet needs.

LightLeap by NC Wireless is excited to announce a partnership with RiverStreet of Wilkesboro, NC. RiverStreet is an extension of Wilkes Communications. RiverStreet is a leader in providing high-speed broadband to rural areas of NC. The combination of this leadership of fiber provider and the expertise of LightLeap by NCW in the fixed wireless efforts makes a formidable team.  Our goal is to continue to find low-cost methods to grow the broadband reach to all citizens of North Carolina. The partnership allows that to occur and advances time lines to do so stated Greg Coltrain of VP of RiverStreet.

Avery County was awarded a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) to expand broadband in the county and North Carolina Wireless (NCW), LLC. a Fixed Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) will provide that service.

The grant request was submitted to the ARC by the Avery County Chamber of Commerce a 501 (c) (3) organization whose Executive Director is Ms. Melynda Pepple, on behalf of the citizens of Avery County.

Ms. Pepple was assisted by the Avery County Manager’s Office and the staff of The High Country Council of Governments in developing the grant request to the ARC. The grant was approved in early 2018. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia.

The grant is an award of $100,000 for the purpose of expanding broadband service to unserved and underserved areas for Avery County. The grant was awarded with further consideration of serving low-density and low-income areas of the county. Ms. Pepple and the Avery Broadband Committee received early guidance from the NC Department of IT to assist in identifying the unserved and underserved areas.

After approval of the grant, a competitive process was utilized to select and Internet Service Provider to partner with the Chamber to implement the project. All methods of delivery of broadband services were considered (coax, fiber, and wireless etc).

It was determined that Fixed Wireless was the most cost-effective method and provided the most coverage for the unserved homes in Avery County. “The Broadband Committee determined that NCW with their branded ‘LightLeap’ service offered the most complete and comprehensive plan for delivering the project” stated Ms. Pepple.

NCW President Bill Shillito stated “We are proud and humbled to accept this award of funds; proud that the Avery Broadband Committee recognized the value that we bring to the project and humbled by the fact that the Broadband Committee identified us as offering the best and most effective approach to meet the grant’s aims. We will work hard to fulfill the aims of the grant. We are ably assisted by our local partner Mr. Doug Gragg, owner of Highland Electronics (Radio Shack), who serves as our sales and service team for Avery County. They are located at 520 Pineola St, Newland, NC 28657 and can be reached at (828) 733-5718. Mr. Gragg continues to go above and beyond his role in assisting NCW with identifying the best methods to deploy our unique capability in all parts of Avery County.”

In response to the project goals, documented demand, and existing tower sites, NCW identified several areas of early focus to expand service to. Those areas include the Jonas Ridge/Pineola and the Linville Falls/Altamont areas as best early focus areas. “Now that the grant is awarded, our staff can and will complete the timelines and progress goals toward accomplishing the aims of the grant” stated Mr. Josh Strickland, CTO for NCW. For more information on LightLeap offerings by NCW including pricing, go to www.lightleap.net. You may complete a service form request at the website to assist NCW in determining demand for expansion in Avery County.

Ms. Pepple stated “Many hours of work by a large number of players went into submitting the request to the ARC and selecting an ISP partner. I wish to thank the vision of the Avery County Commissioners and the Manager’s Office for their support toward this effort. I also wish to thank the Appalachian Regional Commission for seeing the need and providing the funding for this project. The High Country Council of Governments staff provided invaluable guidance and support through this entire process. We look forward to working with NCW to expand broadband in Avery County.”