EDENTON – The Town of Edenton is pleased to share that we are officially a Gigabit City, a community with 100 percent access to broadband; the first of our size in northeast North Carolina to achieve this milestone!
Thanks to a partnership between the Town of Edenton and Fybe – a broadband service provider and subsidiary of Roanoke Cooperative – the expansion of fiber internet services in Edenton now serves 4,300 homes and businesses throughout the community.
We are also excited to announce that Edenton is the first municipality to launch SmartTown – which will allow secure, high-speed community WiFi in our historic downtown district for all to enjoy; as well as SmartBiz, which will be offered to local businesses. These firsts, coupled with Fybe’s working relationship with the Edenton Police Department on additional police cameras, represent tremendous steps forward for our town in the digital age.
Since the project’s inception in 2023, this significant investment in the community has delivered Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology to households in a swath from Soundside Road to Brayhall Road, and from Indian Trail Road to the Chowan River Bridge, roughly following our electric utility coverage.
Fiber to the Home technology is less susceptible to weather-related outages and other interference that above-ground traditional cables experience. These connections can send data as fast as about 70 percent of the speed of light, and provide broadband connections at speeds of up to 1 Gbps (gigabits per second).
“We appreciate the patience of our residents as this project took shape,” said Mayor Hackney High. “It is not always a simple process to install new infrastructure across a wide area, but we are grateful and thrilled that this service now exists for our residents and businesses. This is another valuable option for Edenton residents and utility customers to possess greater access to the world around us, and it keeps our community moving forward with rapidly changing times — I thank Fybe for their investment in Edenton and its people.”
Having various options to access reliable, high-speed internet, at a variety of price points, gives local residents and businesses the tools they need to push ahead in the modern world. With work, school, telehealth, and more requiring reliable internet services, this milestone could not have come at a better time.
“Technology and internet use are part of everyday life,” said Bo Coughlin, COO of Fybe. “Therefore, it is important to us that every community has fair and equal access to high-speed internet no matter its location. We will always be looking for ways to help local areas thrive.”