Nearly 15,000 underserved homes in Goldsboro, North Carolina, a city of 33,000 residents southeast of Raleigh, should expect access to fiber-optic internet for the first time according to a Virgina and North Carolina service provider.

Lumos, in an announcement on their website Oct. 6, said their new fiber-optic build in Goldsboro will give high-speed internet to “nearly 100 percent” of residents within the city’s limits. The efforts were commemorated with a recent ribbon cutting ceremony attended by U.S. Congressmen Wiley Nickel, according to Lumos’s website.

“Lumos is proactively working to bridge the digital divide, and during this year’s Digital Inclusion Week, we are proud to be working towards reducing digital disparities in North Carolina,” said Derek Kelly, the vice president of market development at Lumos.

The company said the efforts to expand to Goldsboro were made possible by partnerships with the Kramden Institute, Dillard/Goldsboro Alumni & Friends, and the Wayne County Chamber of Commerce.

According to Lumos, the company’s partnership with the Kramden Institute will “provide funding for a computer basics program, which will provide technology education, devices and technical support to individuals and families.”

Lumos said they seek to empower residents and small businesses “with the tools they need to thrive in the digital age.”

Thanks to the company’s investment and funding through the N.C. GREAT Program, Lumos also said residents can get access to their network at no cost through the Affordable Connectivity Program.

The N.C. GREAT Program, run by the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Broadband Infrastructure Office, “provides state-funded grants to private providers of broadband services to facilitate the deployment of broadband service to unserved areas of North Carolina.”

Lumos said households can also use Lumos’ $30 internet plan in conjunction with their $30 ACP benefit to receive high-speed for free, according to the company’s website.

More information about the N.C. GREAT Program is available here, at the North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s website.