ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Thousands of residents in Orangeburg County are about to get access to high-speed broadband thanks to a new federal grant.
Cynthia Brown, a resident of Neeses, has lived without access to high-speed internet due to her location in the rural area. “I don’t have Wi-Fi because I am out in the country of Neeses. I am about three miles or four miles out in the country,” she explained.
But that’s about to change. By the first half of 2025, Brown and many others will finally have access to broadband service.
Orangeburg County has been awarded a $9.75 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to expand broadband coverage to 3,500 residents in rural areas like Bowman, Branchville, Cope, Neeses, North, and Santee.
Angel Howell, the Director of Orangeburg County, emphasized the importance of broadband, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“If COVID didn’t teach us anything else, it taught us the importance of having broadband. Broadband is necessary for everyday living. From education to business and government operations to telehealth and of course, that’s a big one in rural Orangeburg County. Making sure that our citizens have access to healthcare via telehealth,” Howell said.
Residents are eager about the upcoming improvements. Constance Glover, a Neeses resident, expressed her excitement: “Everyone deserves Wi-Fi and for the little small towns like Neeses and Norway and North, we’re not our fair share of the internet.”
Cynthia Brown also shared her thoughts on how broadband will benefit others in her community. “It would benefit the young people and people that use computers and things like that, that live in their homes and is working from home and I’m pretty sure they’d be glad to get it,” Brown said.
Keasia Jamison, a student at Hunter-Kinard-Tyler High School in Neeses, highlighted the challenges faced by students due to lack of broadband. “At school there’s no Wi-Fi, when you go there the Wi-Fi cuts off and you have to walk around the school to get Wi-Fi, so it’s pretty bad in Neeses you really have to use Wi-Fi for everything,” she explained.
In addition to the federal grant, the county has secured $3.25 million in local matching funds to help with the broadband expansion.
The county also plans to upgrade and maintain its current broadband infrastructure to support the new service.