A California company has applied for a $48 million federal grant to build a wireless broadband network in eastern and coastal North Carolina.
Cleartalk plans to bring the high-speed network to about 2 million people in 38 counties, reports the Daily Reflector in Greenville. The company expects to hear next month if it receive the federal stimulus funding.
If it does, the company will need 392 tower sites to roll out the service. That includes some towers already up but Cleartalk expects to build new towers in some rural areas. The company will hire about 200 people during the next 12 to 18 months if its request is approved.
Cleartalk is one of about 2,200 applicants across the country seeking $28 billion in federal stimulus funding to encourage broadband networks.
Cleartalk has built similar high-speed wireless networks in other states, including California, Texas and Arizona.
Read the full Daily Reflector story here. Get more information on Cleartalk's plans in North Carolina here.
Assistant Business Editor Alan M. Wolf joined the N&O in 1999 covering the business of health care. He became an editor in 2001, and helps oversee the paper's daily business coverage and Sunday Work&Money section. He lives in Clayton with his wife and two children. Reach him at 919-829-4572 or