With Clayton launch, new fiber internet provider extends to surrounding Triangle towns
As the likes of Google and AT&T bring fiber optic internet access to North Carolina’s largest cities, a regional provider with a headquarters in High Point is focusing on areas where the big players aren’t.
“A lot of the markets we go into are smaller towns and cities and not really the NFL and NHL cities,” said Derek Kelly, vice president of market development at the fiber optic internet firm Lumos. “Where we look is: Where are the homes that are not served by fiber today?”
In the past six months, Lumos (formerly NorthState) has launched fiber internet networks in Goldsboro, Mebane, and Burlington. On Monday, the company celebrated its entry into the Johnston County town of Clayton. It has plans to build in neighboring Harnett County.
NorthState began to lay fiber around High Point in the mid-2000s. The company rebranded in August 2022 after merging with the Virginia provider Lumos. At the same time, the new business announced ambitions to deliver fiber internet access to more than 1 million homes within the next five years.
Fast-growing bedroom communities around Raleigh and Durham are key to this goal.
“(Residents) see new neighborhoods in and around Clayton had been served with fiber over the last few years by some of the incumbents, but in the downtown Clayton area, a lot of the existing homes have just been overlooked,” Kelly said.
Besides North Carolina, Lumos also operates in Virginia and South Carolina. Its existing Tar Heel State service areas include Asheboro, Lexington, and Kernersville, as well as parts of Winston-Salem and Greensboro. In April, the company pledged to invest $56 million to build in and around coastal New Hanover County, home of Wilmington.
Fiber optic connection promises considerably faster speeds than traditional broadband.
Along with speed, a top consideration for internet customers is price. Lumos currently offers its 500 megabits-per-second package for $60 a month, and its 1-gig plan for $80 a month (each with a $10-a-month credit for the first year.) For comparison, Google Fiber sells its 1-gig plan for $70 a month.
Digging sparks local frustrations, halting construction
The drilling internet providers undertake to lay out fiber cables has caused local issues — and Lumos is no exception.
When Google and AT&T initially set their fiber optic lines in 2015, neighbors across the Triangle complained of contract workers hitting gas, water and sewage lines. After making initial progress, especially in Cary and Morrisville, Google paused its expansion, which it only recently resumed. While Google says it’s improved how it installs cables, the internet provider still acknowledges “construction can be disruptive.”
Like Google Fiber, Lumos receives local permits to drill on public right-of-ways, which often run along land parcels between residential sidewalks and streets. The company says its teams drill around three feet into the ground using a method that “is trenchless and has minimal impact.”
However, this November, the fire department of Columbia, South Carolina, ordered Lumos to cease all work in the city after a half dozen gas leaks were reportedly caused by the company’s subcontractors.
“They came in like a wrecking ball,” the president of a Columbia neighborhood association told The State. “They did not make a good first impression here.”
In a statement to The News & Observer, the company said “In all the markets we serve, our teams work closely with city/town officials and local utility companies to prevent damage and issues and resolve any outstanding issues.”
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