Eastern Carolina co-op looks to bring high speed internet to rural areas

High-speed internet access is now a critical part of life, but a lack of reliable internet access is hurting rural communities. That’s the case in parts of Washington County, Hyde County, Beaufort County and many other rural areas in eastern North Carolina.  Greg Coltrain, the vice president for business development at TriCounty Broadband in Belhaven (NC), said technology isn’t the issue.  "We've put people on the moon,” said Coltrain. “But we're still trying to get rural broadband developed across our country. And the reason for the delay is the sheer cost of getting it out." TriCounty, a cooperative, was formed in 1952 to serve areas that had been left without phone service. Now, it’s internet access that tops the list of the cooperative's customer's needs. "It will take assistance,” Coltrain said. “It's going to take the federal government getting involved to help some of these underserved areas. Because they're just so far out."