NC H1086

Authorizes 14 specified counties (Avery, Cherokee, Clay, Cleveland, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, and Swain) to provide high-speed internet infrastructure as a public enterprise.

Permits counties to build and maintain infrastructure including conduit, fiber-optic cable, and fiber-optic wire in unserved areas and lease this infrastructure to private internet service providers on a technology-neutral basis.

Explicitly prohibits counties from directly providing internet service; counties may only own and lease the physical infrastructure to qualified private providers.

Lease contracts must comply with North Carolina's public contracts law (Chapter 143, Article 8).

Becomes effective when signed into law.