For buyers moving to the "country"—whether that’s a 10-acre horse farm in Burgaw or a quiet lot in Bolivia—the dream is privacy. The nightmare is dial-up speeds.

In Pender and Brunswick counties, the internet landscape in late 2025 is a checkerboard. One street might have blazing-fast fiber optic, while the next street over is stuck with a sputtering DSL line.

If you work remotely or have kids who game, you cannot assume "it's 2025, surely there's internet." Here is exactly how to verify connectivity before you sign the offer to purchase.

1. The "Fiber" Heavyweights (The Best Case)

The good news: Billions of dollars in federal (RDOF) and state (GREAT Grant) funding have hit the ground. Two main players are aggressively laying fiber in our rural zones.

FOCUS Broadband (formerly ATMC):
The Territory: They are the heroes of rural Brunswick and increasingly Pender County. They have won massive grants to run fiber to underserved areas like Atkinson, Currie, and Canetuck.
The Speed: If a house has access to the FOCUS fiber network, you can get symmetric Gigabit speeds (1,000 Mbps up/down) that rival downtown Wilmington.
How to Check: Don't trust Zillow. Go to FasterPender.com or the FOCUS Broadband main site and plug in the exact street address.

Spectrum (The Rural Expansion):
The Territory: Spectrum is pushing hard into the gaps left by others, specifically in the Rocky Point and Hampstead outskirts.
The Status: They are currently activating new zones weekly. If a seller says, "They are laying lines now," verify it. Ask to see the conduit in the yard or a letter from Spectrum confirming service availability.

2. The "Satellite" Savior: Starlink

If you find the perfect house in the middle of nowhere (think: deep in the Green Swamp or the backwoods of Watha) and there is no fiber line, you are no longer doomed.

The 2025 Reality: Starlink (by SpaceX) has stabilized. The "waitlist" drama of 2023 is largely gone.
The Performance: Expect speeds of 100–200 Mbps. It is fast enough for Zoom and Netflix, though latency (lag) can still be a minor annoyance for hardcore gamers.
The Hardware: You will need a clear view of the northern sky. If the lot is heavily wooded with 100-year-old pines directly over the house, Starlink might not work without taking down trees. Check the sky visibility with the Starlink app during your showing.

3. The "Cellular" Stopgap: 5G Home Internet

Before you commit to satellite, check the towers.

T-Mobile & Verizon 5G Home Internet:
The Vibe: These are little gray boxes that grab a 5G signal from the air and turn it into Wi-Fi.
The Catch: It is highly location-dependent. In flat areas of Pender County (near Hwy 117), it works great. In low-lying areas of Brunswick, the signal can fade.
The Test: Look at the bars on your own cell phone when you are standing in the driveway. If you have 1 bar of LTE, this option won't work. If you have 5G UC (Ultra Capacity), it’s a viable backup.

4. The "Due Diligence" Checklist

Never take a listing description at its word when it says "High Speed Internet Available." That could mean 3 Mbps DSL.

The Speed Test: If the home is occupied, ask the seller to run a speed test (Speedtest.net) and screenshot the result.

The Provider Call: Call FOCUS Broadband or Spectrum during your Due Diligence period. Give them the specific address. Ask two questions:
"Is this address serviceable right now?"
"If not, what is the cost in aid of construction?" (Sometimes they can hook you up, but they will charge you $5,000 to run the line from the road to the house).

The "NC Broadband Map": Use the N.C. Department of Information Technology’s broadband map. It’s a granular tool that shows exactly which providers claim to serve which census block.

The Bottom Line

In rural real estate, bandwidth is a utility just like power and water. A house without high-speed internet in 2025 is functionally obsolete for 50% of buyers.

At Aspyre Realty Group, we know the grid. We know which side of Malpass Corner Road has fiber and which side is still waiting.