Last week, community leaders, local ISPs, residents, and policy experts gathered in three North Carolina communities — Albemarle, Fuquay-Varina, and Jacksonville — for a conversation about improving local connectivity. The Institute for Local Self-Reliance (ILSR), the North Carolina League of Municipalities (NCLM), and NC Hearts Gigabit organized this series of broadband meetings, called Let’s Connect, which aimed to spark conversations about the need for better broadband access and potential solutions for the region.

Each meeting opened with a welcome from local municipal leaders, followed by a presentation from Chris Mitchell, Director of ILSR’s Community Broadband Networks initiative, and a panel discussion between local leaders and innovative ISPs. Panelists talked about the need for better broadband to support everything from economic development to agriculture to health care, and why it’s necessary to bring all voices to the table in order to solve this issue. Mitchell noted:

“We electrified the country with private investment, municipal investment, and cooperative investment. That's what we'll need to bring Internet access to everyone." 

One of the biggest takeaways was the need for the North Carolina state government to more explicitly authorize public-private partnerships, which would allow municipalities to invest in broadband infrastructure and then lease it to private companies that provide service. 

At the end of each night, attendees were invited to ask questions and share their stories about the need for better connectivity. One local resident shared his frustration that his family’s only option for Internet access is satellite while his neighbor has broadband, illustrating the inconsistency of broadband access in the state. All North Carolinians deserve affordable, reliable, high-quality Internet access, and it’s our hope that the conversations that began at these...

Our Christopher Mitchell and Katie Kienbaum are participating in Let’s Connect! speaking tours at several communities in North Carolina. The events, organized with NC Broadband Matters, NC Hearts Gigabit, and the North Carolina League of Municipalities, has been a chance for local residents in Albemarle, Fuquay-Varina, and Jacksonville to gather together and discuss rural broadband. While each community’s needs are unique, there are some common themes and the conversation can be valuable to anyone interested in learning more about ways to improve connectivity in their community.

Can't Make It? No Prob

In order to reach folks in different regions, organizers set up the events in towns across the state and schedule the meetings during evening hours. Nevertheless, there may be people who would like to attend, but aren’t able to due to work, transportation challenges, or other issues.

In order to make at least one event accessible to as many people as possible, folks in Jacksonville have set up a livestream, which will be presented via Jacksonville - Onslow Government Television. The event is scheduled for 6 p.m. local time on January 30th.

View the event here January 30th at 6 p.m. EST

This Line-Up

In addition to Christopher, confirmed speakers include:

• Greg Coltrain, Wilkes Communications/River Street
• Erin Wynia, NC League of Municipalities
• Beth Bucksot, Pamlico County
• Jonathan Bullock, Hotwire Communications

If you’d like to attend the free event, you don’t need to RSVP, but seating is available on a first come, first served basis. The Jacksonville event will be held at the Jacksonville Youth Council Youth Center at 804 Bridge St. in Jacksonville.

Spring seems like a lifetime away as we hunker down in our frozen Minneapolis office, but we know it will be here sooner than we expect and with it will come Net Inclusion 2019. The event will take place in Charlotte, North Carolina, this year April 1st - 3rd and if you haven’t already started making plans to be there…why haven’t you started making plans to be there?

Putting Digital Inclusion on Everyone's Mind

Each year the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) puts on the event to bring together a broad range of people and organizations involved in digital equity. In addition to policy experts and community practitioners, representatives from Internet access providers attend, along with advocates and folks interested in sparking grassroots movements in their local communities. Some of the issues they discuss include:

• Policy at the federal, state, and local level that affect digital equity
• Support — including financial— aimed at digital inclusion programs
• Digital inclusion best practices from around the U.S.

This year, the event will be held in Charlotte at the Harris Conference Center. Day One — April 1st — will include a series of pre-conference events. By the second day of the conference, the itinerary will be filled with interactive sessions and the final day will end at 3 p.m. on April 3rd. If you register by February 14th, you can receive a discount on your tickets and on hotel bookings at the Omni hotel.

There will be a lot going on, so check out the schedule to plan your participation. You can also see a list of speakers (Christopher will be there).

Learn more at the NDIA registration page.

Are You An Affiliate? Ligtning Round!

NDIA is also accepting special applications from digital inclusion initiatives for 25 - 30 Lightning Round presentations. Each organization accepted will have four minutes to present their initiative and a maximum of five slides. If you’re interested, learn more at the NDIA website; the deadline to...

An op-ed written by Katie Kienbaum, Research Associate at ILSR, was published by the Jacksonville Daily News. It discusses the need for better broadband access in North Carolina, and the upcoming series of community meetings on the subject organized by NC Broadband Matters, the NC League of Municipalities, and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. Find the full piece below: 

When you think about the Internet, what comes to mind might have a lot to do with where you live.

For North Carolinians with good connectivity, the Internet signifies endless opportunity and access to information. But if you live in an area with limited broadband availability or high subscription costs, you may feel more frustrated than excited.

Broadband in North Carolina is a patchwork quilt of quality and availability. In the big metro regions, some neighborhoods are getting high-speed fiber networks from major companies like AT&T and Google. Other communities have partnered with new providers, such as Ting and Open Broadband, to improve local Internet access. And in Wilson, the city built its own fiber optic network, delivering the fastest speeds in the state, attracting new business, and offering affordable access to public housing units.

Even some rural communities have access to the highest-quality connectivity. Cooperatives like Wilkes Communications and RiverStreet Networks are building first-rate broadband networks that will help improve the quality of life for their rural members. In each case, community members worked together to encourage investment in better options.

But many communities are stuck waiting for new investment. Wired broadband is unavailable to at least 500,000 North Carolinians, according to BroadbandNow’s analysis of federal data, while nearly one million others only have access to broadband through a single monopoly provider. Families in these under-connected and often rural communities struggle with everyday tasks, such as completing homework assignments, filling out job applications, and accessing online healthcare.

State policy needs to recognize these shortcomings and better enable investment in local networks. Still, there are ways for communities to take action. With the combined efforts of elected officials, local leaders, rural cooperatives, Internet service providers, and engaged...