Category: Rural

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Broadband access Broadband funding Latency RDOF Rural Satellite Starlink

WNC Red-Green?

WNC Rural Digital Opportunity Map

FCC Broadband Opportunity Map

RDOF Phase 1 Results

Is your rural Western North Carolina community striving for broadband?

Is Starlink low earth satellite a possibility for your internet needs?

The Federal Communication Committee has developed a drillable map of ‘Rural Digital Opportunity Funding‘ or RDOF – Phase 1 results by:

  • Gigabit: low latency
  • Above baseline; low latency
  • Above baseline; high latency
  • Baseline; low latency
  • Minimum; low latency
  • No Winning Bidder

https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/rdof-phase-i-dec-2020/

Contact a member of the WNC Broadband Project Team to learn more about getting dependable, high-speed internet in your community.

Also See

5G in WNC

Challenges Facing Satellite-Based Internet

Frequently Asked Questions About Broadband

Latency and Satellite for Internet Service…

Delay is the time that it takes for the bits of information or data to get across the network and back. Delay is typically measured in milliseconds (msec) or 1/1000th of a second. Two-way applications, such as conferencing, are sensitive to delay. Minimal delay is also very important in interactive gaming applications. For today’s Internet access, 20 msec is excellent. Most applications can tolerate delay of two to three times this length without an adverse effect.

Broadband Latency

Nelius, J. (2020, December 11). Here’s Where SpaceX Has Promised to Provide Starlink Internet. Gizmodo; Gizmodo. https://gizmodo.com/heres-where-spacex-has-promised-to-provide-starlink-int-1845850942

Federal Communications Commission. (2020). Federal Communications Commission. https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/maps/rdof-phase-i-dec-2020/

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Buncombe Rural

Governor Cooper Announces $30 million to Expand Internet Access in Rural Areas

Buncombe County Internet Access Expansion

Project Expected to Connect Households and Businesses to Broadband in Buncombe County

Buncombe County and the French Broad Electric Membership Cooperative will benefit from this supplementing round of the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) program funds.

“This pandemic is shining a light on the need for better high speed internet access in rural communities. These projects will the make sure the internet can connect people to the education, health care and jobs they need.”

GOVERNOR ROY COOPER

NC Gov. Cooper: Governor Cooper Announces $30 million to Expand Internet Access in Rural Areas. (2020, December 17). Nc.Gov. https://governor.nc.gov/news/governor-cooper-announces-30-million-expand-internet-access-rural-areas

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Asheville Broadband access Digital Divide Education Philip Cooper Rural

Broadband Privileged

Broadband Priviledged

Broadband can easily be assumed as a given for those that live in the City of Asheville, but as an individual is further in the countryside of Western North Carolina and in the Appalachian Region, high speed internet may not be available.

Philip Cooper talks about his collaboration with the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and how is he privileged to have high speed internet available.

Learn More About Philip Cooper

#appalachiastrong

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Broadband in WNC Healthcare Rural Telemedicine

Broadband & Community Health

WNC Broadband Adoption Counties

Referencing several Western North Carolina counties, broadband adoption is corelated to health disparities.

A disproportionate number of individuals in the study area live without access to basic health care services and access to specialists, such as cardiologists, because of distance and limited provider availability.


Health care access is improved in areas where broadband and telehealth services exist.


Patients are more aware of their conditions and equipped with self-management techniques to seek medical care when concerns arise.

https://muninetworks.org/content/what-lack-broadband-and-telehealth-doing-western-north-carolina

How can WNC improve healthcare with broadband adoption?

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Broadband access Broadband funding Broadband in WNC Community Development Digital Divide Economic Development Education Federal Efforts Rural

A Conversation on Rural Broadband Internet

Bill Sederburg on computer monitor

A panel of broadband experts, including WNC Broadband Project’s Bill Sederburg, discussed how to embark on a program – either on their own or with partners – to implement broadband infrastructure to benefit residents.

Speakers

  • Moe Davis | Democratic Nominee 11th Congressional District
  • Danny Bottoms | Vision Cashiers; Public WiFi Project
  • Mike Hawkins | Transylvania County Board of Commissioners Chair
  • Hunter Goosman | ERC Executive Director/CEO
  • William Sederburg, Phd. | WestNGN Chair

Federal and state policy issues were discussed in the ‘Vote for Moe Davis’ YouTube video link below.

https://youtu.be/mml2kgBprw8

DISCLAIMER: The WNC Broadband Project, a Western North Carolina community group; is not connected with the ‘Vote for Moe Davis’ campaign. We advocate for the non-partisan expansion, education, and inclusion of high speed internet in our WNC communities.

Categories
Broadband access Broadband in WNC Community Development Rural WiFi

Fire Departments Role with Online Learning

Fire Truck

How many students in Buncombe County do NOT have internet at home?

What is Jackson County’s doing to address this rural issue?

Could this happen in Buncombe County with 40% of the students studying from home?

https://wlos.com/news/local/fire-departments-could-play-big-role-in-helping-students-with-online-learning

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Mobile Data Rural WiFi

SC Temporary Fix to Broadband Problem

Mobile WiFi

It’s happening in WNC too.

Temporary mobile hotspots for students.

Office of Regulatory Staff is working on short-term solutions aimed at helping students take their classes virtually.

ORS is prepared to buy as many as 150,000 mobile hotspots for students in kindergarten through 12th grade as well as for technical school and college students whose families meet certain income requirements.

https://amp.thestate.com/news/politics-government/article244693052.html

Support the Western North Carolina Broadband project today!

Categories
Broadband access Digital Divide Economic Development Education Rural

Broadband Reality in North Carolina

Broadband Reality

The FCC reports that 93% of North Carolina’s population has access to the internet at the FCC threshold speeds of 25 Mbps. Of those without access, nearly 640,000 people live in sparsely populated areas.

How is internet broadband accessed? Broadband is accessed through a number of technologies including:

  • Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
  • Cable Modem
  • Fiber-Optic Cable (Fiber)
  • Wireless
  • Satellite
  • Broadband over Powerline (BPL)

As of December 2014, only 16% of North Carolinians adopted broadband in their homes compared to the national average of 37% at the recommended speed threshold (25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload).

At this adoption rate, North Carolina ranked 40th out of the 45 reporting states.

More details are at:
https://www.ednc.org/perspective-the-reality-of-broadband-in-north-carolina/

broadband #NCSTEMScoreCard #StrategiesThatEngageMinds #economicgrowth

Categories
Broadband access Digital Divide Federal Efforts Rural

US House Energy and Commerce Committee Announces Legislation to Expand Broadband Access

The US House Energy and Commerce Committee has announced plans to adopt legislation that would invest $80 billion over five years to expand high-speed broadband infrastructure nationwide, to ensure internet affordability, and to enhance digital technology adoption. The House Democratic Plan to Connect All Americans to Affordable Broadband Internet is led by Congressman Frank Pallone Jr (D-NJ), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and Congressman James E. Clyburn (D-SC), House Majority Whip and Chairman of the House Democratic Rural Broadband Task Force. To learn more about this important legislation, visit the US House Energy and Commerce Committee website.

Categories
Broadband access Broadband in WNC Digital Divide Rural

Families in WNC Must Adapt to Limited Broadband Access

With the closure of schools across Western North Carolina, families have been forced to adapt in the face of critical gaps in broadband service, in order to ensure that their students can participate in remote learning. A recent Asheville Citizen-Times article by Brian Gordon examines the impact of these obstacles to online learning in WNC and follows the story of the McGoverns, whose three school-age children have to complete their coursework using the hot spot on their mother’s cellphone. To learn more about how the McGoverns and other families like them are confronting the barriers to broadband access, visit the Asheville Citizen-Times.