CONNECT THE FUTURE
NORTH CAROLINA

OUR AGENDA: CONNECT MORE NORTH CAROLINIANS TO THE INTERNET AND DO IT QUICKLY

Access to reliable, high-speed internet service is more important than ever, but at least 472,000 North Carolinians still can’t get connected, according to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) data. The problem may be even larger. Recent data from BroadbandNow, an organization with a mission to make broadband available to all Americans, found that 512,000 North Carolinians do not have access to broadband.

North Carolina’s Broadband Infrastructure Office recognized in its State Broadband Plan that broadband connectivity is not evenly dispersed and North Carolina’s digital divide is growing. 

Our mission is plain and simple: we seek to shape public policy to speed deployment and encourage investment in expanding broadband access throughout North Carolina.

OUR COALITION SUPPORTERS

Unconnected North Carolinians: Areas Without Access to High-Speed Broadband
NORTH CAROLINA INTERNET ACCESS MATTERS

Nearly 472,000 North Carolinians, mostly in the state’s rural areas, lack access to broadband, according to the FCC’s recent 2021 Broadband Deployment Report.

In rural North Carolina, the high cost of replacing old cooperative and municipal electric utility poles and the lack of any meaningful rules to require these entities to quickly review broadband providers’ pole permit requests, inhibits broadband expansion.

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, North Carolina has a rural population larger than any other state except for Texas. 

BroadbandNow ranks North Carolina 18th in broadband access. We can do better for rural North Carolinians.

NEWS & UPDATES

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING IN NORTH CAROLINA

Voices across North Carolina recognize the impact that fair, transparent utility pole processes can have on expanding broadband deployment across our state – helping families, students, businesses, farms, and more get connected.

RESOURCES

THE PERSISTENT “RURALITY” OF NORTH CAROLINA

According to the 2010 U.S. Census, North Carolina has a rural population larger than any other state except for Texas.

NCDIT: INTERNET CONNECTIVITY AND FARMS IN NORTH CAROLINA

CAROLINA CROSSCUT:
BROADBAND AND TELEHEALTH IN
NORTH CAROLINA’S APPALACHIAN
COAL-IMPACTED COMMUNITIES

JOIN CONNECT THE FUTURE NORTH CAROLINA

Do you want to connect more North Carolinians to the future? Do you want to strengthen our economy, expand opportunity, improve civic engagement, and usher in a better future for our state and our country?

If so, we want you to stand with us.