ILSR helped organize a broadband speaking tour, called Let’s Connect, in North Carolina. Community meetings were held in Albemarle, Fuquay-Varina, and Jacksonville, and each featured great discussions between local leaders, innovative ISPs, residents, and policy experts. … Read More
In Wilson, the network has helped to spur a long list of economic development investments, including downtown revitalization and investment in the community’s corporate park. New jobs continue to spring up, while other nearby rural areas contend with losses…… Read More
An op-ed written by Katie Kienbaum, Researcher at ILSR, was published by the Jacksonville Daily News. It discusses the need for better broadband access in North Carolina, as well as “Let’s Connect,” a series of community meetings on the subject organized by ILSR, NCLM, and NC Hearts Gigabit…… Read More
Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Community Broadband initiative at ILSR, reviews Susan Crawford’s new book “Fiber: The Coming Tech Revolution — And Why America Might Miss It.” The book revolves around several communities that will be familiar to anyone following community networks, but even people with only a casual interest in how to achieve the best Internet access will recognize some of the community names in Susan’s latest book.… Read More
If you live in or near the communities of Albemarle, Fuquay-Varina, or Jacksonville, get ready to attend one of a series of three “Let’s Connect” meetings, organized by the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, the North Carolina League of Municipalities, and NC Hearts Gigabit. We’re bringing together people who want to improve connectivity and are ready to learn more about how to get started.… Read More
In North Carolina, no other rural community embodies the rural struggle for high-quality Internet access as well as Pinetops. At a recent hearing in D.C., one of the leading voices in Pinetops, Suzanne Coker Craig, testified before a legislative committee assembled to delve into the issue. During her short five minutes at the Communications and Technology Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Coker Craig described her town’s rescue by the local municipal network and subsequent betrayal by their state legislature.… Read More
Ting Fiber has continued its expansion into two more U.S. metropolitan areas, lighting fiber up in a northern Idaho town and planting a flag in a city south of the research triangle in North Carolina. Residents of the region of greater Sandpoint, Idaho (a service area of nearly 10,000 residents), and Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina (population of around 25,000), will soon see the benefits of fiber Internet access with Ting’s Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) service.… Read More
Rural Pinetop residents are getting a glimpse of the treatment they are going to receive from Suddenlink, even before the ISP has started offering service in the small North Carolina community. According to locals, Suddenlink subcontractors are busting water mains, connecting fiber without homeowner permission, and spreading lies about the Town’s favored community-broadband provider, Wilson’s municipal network, Greenlight Community Broadband.… Read More
Generate conversation about broadband access in your community with a screening of the short film, “Do Not Pass Go.” We have created a helpful guide on how to host a screening of the film in your community. Spend some time connecting with others who share your questions about local options and want to learn more. Documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback traveled to Pinetops, North Carolina, to experience firsthand the battle between municipal networks and private providers. Pinetops is a rural small town that receives high-speed Internet service from the nearby City of Wilson, North Carolina. The large ISPs have tried to put a stop to this with a state law, and all the red tape might kill the small town.… Read More
