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PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT

Broadband

 

Upper Coastal Plain Digital Inclusion Plan

The UCPCOG developed a regional digital inclusion plan in April 2021.  The document includes a unique digital inclusion plan for each of the five counties in the region after a robust planning process involving 5 separate steering committees and the Upper Coastal Plain Broadband Task Force.  The plan was facilitated and developed by the UCPCOG in partnership with Broadband Catalysts, thanks to a BAND-NC grant from NC State University's Institute for Emerging Issues. 

You can click here to view the full Upper Coastal Plain Digital Inclusion Plan.  

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Regional Broadband Initiative

UCPCOG and its Regional Broadband Task Force received a grant from the US Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration (EDA) in 2020 to conduct a Regional Broadband Initiative to better understand and address broadband challenges and opportunities for underserved communities across the Upper Coastal Plain five-county region.  You can view the Broadband Initiative press release here.

The initiative's scope of work, which was implemented between March 2020 - March 2022, included:
  • Surveying local governments to determine current conditions, needs, goals, challenges, existing assets, and potential partnerships related to improving broadband infrastructure
  • Surveying public in communities across the region to more accurately determine needs, digital literacy, and more through a partnership with NC Department of Information Technology's Broadband Infrastructure Office.
  • Providing stakeholder and community educational and targeted, like webinars and workshops, to improve technical expertise, build relationships, support sound decision making, increase public demand, and more.
  • Further the region's understanding of its digital inclusion landscape.
  • Take steps to attract or expand affordable, reliable, high-speed internet service across the region.
Community Survey

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Click the image above to take the survey!


Broadband Training

On May 8, 2020, UCPCOG joined NC Hearts Gigabit to host a webinar aimed at providing a better understanding of the broadband connectivity landscape to member local governments.  You can watch the recording of that webinar and others from NC Hearts Gigabit at the links below:

Broadband 101+ with UCPCOG

Better Broadband with Better Data + the NC Context

Broadband Planning: From Vision to Action

For more broadband resources, visit the NC Hearts Gigabit web page.


Upper Coastal Plain Region featured on WRAL wral docDocumentary Disconnected

UCP Broadband Task Force members Montre Freeman (Town of Enfield) and Gene Scott (City of Wilson) were featured in WRAL's Disconnected.  This documentary highlights the region's challenges in obtaining or expanding adequate, affordable, and reliable high-speed internet. 
You can view the full documentary here

Regional Broadband Strategies

STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
  • Improve robust and affordable broadband access to un-served and underserved areas to meet present and future needs.
  • Establish a regional broadband task force.
  • Identify and prioritize areas where high speed internet and broadband for middle and last mile is needed.
  • Create opportunities to optimize return on public and private investments in broadband infrastructure that can improve broadband services in the region. 
  • Identify incentives (e.g. grants, loans, tax programs) to encourage greater private investment by the telecoms in the broadband infrastructure.
  • Allow for public investment in broadband infrastructure
See more from CEDS 2022 here.


Additional Broadband Resources


Areas of our region lack adequate broadband access.  High-speed broadband is a necessity for the development of resilient and successful communities.  It is required for businesses to thrive and ultra-high-speed broadband in critical to global competitivness.

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Photo by Markus Spiske for Tech Daily