North Carolina Governor Issues Broadband Expansion Executive Order

The Governor of North Carolina issued an Executive Order (Order) to create a task force with the mission of expanding access to high-speed internet and remove barriers to infrastructure installation.  The Order directs state government leaders to identify and remove barriers to affordable high-speed internet access, eliminate the homework gap that results from students not having internet access, and facilitate private-sector deployment of last-mile infrastructure.

“In today’s schools and workplaces, high-speed internet is not optional. Too many North Carolinians lack internet access they need to apply for jobs, do homework or run a small business. We must address this digital divide to give every community in North Carolina an equal opportunity to thrive using today’s technology,” said Governor Cooper. 

Governor Cooper’s budget includes $35 million for efforts to expand access to broadband internet service. To encourage private providers to bring broadband service to underserved areas, the Governor’s plan allocates $30 million for the Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) program. His budget also creates a program to help close the homework gap for students across the state without home internet access by investing $5 million in grants to provide mobile hotspots and devices such as laptops or tablets. 

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 The Regulatory Mix Today:  North Carolina Governor Issues Broadband Expansion Executive Order, US Senate Legislation to Improve Broadband Mapping

US Senate Legislation to Improve Broadband Mapping

U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Joe Manchin (D-WV), and John Hoeven (R-ND) announced they had introduced bipartisan legislation to improve the FCC’s broadband coverage maps. S.842 , the “Improving Broadband Mapping Act” directs the FCC to initiate a rulemaking to consider using consumer-reported data and state and local data from government entities to improve broadband mapping accuracy while also considering ways that both fixed and mobile coverage data can be challenged. The bill will help close the digital divide by giving policymakers more accurate data on broadband coverage nationwide.

“In order to deploy broadband nationwide, we need reliable data on where service exists and where it does not,” Klobuchar said. “Our bipartisan legislation will help ensure we are closing the digital divide with accurate mapping and bringing high-speed internet to every family, regardless of their zip code.”

“Broadband connectivity has become vital in our 21st century economy, but too many West Virginians still don’t have access and are being left behind. That has to change,” Capito said. “Accurate broadband availability maps are essential for us to evaluate who has access and who does not. As a follow up to our letter to Chairman Pai last September, I am proud to join my fellow Senate Broadband Caucus co-chair to introduce a bill that builds upon our work to close the digital divide in rural America. This legislation will allow West Virginians to voluntarily provide valuable feedback about the actual mobile service in their communities; and ultimately, better connect our state and others across the country.”

“With mountainous terrain and low population density, rural states like West Virginia rely on federal funding for much needed investments in broadband. In order to ensure that funding is directed toward the places that need it the most, we need to have more reliable coverage maps based on data that accurately depicts what people on the ground are experiencing,” Manchin said. “As the only member of Congress to formally challenge a federal broadband coverage map through the Mobility Fund Phase II challenge process, I know firsthand just how valuable public input can be in validating and supplementing the provider data that is used to draw these maps. This bill is a good first step, and I hope the FCC will take action to begin this rulemaking process.”

“The FCC’s broadband maps can misidentify areas as covered when there is not actually adequate broadband service,” Hoeven said. “Our legislation would help improve the quality of the data used for the maps and allow for a process to correct mistakes. This will help ensure communities have adequate coverage and that federal investments in broadband infrastructure are being made as effectively and efficiently as possible.”

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.