Press release from the Land of Sky Regional Council:
The WestNGN Broadband – Regional Broadband Leadership Forum was hosted by UNC Asheville and the Land of Sky Regional Council on May 21, 2018. Dr. William Sederburg, Chair of the WestNGN Initiative, announced that as a direct result of the efforts to date, there are two new entrants to the regional broadband market – Hotwire Communications and RiverStreet Networks. Each company joined Charter Communications in presenting their business model and deployment plan for the region. While full deployment is anticipated to take many years, the attraction of new investment is an exciting step for our region. Additional speakers included Dr. Marc Hoit, Vice Chancellor of IT and CIO at NC State University, Mr. Jeffrey Sural, Director of the Broadband Infrastructure Office at NC Department of Information Technology. Speaker presentations and contact information will be uploaded to the WestNGN website: http://www.landofsky.org/westngnbroadband.html.
Developing a structure for broadband deployment is critical to the ability to attract businesses and entrepreneurs in advanced technologies, export opportunities, and professional and technical services. High-speed access is also critical for training the region’s workforce to a level that the advanced manufacturing sector and other technology-intensive businesses demand. Without direct and focused investment in this infrastructure, the region will slip further behind the rest of the state’s technology advancements.
The intent of the project is to highlight the conditions, assets, and collaboration of regional jurisdictions in order to gain high-speed service, greater capacity, and expanded infrastructure at competitive costs. Broadband is not necessarily the ‘leader’ for industries to locate in an area, but businesses are unwilling to locate to areas without adequate broadband. It is now considered a necessary infrastructure component for residential, business, healthcare, and educational users. These are key elements to build a competitive workforce, and to attract and retain technology- and knowledge-based businesses and entrepreneurs in the region.
WestNGN Broadband Survey: Tell us about your internet service!
Businesses and Residents in the WestNGN – Land of Sky Region – Is your service reliable? Do you want or need better service? Please take this survey, which is part of a regional effort to identify broadband availability (Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, and Transylvania Counties). Results will assist us develop deployment plans in partnership with the Education & Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas and NC Broadband Infrastructure Office.You can take the survey on your smart phone or laptop. Paper copies will be available in the coming weeks. Please share with neighbors!
Contact Erica Anderson at (828)251-6622 or erica@landofsky.org for questions. Our website: http://www.landofsky.org/westngnbroadband.html.
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