Source: APPALACHIAN REGION COMMISSION, 2/15/18


In 2016, ARC (Apalachian Regional Commission) partnered with the North Carolina Department of Commerce on a pilot project to upgrade wi-fi equipment and expand wi-fi services in ten of North Carolina’s smaller, more rural towns. Around the same time, ARC also released its Broadband Planning Primer and Toolkit, produced in cooperation with the North Carolina Broadband Infrastructure Office. The primer and toolkit provides information on broadband technology and planning, along with tools and resources to assist with the broadband planning process. Research summarized in the primer and toolkit indicates that 80 new jobs are created for every additional 1,000 broadband users served, and that gaining 4 Mbps of broadband speed can increase household income by $2,100 a year.

Less than two years later, many of these participating communities -- including Bryson City, Forest City, Granite Falls, Hudson, Morganton, Rosman, Valdese, Walnut Cove, Wilkesboro, and the town of Rutherford College – are seeing results. For instance, wi-fi use in Hudson doubled in the first two months of installing new equipment, while Rosman’s downtown wi-fi can now host 3,500 connections each hour. Bryson City, gateway to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, has less wi-fi dead spots. What was once scattered and unreliable wifi service in Forest City is now strong enough to serve more than 2,000 users daily, and the town of Rutherford College has six new public wi-fi access points downtown. Each one of these wi-fi expansions is supporting main street development, attracting visitors, helping students, and enhancing business opportunities.

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