Dear friends and partners,
Did you know that Western North Carolina is short 50,000 devices—not counting those lost to Hurricane Helene? Thats why I’m so excited for our in-person April event: Closing the WNC Device Divide. We’ll be joined by many exciting experts and practitioners, including national device divide expert Karisa Tashjian from Digitunity, who will be presenting on her research in North Carolina’s device ecosystem.
That event is on April 23 in Spruce Pine, and it will take the place of our monthly virtual meeting. If you have any burning BRBA questions before then, we’ll be available during our normal meeting time on April 21 for BRBA office hours.
I hope to see you soon!
Warm regards,
Sara Nichols
Blue Ridge Broadband Alliance
In This Edition
Upcoming Meetings
Drew’s Policy Corner
Appalachian Broadband Concerns
Big News
More Updates
Call for Member News
Upcoming Meetings
Our regular meeting time is the third Tuesday of the month at 1 PM! If you do not see our meetings on your calendar, register here.
- April: The April meeting will be replaced by our quarterly in-person event. Join us in Spruce Pine on April 23 from 10 AM to 2 PM for Closing the WNC Device Divide.
- May: Our May meeting will be on May 19 at 1 PM.
Drew’s Policy Corner
In honor of spring, here’s an update on the growth of broadband policies around the country.
In 2025, states passed over 160 bills related to broadband. Per Pew Charitable Trusts analysis, these laws fall into three main categories: 1) reducing deployment barriers, 2) empowering broadband offices, and 3) improving broadband affordability. North Carolina itself enacted three bills that (among other things) provide funding for broadband deployment and protection for broadband infrastructure and workers.
On the affordability front, states across the country are pursuing two main approaches:
- The first, recently enacted by New Mexico, is to create a subsidy that helps low-income people pay for internet service. This relatively expensive yet proven approach to affordability was best exemplified by the now-ended federal Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP).
- The second approach, implemented by New York, requires ISPs to offer low-income people decent internet plans for $20 or less. This approach is inspiring similar efforts in other states, but it’s also attracting the ire of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which has threatened to cut off Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding for any state that enforces such a law (it may be spring for state broadband policy, but NTIA does not seem to have a green thumb).
All this activity demonstrates the kinds of good work that can be done at the state level. And in this respect, BRBA is well-positioned to play a role.
Appalachian Broadband Concerns
As broadband deployment accelerates across the United States, the question is not just where services will be delivered, but whether the chosen technologies can perform under local conditions. In regions such as western North Carolina and Appalachian Ohio, that question centers on the viability of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and fixed-wireless access technologies supported by the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
In western North Carolina, more than 32,000 locations have been assigned to LEO and more than 1,300 to fixed wireless. In Appalachian Ohio, more than 40,000 locations have been assigned to LEO service, and more than 6,000 to fixed wireless. While these technologies may present lower upfront costs, their ability to deliver reliable service in this region is limited by physical and environmental conditions.
The concentration of satellite and fixed-wireless awards in Appalachian counties, where terrain and tree canopy pose the greatest challenges, makes the question of technology fit especially important.
LEO Clear Sky Requirements Limit Service Viability
For LEO service, households must maintain a wide, unobstructed view of the sky to receive a signal. Field conditions indicate that more than 80 percent of LEO-assigned BEAD locations do not meet this requirement. Even in areas with less dense tree cover, the surrounding terrain often blocks the necessary viewshed.
For households lacking an unobstructed view, achieving the needed clear sky can be impractical (e.g., cutting down trees and/or building towers). For instance, at many locations, towers ranging in height between 50 and 150 feet would be necessary to rise above the obstructions. These installations can add $15,000 to $50,000 or more to the cost of deploying broadband per household. And these costs are not covered under BEAD. Such physical infrastructure also introduces additional safety and maintenance considerations for homeowners.
Terrain and Canopy Create Systemic Coverage Gaps for LEO and Fixed Wireless
Across Appalachia, steep ridges, narrow valleys, and elevation changes create what engineers refer to as “terrain shadows,” where signals cannot reach. Both LEO and fixed wireless rely on a clear, unobstructed line of sight, a condition that is difficult to achieve across much of the region.
Modeling of signal propagation using optimally placed 300-foot towers spaced several miles apart still results in significant coverage gaps. Locations can connect to only one tower or have no service at all. These limitations do not simply degrade performance; they prevent service from being delivered at all.
Beyond terrain, tree cover further limits performance. Modern LEO and fixed-wireless systems operate at frequencies that are highly susceptible to interference from leaves and branches. Signal absorption and scattering from trees and uneven terrain reduce throughput and stability.
In practice, the infrastructure required to overcome these barriers, including additional towers and repeaters, can exceed the cost of deploying fiber.
LEO and fixed-wireless access perform adequately in flat, sparsely wooded areas, but they are not reliable under dense canopy or in steep terrain. In these environments, fiber is the best infrastructure capable of delivering consistent, long-term service.
Infrastructure Tradeoffs and Long-term Implications
Many of the locations assigned to LEO service are not isolated homes but small communities. These clusters of households may be able to support fiber-to-the-home deployment with BEAD funding.
Selecting low-cost broadband deployment options without accounting for geographic conditions risks leaving communities with service that is inconsistent or unusable. This misalignment between technology selection and geography raises concerns about whether deployment strategies adequately account for on-the-ground conditions.
In many of these areas, legacy copper infrastructure has already deteriorated, and cellular coverage is limited or unavailable. As a result, the choice of infrastructure is not simply a matter of cost, but of whether communities can get and stay connected.
Public investment in broadband infrastructure should prioritize solutions that perform well under regional conditions and meet long-term needs. In Appalachia, that requires aligning technology choices with the realities of the landscape.
Reid Consulting Group has spent more than two decades identifying and mapping broadband challenges and connectivity gaps across communities in Appalachia.
Big News
Governor Stein Announces High-Speed Internet Access Coming in 2026 to 5,161 Rural North Carolinians | NC Department of Information Technology
Governor Stein announced nearly $26 million in awards through the Stop-Gap Solutions program that will connect 5,161 rural NC homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions in 66 counties to high-speed internet infrastructure by the end of 2026. The Stop-Gap Solutions program, administered by the Department of Information Technology’s Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity with federal American Rescue Plan Act funds, is designed to accelerate the expansion of high-speed internet infrastructure to eligible unserved and underserved households, businesses, community anchor institutions, and state facilities across North Carolina.
NC Broadband Matters New Initiative | NC Broadband Matters
NC Broadband Matters (NCBM) launched a new initiative making the expertise of board members available to non-profits and local governments. Through the new initiative, NCBM board members are available on a volunteer basis to non-profit and local government organizations to help in efforts to promote or expand broadband. Board expertise covers a wide range of topics, from agriculture, telemedicine, and education to national and state broadband policy issues. You can find board members and their backgrounds here.
Rural Center Honors Community Leaders at Annual 2026 Rural Summit | NC Rural Center
The Western Broaband Coalition received the Excellence in Regional Collaboration Award at the 2026 NC Rural Summit. The coalition is comprised of five regional councils of government: Land of Sky Regional Council, High Country Council of Governments, Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Southwestern Commission, and Foothills Regional Commission.
Governor Stein Creates Commission on Accessibility | NC Office of the Governor
Governor Stein announced the formation of the Commission on Accessibility to help make state government services and information more accessible to all the people of North Carolina. Commission members include the Kramden Institute’s Cyndy Yu Robinson and BRBA’s own Sara Nichols!
More Updates
Governor Stein asks energy task force to consider overhaul or elimination of NC’s data center tax breaks | WUNC
Johnston Community College and Brightspeed Train Next Generation of Fiber Technicians as North Carolina’s Broadband Expansion Accelerates | Brightspeed
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