Happy August, Alliance members and partners!
Thank you to everyone who signed onto BRBA’s letter to protect North Carolina’s Digital Equity Act funding. We’ve had an incredible turnout, with over 140 signatures from 30 NC counties. We’re sending the letter soon, so if you haven’t signed on yet but would like to do so, please use this form.
BRBA’s next meeting is this Tuesday (8/19) at 12 EST (you can register here). Our agenda will cover: updates on the BEAD Program, a comparison of different broadband technologies (e.g. fiber, wireless, and satellite), and opportunities for BEAD advocacy. We hope you can join!
Best,
Drew Garner
Benton Institute | Blue Ridge Broadband Alliance
For us, by us: Newly established Blue Ridge Broadband Alliance ignites digital opportunity in Western North Carolina
When you think of Western North Carolina (WNC), you probably think about the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains, tubing down the French Broad River, boating on Lake Lure, or having a drink in one of Asheville’s many famous breweries. More recently, you may be thinking about Hurricane Helene and the unprecedented devastation it brought to the region. What you may not be thinking about is high-speed internet, laptops, or digital skills.
Although digital opportunity for residents and small businesses have been at the center of the work of many local and regional organizations, such as Asheville-based local government planning and development organization Land of Sky or Brevard-based non-profit Through the Trees for many years, the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently the aftermath of Hurricane Helene have brought to the forefront the vulnerable nature of the digital communications infrastructure in WNC. The region has faced and continues to face multiple challenges, including a history of underfunding, the dispersed nature of rural communities, and mountainous terrain. Most recently, the region has been grappling with the aftermath of Helene at the same time as it is experiencing sudden terminations of federal funding that communities were counting on to rebuild infrastructure, farms, schools, housing, and economic opportunities. One such funding cut was the termination of the so-called Digital Equity Act (DEA), that was signed into law with bipartisan support under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021.
Among other things, the DEA provided funding for the availability of, and affordability of access to, fixed and wireless broadband technology (high-speed internet), device refurbishment and distribution to people in need of a laptop, digital skills training, including computer classes for seniors, and many other digital opportunity projects. Several non-profit organizations in the region that had submitted a shared grant proposal through the Land of Sky Regional Council were awarded much-needed funding under the DEA, but lost the funding when the Trump administration abruptly terminated the program in May.
Despite the loss of funding, WNC is determined to move the needle on digital opportunity for its residents. With financial support from the Dogwood Health Trust and administrative support from the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, which has supported the founding and running of several other such coalitions across the United States, Land of Sky’s Energy & Economic Development Manager, Sara Nichols, is spearheading the newly founded Blue Ridge Broadband Alliance (BRBA). The BRBA went “live” with its new website and its first virtual meeting in late June 2025. The goal is to “ensure that Western North Carolina doesn’t get left behind” and to “build the digital infrastructure our communities need to thrive in today’s connected world”. The BRBA brings together stakeholders from the 18 Western-most counties in North Carolina, from Burke County to Cherokee County, in monthly virtual meetings and quarterly in-person meetings throughout the region. The overarching theme of the BRBA is that this important work is done by Western North Carolinians for Western North Carolinians.
Given WNC’s unique challenges and opportunities, the local and regional nature of this alliance is crucial for its success. BRBA leader Sara Nichols explains that “this is a for us by us situation to do it this way, putting Western North Carolina leadership at the front of it to have a Western North Carolina specific conversation.” This approach is echoed and highlighted by other BRBA members. For example, Yvette Brooks from Through the Trees emphasized the value of learning from other local and regional organizations with similar goals, “I need to know those growing pains from my peers and being able to see it in action helps a lot…I’ve learned so much from being in person with other organizations even just starting with our local ones.”
Nichols and several members of the BRBA also highlight the resilience of WNC communities: “We are strong as a region because we’re always left out, we’re kind of used to having to do work together and do stuff together and maximize our collective impact” says Nichols. Kennedy Young at Land of Sky echoes this sentiment, emphasizing that local and regional knowledge is needed to succeed in reducing the digital divide in WNC: “[what is] really great is that they have that knowledge, they understand what their county or their served area needs, and I think that having them included in the alliance, and building that up will allow us to have a general overview and be able to get a better insight in what is necessary to close that digital divide.” Similarly, Yvette Brooks (Through the Trees) highlights how all organizations can benefit from sharing their knowledge: “There’s a lot of facets to this work. What I’ve learned… it’s surrounding myself with really knowledgeable people that come in and out of here all the time.”
While some may consider digital opportunity a generally important issue that deserves attention in and of itself, several BRBA members emphasize that digital infrastructure and skills are increasingly important for all sectors in the region, such as tourism, healthcare, education, and small businesses, among many others. Craig Varley from Land of Sky Regional Council explains, for example, how the healthcare sector would benefit from better internet connections and internet skills both on the side of the provider and the patient: “There’s huge healthcare advantages to getting that both for the healthcare organizations themselves and for their patients so they can access [the information] remotely and securely.” Similarly, TJ Smith from the International Friendship Center highlights the importance of digital connectivity and skills for healthcare and education:
“What COVID taught us was that these rural spaces are also placed at a major disadvantage when it comes to virtual learning or any kind of virtual access to things like telehealth. [E]specially in the learning space, kids need to be able to access the Internet, kids need to be able to connect over video conferencing, students need to be able to have those literacy skills around computers… They’ve got to have access and having to go and sit in a McDonald’s parking lot and do your homework is not OK.”
In this vein, the BRBA is eager to involve members who may not traditionally be thinking of themselves as connected to digital opportunity. BRBA member and Economic & Development Business Inclusion Manager for the City of Asheville, Marcus Kirkman, underscored the importance of including diverse organizations in the alliance:
“Organizations like Hood Huggers, I think, with DeWayne Barton, who is actually in the process of developing a workforce development program for youth. I can see that organization. I can see the … Young Men’s Institute (YMI), it’s the oldest black cultural center in the nation here in Asheville right down off of Market Street. The YMI being engaged in this I think would be crucial. … The black legacy neighborhoods, those are some of the organizations that come to mind that I think would be important to be at the table and be engaged.”
Collaboration is the cornerstone of digital opportunity work, and it’s the organizations working with Western North Carolinians on the ground who know best what their communities need. Their input and participation is invaluable for providing digital opportunities to the entire region.
To support the Blue Ridge Broadband Alliance’s mission of expanding equitable digital access in WNC, community members and partners can take part in several key initiatives. Organizations and individuals in the region who are interested in this work are encouraged to sign up to become members of the BRBA by visiting their brand new website. Members will receive a monthly newsletter and are invited to join the monthly virtual meetings to stay informed, share ideas, collaborate on solutions, and participate in the quarterly show-and-tell sessions, which will rotate locations in WNC to highlight local successes, innovative projects, and emerging needs. Others who are not quite ready to join the alliance but want to stay up to date with what is happening in the region can sign up to receive the monthly Blue Ridge Broadband Bulletin newsletter.
Organizations and residents can also amplify the collective voice of (Western) North Carolina by adding their name to the BRBA’s sign-on letter, urging NC Attorney General Jeff Jackson to lead or join a lawsuit challenging the administration’s unconstitutional cancellation of the $2.75 billion Digital Equity Act, which included several millions of dollars for specific WNC digital opportunity projects. Together, these steps help ensure that every household, business, and organization in WNC has the digital tools they need to thrive.
by Bianca C. Reisdorf and Megan N. Foster
Guidance and Application Materials for $1.5 Billion BEAD Program to Expand High-Speed Internet Access in North Carolina | North Carolina Department of Information Technology | July 14, 2025
The North Carolina Department of Information Technology’s (NCDIT) Division of Broadband and Digital Opportunity today published the subgrantee selection process guidance and application materials for the revised Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which provides $1.5 billion in federal funding for high-speed internet infrastructure projects in North Carolina. Internet service providers that submitted prequalification materials by July 7 may submit applications through July 30. On July 7, the division also updated the BEAD-eligible locations in the BEAD Planning Map, part of the NC OneMap’s broadband mapping resources. In limited cases, stakeholders may make additional modifications to BEAD-eligible locations before the data is submitted to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) as part of each state’s final proposal.
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Collective Impact: Center for Digital Equity Fiscal Year 2025 Annual Report | Center for Digital Equity | August 6, 2025
FCC OK’s UScellular’s relinquishment of ETC status in New Hampshire, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia | Federal Communications Commission | August 1, 2025
NCDIT Broadband Funding Update Webinar | North Carolina Department of Information Technology | July 23, 2025
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in Digital Inclusion Planning, North Carolina, 2023-2024 | Journal of Community Informatics | July 7, 2025