Board assesses county's Digital Access Plan

Apr. 13—LENOIR — During the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, April 10, Duncan Cavanaugh, senior planner at the Western Piedmont Council of Governments (WPCOG), presented the county's Digital Access Plan, which aims to increase access to high-speed, reliable internet to local communities that need it most.

In his presentation, Cavanaugh explained that broadband access is essential for any county's economic development as it plays a major role in job creation. While businesses, education, healthcare, and other public services are all becoming increasingly technologically dependent, many areas of the county remain disconnected from the economic and social opportunities that broadband access provides. High-speed, reliable, and affordable broadband access is critical to economic competitiveness and improving the quality of life for all residents.

"We received some money from N.C. State University to create these plans for the region," Cavanaugh said. "The Western Piedmont Council of Governments is working on one for each of our four counties [Alexander, Burke, Caldwell and Catawba]."

In October 2022, WPCOG invited numerous stakeholders from Caldwell County and across the region to attend a half-day workshop to assess the current state of digital inclusion in their counties. Stakeholders from local governments, school systems, community colleges, libraries, economic development organizations, and community nonprofits provided their input and identified current and potential future digital inclusion opportunities.

"We were looking at things like, for example, public Wi-Fi access points," Cavanaugh said. "We were looking at digital literacy courses and workshops that were offered in the county, primarily through CCC&TI and the Senior Center, as well as public computer access points and other educational problems. We wanted to get the lay of the land first and see what's already being offered in the county before we talk to the people who are actually involved in those efforts. We got a good idea of what's going on."

This plan's mission is to help create a pathway that will result in expanded access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet for all county residents and businesses. The plan's long term vision is for all county residents to have full access to quality broadband, along with the knowledge and skills that are needed to participate fully in our community.

Cavanaugh said that the North Carolina Department of Information Technology's (NCDIT's) Broadband Infrastructure Office provides grant funding to private providers of broadband services to deploy broadband service in underserved areas in the state. In July 2022, NCDIT's Growing Rural Economies Access to Technology (GREAT) Grant program announced that Connect Holding had been awarded a $3.2 million grant to deploy broadband services to approximately 947 households, businesses, agricultural operations, and community anchor institutions in Caldwell County. As a condition of the grant award, Connect Holding agreed to provide high-speed service on or before Dec. 31, 2026.

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The Digital Access Plan identifies those areas in the county that need the most focus in order to increase access, such as outreach campaigns to promote and help people sign up for the Affordable Connectivity Program, among others, and education in digital literacy.

The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) is a benefit program from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more. The benefit provides a discount of up to $30 per month toward internet service for eligible households and up to $75 a month for households on qualifying Tribal lands. Eligible households can also receive a one-time discount of up to $100 to purchase a laptop, desktop computer, or tablet from participating providers if they contribute more than $10 and less than $50 toward the purchase price. The Affordable Connectivity Program is limited to one monthly service discount and one device discount per household.

To enroll, go to AffordableConnectivity.gov to submit an application online or print out a mail-in application. Eligible households must both apply for the program and contact a participating provider to select a service plan.

At the conclusion of Cavanaugh's presentation, Commission Chairman Randy Church thanked him for his and the WPCOG's efforts in bringing Caldwell County ahead of the curve.

"I noticed this kind of goes along with what we're trying to do here, but certainly the broadband has been an issue that we've had for a long time in our county," said Church. "Those residents in our north and northwest areas, the Collettsville community, and over into Yadkin Valley and Patterson, they all desire to have internet access, they just can't get it. I'm hoping that some of these things will be coming down the pipe that's going to help expand it into that area."

For more information, visit www.wpcog.org.