Close the internet access gap in rural NC

The News & Observer’s March 28 Community Voices forum will focus on “Bridging North Carolina’s urban-rural divide,” but when we announced it, Tim Johnson of southern Wake County, called to say he had a problem with the event. We asked those who plan to attend the free event to register in advance at eventbrite.com so we can get a head count, but Johnson, 75, said he lives in an area that doesn’t have access to the internet.

We told Johnson to feel free to attend the event without registering, but his situation made clear one of the major contributors to the economic gap between North Carolina’s booming cities and its rural areas — too many people outside of urban centers can’t get online, or can’t get online at speeds beyond a minimal internet connection.

Cable companies find sparsely populated areas too expensive to serve. Meanwhile, a state law that protects cable companies’ monopolies bars local governments from setting up their own high-speed internet systems.

Early in the 21st century, not being able to get on the internet is akin to be without having electricity early in the last century. Without access to the internet, people are cut off from email, social media, Google searches and online shopping. And no access to high-speed makes it hard to view videos or download data and can seriously hinder businesses, schools and medical providers.

Last week the North Carolina League of Municipalities issued a compelling report on how gaps in internet service affect wide rural swaths of a state that is home to the high technology of research universities and Research Triangle Park.

The report’s summary says: “Stories abound in North Carolina of public school students flocking to downtown public wi-fi hubs in order to do homework, of farmers who sell their goods in a global market struggling to acquire the reliable internet connections needed to conduct business, of health care providers and their patients who cannot fully take advantage of modern telehealth due to the lack of adequate internet speeds.” The North Carolina Broadband Infrastructure Office estimates that in a state of 10.2 million people at least 637,671 North Carolinians lack broadband service at the Federal Communications Commission’s minimum speeds.

The report calls for government-business partnerships to help close the internet access gap. Government can make a privately operated service feasible by providing infrastructure for the system and assuming some of the financial risks. Private companies provide the technical expertise and customer services.

But in North Carolina these partnerships are being hampered by a state law that essentially keeps public entities from getting involved in providing high-speed internet service. The law backed by then-state House Speaker and now U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis supposedly protects private cable companies from having to compete with tax-subsidized government providers. But the law’s effect is to render places the companies choose not to serve into internet deserts.

The League’s report says, “As indispensable as broadband has become, North Carolina public policy restricts local governments’ ability to play a role in meeting today’s critical infrastructure challenge. As a result, communities are being left behind and remain disconnected from the world, particularly in rural areas of the state.”

A solution, the report suggests, is to change state policy to make it easier for local governments to join with private companies to provide high-speed internet in underserved areas. Such cooperation responds to worries about private enterprise having to compete with governments while making it feasible for private companies to serve rural areas.

Lawmakers should give close attention to the League’s report: “Leaping the Digital Divide.” Depending on where they are, they may be able to read it on the internet.

This story was originally published March 24, 2018 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Close the internet access gap in rural NC."