Closing NC’s Rural Internet gaps: Interactive Map Helps Residents Find Low-Cost, Free Internet Service Options
To assist North Carolinians working, studying and accessing health care from home during the social distancing orders, N.C. Department of Information Technology’s Broadband Infrastructure Office has developed an interactive map to find free and low-cost internet and mobile service offerings in their area. Hometown Strong encourages its county and local partners to share this link on social media and community resources pages to enhance citizen awareness of Internet services in their community.
The online map is updated daily with new offerings, which include free public Wi-Fi access points for remote learning and working. Service providers and local schools and government services offering free or affordable options for high-speed internet can submit their offerings at https://it.nc.gov/internet. This is part of the state efforts to help students, parents and workers bridge the digital divide during the state’s response to COVID-19. Please contact us if your community is interested in working with DIT to utilize local assets for additional wi-fi expansion. Assets can be towers, buildings or even school buses!
If you are still interested in access state surplus property through Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 122 please let us know!
As a reminder, Executive Order 124, issued March 31, urges telecommunications, cable and internet service providers to give customers more time to pay outstanding bills and to waive fees and interest for late payments as a result of COVID-19. It also urges providers to lift any data caps if they have not done so already.