NC Broadband Matters

CLIC’s North Carolina chapter, NC Broadband Matters, has as its mission to attract, support and champion the universal availability of affordable, reliable, high capacity internet to create thriving local communities, uniquely local small businesses, and a workforce empowered to compete in the global knowledge economy.

NC Broadband Matters is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that grew out of a series of grassroot lunch meetings organized in 2012 by Wilson, North Carolina, the first Gigabit City in the state. The purpose of these “fiber lunches” was to discuss how to get more fiber – optics, that is –into our community diets– and connect North Carolina’s communities to the world. (North Carolina was showing signs of developing urban digital-haves and rural digital have-nots). By December 2016, CLIC adopted the group as its North Carolina Chapter, and CLIC-NC developed around a positive campaign — NC Hearts Gigabit–that would build on the state’s technology leadership, and utilize the dynamic entrepreneurs and techies behind Charlotte Hearts Gigabit, a successful effort that helped Charlotte attract Google Fiber.

By December 2017, NC Hearts Gigabit grew into a 501(c) 3 nonprofit, as NC Broadband Matters, Inc., to coordinate our NC Hearts Gigabit public education campaign. Through its web-based home, NCHeartsGigabit.com, and @NCHeartsGB, the NC Broadband Matters board and grassroots communities are uniting local vision and know-how with national players for an “everyone-deserves access to modern broadband”  agenda.

So, if you live, work, or even just vacation in North Carolina, please join us. Sign up as a member of CLIC here, and we’ll add you to our North Carolina discussion. Follow our local stories on our twitter feeds and our website blogs, videos, and podcasts.