Leaders discuss ways to help everyone in the mountains have access to internet
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — Mountain leaders gathered at UNC Asheville on Monday morning to work on how to bring better broadband internet to the mountains.
Local city and county managers are just a few of the people who attended the Regional Leadership Summit on Broadband.
The day centered around how Western North Carolina can increase and expand the technology.
Leaders said the country's shifting toward a digital economy, but people in the mountains are being left behind.
"Where we have pockets of people that are not served well and have difficulty getting capacity, we need to find tools to help them get organized and connect with providers," West Next Generation Network Initiative's William Sederburg said.
Sederburg said it is important we find innovative ways to stay connected in the mountains.
The purpose of the WestNGN (pronounced West-Engine and short for West Next Generation Network) initiative is to lower the cost of expanding high-speed fiber optic networks through a collaborative effort of six local communities (Asheville, Laurel Park, Biltmore Forest, Waynesville, Fletcher and Hendersonville.) The project originated with these six municipalities and UNC Asheville, under the leadership of the Land of Sky Regional Council, a community-based economic development agency that serves the western counties.
More information about the project is available here.
