N.C. promises high-speed Net access for all residents

From...

May 11, 2000
Web posted at: 8:57 a.m. EDT (1257 GMT)

by Daniel Keegan

(IDG) -- A new agreement between North Carolina officials and the stateās three major communications companies aims to bring high-speed Internet access to the entire state by 2002.

BellSouth, Sprint and GTE have agreed to work with Internet service providers, telephone cooperatives, the state government, and others in the industry in order to reach the goal.

Driving the agreement is the idea that Internet access is crucial to decreasing the economic disparity between rural and urban areas.

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"Affordable, high-speed Internet access is a key competitive factor for economic development and quality of life in the New Economy of the global marketplace," the agreementās preamble reads. "In the Digital Age, universal connectivity at affordable prices is a necessity for business transactions, education and training, health care, government services and the democratic process."

Melinda Pierson, the Department of Commerceās public information officer, said that although the agreement was struck several weeks ago, the details of how the goal will be reached have not been finished. A nonprofit board will be established to work out how to reach the goal. That board will include representatives from the three companies and state and local government officials.

Pierson said that in most areas the companies will pay to build the high-speed network, but in areas that the companies would lose money, the state would provide tax incentives or low-interest loans.

The agreement also spelled out six other goals, which the board will implement:

• Provide dial-up access from every phone exchange within one year.



• Establish two pilot Telework Centers in the poorest areas of the state. The centers, to be established within the next 18 months, will provide computers and Internet access to residents.



• Provide more residents with computers and Internet devices and subscriptions throughout the state.



• Provide information regularly to citizens about the availability and future of telecommunications and Internet services.



• Promote development of electronic government applications.



• Employ "open technology approaches" to encourage potential Internet providers to provide access without bias.

The agreement began from a recommendation in the Rural Prosperity Task Force report, presented to Gov. Jim Hunt earlier this year. However, the companies wanted to approach the issue in another manner, and the agreement was made with the head of the task force, Erskine Bowles, also the former White House chief of staff.

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BellSouth
Sprint
GTE

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