Podcast: This is our moment! HERO Project brings generational opportunity in North Carolina

On June 16, 2023, MCNC received $11.2 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for the High-speed Economies for Rural Opportunity, or HERO Project. Funded through the federal Internet for All initiative, the HERO Project (coupled with matching funds from MCNC and the Golden LEAF Foundation) is estimated to be a $19 million total investment in technology infrastructure that will directly support improvements to broadband access and affordability in central and southeastern North Carolina.

On today’s MCNC Community Connect podcast, MCNC President and CEO Tracy Doaks is joined by Nate Denny, Deputy Secretary of Broadband and Digital Equity at the North Carolina Department of Information Technology, and MCNC Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Tommy Jacobson to discuss this exciting new project that officially broke ground in Sanford on Sept. 5. Listen the latest episode here.

This conversation builds off the recent groundbreaking event held at Central Carolina Community College by diving deeper into the economic and social impacts of high- speed internet, how broadband has emerged as a force multiplier to close the digital divide for many overlooked and distressed rural communities, how the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program became the centerpiece of funding to support smart public investments, and where the BEAD Challenge Process fits in to ensure all citizens in North Carolina are connected to high-speed internet by 2030.

MCNC’s HERO Project is designed to build comprehensive community infrastructure, supporting improvements to broadband access and affordability by constructing 209 miles of new middle-mile fiber in some of the highest poverty areas of North Carolina, traversing areas that likely would never be served by commercial providers. HERO will impact everything – from commercial fishing, farming and entertainment to health care, entrepreneurism, the military, and all points in between. Read our HERO Blogs.

This project builds on MCNC’s unwavering commitment to broadband connectivity and opportunity for all in North Carolina. And, over the next few months, you’ll be seeing and hearing a lot about it. We hope this latest podcast helps paint the bigger picture of what we’re working on, the significance of it, and how you might be able to get involved.

You can listen to this episode on our website, on Apple or Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Archives of previous episodes of MCNC Community Connect also are available. If you have a suggestion for future episode of MCNC Community Connect, please connect with us!

We hope you enjoy the discussion.