Advancing Our State

For 40 years, research, education, nonprofit healthcare, and other community anchor institutions have connected to our statewide broadband network, NCREN, to advance their missions and positively impact the economic, education, health, and safety of North Carolinians. Today, MCNC serves the broadband infrastructure needs of more than 850 of these institutions.

This growth allows MCNC to customize network services and applications in unprecedented fashion as MCNC looks to further enable private-sector providers to bring cost-effective broadband infrastructure to rural and underserved areas of North Carolina.

MCNC’s business and partnering strategy gives North Carolina a competitive advantage in economic development and is driving the interconnected economy in North Carolina.

Public-Private Partnerships

MCNC provides high-speed internet and value-added services so a student anywhere in North Carolina can be online while at school or at a library, so researchers and health care professionals can find that next great innovation or medical discovery, so local economies can thrive with an educated and connected workforce, and so public safety agencies can keep our communities safe. We do all of this in a cost-conscious manner while delivering a breakthrough client experience. MCNC provides its broadband infrastructure to private-sector companies. This neutral, open access delivery model helps bring enhanced, affordable, and reliable broadband connectivity to clients and businesses in areas of North Carolina previously unreachable.

Enabling Competition

Broadband connectivity has become an essential economic asset for communities in North Carolina and throughout the country. MCNC is helping to level the playing field for small and rural service providers to compete with big ISPs and pass along savings to clients. Selling them dark fiber directly so they can provide their own services instead of leasing services, or enabling more providers to offers wholesale services directly in their market — this adds to competition which typically helps prices go down.

Collaborating with Providers

Providing MCNC’s open-access infrastructure to private-sector entities brings the advantages of enhanced broadband to both consumers and businesses throughout North Carolina. Enterprises are able to serve their own network needs by using available fiber to build their own private network to host and deliver their mission-critical business applications. Service providers utilize available fiber to extend their networks and drive advanced, high-bandwidth services to rural North Carolinians. MCNC’s neutral delivery model gives North Carolina a real competitive advantage in attracting good companies that offer high-paying jobs.

Earning Your Trust

MCNC is guided by values in innovation, economic development, relationships with state and local government, thought leadership, and security solutions.

MCNC is proud to be considered a thought leader and convener in the local, state, and national networking community.

MCNC is steadfast in its belief that public-private partnerships and a neutral delivery model work.

Public-private partnerships that support small and rural service providers bring more competition, lower costs, and better services.

MCNC has an impressive history of collaboration. Broadband connectivity is an essential economic asset.

Connecting North CarolinaAdvancing Our StateCreating Solutions Leading Innovation