Rural Internet Access Authority meets at SCC

SYLVA - Officials from throughout the state met Thursday, May 17, at Southwestern Community College to discuss progress in their efforts at bringing high-performance Internet access to North Carolina's rural regions.

Led by Jane Patterson, the commission's Executive Director, the Rural Internet Access Authority (RIAA) is presently mapping out a detailed list of services that are available in each part of the state. They are also in the process of determining ways they can improve those services.

"Our major activities at this time are focused on the demand side of this issue," said Patterson, who works at the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center in Raleigh. "We are looking at outreach and applications activities as well as inventories that are being taken of the telecommunications infrastructure in both the rural and urban areas of our state. That all plugs into our overall goal of bringing affordable broadband to rural regions by Dec. 31, 2003, so that North Carolina can participate fully in an information society."

Members of the group, who were appointed by the North Carolina General Assembly, are charged with bridging the technology gap between rural and urban parts of the state. At present, individuals and businesses in smaller towns across the state pay roughly five times as much for the same level of Internet access as their counterparts in bigger cities. Dr. James Leutze, the commission's chairman, exuded confidence in the RIAA's ability to accomplish its goal.

"We're going to get the job done. We will make sure that technology is where it needs to be," said Leutze, who is Chancellor for the University of North Carolina-Wilmington. "If an area has needs that aren't being met, we'll provide incentives to the telecommunications companies to get the technology where we need it."

During Thursday's meeting, the RIAA discussed data that has already been collected. Commission members also made several decisions about the allocation of funds from its budget.

"The commission's plan of action is really beginning to take shape," said Dr. Cecil Groves, President of SCC and a member of the commission. "The RIAA will be making more than $4 million in funding available to Tier I and Tier II counties throughout the state who have formulated plans of action to implement broadband technology. Fortunately, through initiatives like the Smoky Mountain Knowledge Network and Appalachian Access, our region is well positioned to benefit from this funding."

SCC coordinated formation of the Smoky Mountain Knowledge Network in an effort to ensure that the six far-western counties have an infrastructure in place so that they can take advantage of high-performance Internet. The College has also taken the lead in Appalachian Access, an initiative aimed at bringing high-performance Internet and broadband technology to western North Carolina.

Thursday's meeting also included the first public briefing about the Appalachian Access project.

For more information about the Rural Internet Access Authority, visit www.ncruralcenter.org/internet on the World-Wide Web.