Director, Broadband Infrastructure Office Land of Sky Council of Government Jeff Sural Director, Broadband Infrastructure Office My name is ________ and I am with the Department of Information Technology’s Broadband Infrastructure Office. The department provides technology services to state agencies and other government customers across North Carolina, under the leadership of the Secretary/State Chief Information Officer (SCIO). The Broadband Infrastructure Office reports directly to the Secretary. May 21, 2018

What is Broadband? OPTIONAL (depending on audience): The term broadband commonly refers to high-speed Internet access that is always on and faster than the traditional dial-up access. The FCC’s current definition of broadband is that the rate at which data moves must be 25 Megabits per second (Mbps) download/3 megabits upload to be defined as broadband. How does this relate to your daily use? Typically, general internet browsing and email uses 1 Mbps download, streaming video can require 3-4 Mbps or more for high definition video. A family with four users or devices may need between 12-25 Mbps download for basic or moderate use. These speeds aren’t the only characteristics of broadband. We also look at reliability, latency and other characteristics that affect the internet connection. What is Broadband?

Every North Carolinian should be able to access affordable high-speed internet anywhere, at any time. Vision Our office’s aim is to expand and improve our state’s broadband infrastructure and use to enhance global competitiveness, our education system, public safety, health care, and government services.

The Broadband Infrastructure Office Community Policy Programs and Tools We execute our vision through a strategy that focuses on policy development, technical assistance, and programs and tools to enhance adoption and use of high speed internet. We provide multiple services and we have created tools designed to support local communities achieve their broadband goals. The State Broadband Plan is a guiding document intended inform policy makers and to be a strategic plan with recommendations organized into six groups: broadband availability, broadband adoption, the K-12 homework gap, economic development, telehealth, and public safety. The Technical Assistance Program provides communities with an in-person, on-the-ground expert to provide guidance and help. The Community Broadband Playbook is an interactive, online resource that guides communities through the steps they need to take to improve broadband services in their communities. And we've built Croudsourcing Speed Reporting tool that allows citizens and businesses to report whether they have internet access and the speeds that they are receiving at their address to give us a better idea of where service is unavailable or lacking.

Specifically: The office, through its technical experts, works directly with counties and communities to facilitate infrastructure development. This work includes the implementation of a internally-created process that includes the creation of community broadband planning groups, demand aggregation, infrastructure assessments, and internet service provider engagements and meetings. We also have a public safety initiative that supports the state’s FirstNet effort and serves as a technical communications resource for communities. We develop policies based on sound data, including the State Broadband Plan, Crowdsource Speed Reporting Map, and the ‘Homework Gap’ study. We’ve created or supported, and leveraged inter-agency partnerships, to create programs and tools for use by local governments, community anchor institutions, and citizens, including a web-based Community Playbook and a state-wide Digital Equity Leaders Coalition.

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