Published: April 20, 2009 10:00 am      

Broadband: the wave of the future

Sunday, April 19, 2009 — If plans come to fruition, Stanly County will become the first county in North Carolina with a broadband network.

When and if the network is developed, Stanly County could sell cable TV, Internet and phone services directly to its citizens, and according to Stanly County Commissioner Lindsey Dunevant, Internet service would be at a much quicker speed than is currently available.

“No current provider will provide product at 100 million bits per second, symmetrical up-and-down,” Dunevant said.

“Asia, Europe and even parts of Africa have better service than we do in the United States.”

Two North Carolina cities are leading the way as Stanly County attempts to become the first countywide broadband provider.

Albemarle City Manager Raymond Allen said that the city of Wilson in eastern North Carolina became the state’s initial provider and is using its broadband capabilities as an economic development tool to lure businesses with high-speed Internet needs. Closer to home, Salisbury just approved $36 million last fall for a citywide network system.

“Salisbury and Wilson will have better Internet service than New York City when all is said and done,” Dunevant said.

Providing the improved product is the goal of the county commissioners, and to fund a feasibility study, they are asking each municipality in the county to fund $1.50 per capita in their FY 2009-2010 budgets. The county will pay the $1.50 for citizens that do not live within an incorporated town.

To date, some county municipalities have signed on with the county, while others either rejected or are yet to bring before council.

The city of Albemarle approved their $24,000 funding on April 6; however, Locust opted not to fund due to the economic situation of today in their April 9 meeting. Locust Town Administrator James Inman said Locust would re-visit if other communities approved.

Dunevant called broadband the “fourth utility” and that it will impact education, medical, industrial work environments and the quality of life for all.

“Once everyone is on board, we hope to have a survey of our needs done by June and move onto an engineering study of how to build and how to start,” Dunevant said.

“We’ll think go to the current providers and ask if they can give us this service. If they can’t, we’ll move to take care of ourselves.”