internet access

Internet customers in western North Carolina to benefit from provider's $20M settlement

11:34am April 17, 2024

The North Carolina Attorney General's Office has announced a $20 million settlement with a major internet provider that will require it to make investments in infrastructure in the coming years.

Politics & Government

Biden will promote internet access in North Carolina, a state he hopes to win in the 2024 election

7:58am January 18, 2024

by Josh Boak, Associated Press

President Joe Biden is going to North Carolina on Thursday to highlight $82 million in new investments that would connect 16,000 households and businesses to high-speed internet.

A photo of plugs inserted into a connector.

Politics & Government

N.C. set to receive $1.5 billion in federal funds to expand high-speed internet access

3:15pm June 27, 2023

by DJ Simmons

North Carolina is set to receive more than $1.5 billion in federal funding which will be used to expand high-speed Internet access for residents.

A Viasat internet satellite dish is seen in the yard of a house in Madison, Va., on March 31.

More than 1 in 3 rural Black southerners lack home internet access, a new study finds

7:11pm October 06, 2021

by Deepa Shivaram

The research shows that across 152 counties, 38% of Black residents in the rural South have no home internet access, compared to 23% of white residents.

A sign for a recent graduate is bent but not burned in Blue River, Ore., eight days after the Holiday Farm Fire swept through its business district.

National

Oregon District Offers Online Learning After Wildfire Postpones School

5:00am October 01, 2020

by Elizabeth Gabriel

The Oregon school district hardest hit by wildfire is scrambling to create some normalcy and hold classes online. It's unclear how many families can participate since so many are displaced.

Queue Listen Now

In numerous recent interviews, educators have told NPR they're concerned the rural-urban divide will only worsen if kids can't get online to learn.

In Internet Dead Zones, Rural Schools Struggle With Distanced Learning

5:00am September 28, 2020

by Kirk Siegler

Many American schools are back in class via distance learning. It's stressful everywhere but especially in rural districts where most students lack high-speed Internet and cell phone service at home.

Education

Broadband Gaps In Rural NC Raise Equity Concerns

1:24pm June 16, 2020

by Keri Brown

Schools across the state are planning ahead for the possibility of continued remote learning.

Politics & Government

Report: North Carolina Cities Need State's Help To Expand Broadband

4:56pm March 21, 2018

by Associated Press

The association representing North Carolina's cities and towns says new legislation is needed to develop partnerships between local governments and private broadband providers so areas still lackin

Men look at computers in an Internet bar in Beijing in 2015. Even as the government finds new methods to block virtual private networks, providers find ways to go around the blocks.

World News

Behind China's VPN Crackdown, A 'Game Of Cat And Mouse' Continues

3:26pm August 04, 2017

by Anthony Kuhn

Savvy Internet users in China can tunnel under the "Great Firewall" using virtual private networks. Even as the government finds new methods to block VPNs, providers find ways to go around the blocks.

Queue Listen Now

Google launched its first servers in Cuba this week. Above, people use public Wi-Fi to connect their devices on a Havana street in October 2016.

Google Spins Up Its First Servers In Cuba

5:14pm April 27, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

The company can speed up delivery of high-bandwidth content like YouTube videos because the servers will now store data locally. But accessing the Internet in Cuba remains difficult and expensive.