Emerging Issues Institute Coverage

  • Report: Internet speeds down 20% in Raleigh, 22% in Fayetteville, stable in Durham

    LESLIE BONEY: Coping with COVID-19 reveals serious broadband gaps
    Friday, March 27, 2020 -- Despite significant progress in the past few years, almost 18 percent of North Carolina households have no internet access, and those are disproportionately located in the rural areas of the state. But that absence of connection isn't just about fiber. A notable portion of the state's offline households are also in urban areas, cut off not by distance but by cost. More than 40% of N.C. households where broadband is available don't subscribe. Infrastructure isn't helpful if you can't afford to use it.
    March 28, 2020 5:49 a.m. EDT
  • NCSU RECONNECT

    LESLIE BONEY: If we build it, will they come?
    Friday, Feb. 7, 2020 -- We are closer to the day when every North Carolinian will have access to high speed internet services. The transformative power of high speed services won't happen unless we answer a critical question: If we build it, will they come? Now the evidence is mixed.
    February 7, 2020 3:55 p.m. EST
  • NCSU Sweet Potatoes

    LESLIE BONEY: What universities can learn from sweet potatoes
    Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019 -- The sweet potatoes didn't exactly "roll" off the line. They're lumpy and unpredictable, so turning them from dirt-covered roots into valuable products takes a lot of planning and skill. A lot of challenges in North Carolina seem that way right now -- they surface from underground raw and rooted, in need of thoughtful processing. And as with the sweet potatoes, our universities can play a key role in thinking through how to turn raw potential into real opportunity.
    November 17, 2019 2:30 p.m. EST
  • NC PLATE

    LESLIE BONEY: Four forces can close N.C.'s urban-rural divide
    Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 -- The idea of a clear divide between thriving North Carolina urban areas and struggling rural regions is wrong. We have undeniable gaps in education, broadband access, and medical care, but those challenges are all over the map. There are struggling cities and thriving small towns, along with a huge number of people living in loose suburbs that don't fit either category. We need less focus on divides and more focus on connections.
    January 27, 2019 5:00 a.m. EST