Digital Inclusion Planning Guide

The Building a New Digital Economy (BAND-NC) initiative was announced in February 2020 to address the challenges of broadband adoption across North Carolina, and to spark long-term planning efforts to bridge the digital divide. The ultimate goal of BAND-NC is for all 100 counties in North Carolina to publish digital inclusion plans in order to reduce and close the digital divide. As of August 2022, 15 counties have adopted digital inclusion plans through the BAND-NC program; nine have been published as part of collective plans from their respective councils of government, and six others have been published individually. All BAND-NC supported plans can be found published on the BAND-NC Resources page, along with a map of counties currently engaging in the digital inclusion planning process. This review aims to be a helpful resource for counties and stakeholders who have just started or are hoping to begin the digital inclusion planning process.