From Dec. 1 to Dec. 16, the 12 Days of Broadband returns to feature a dozen ways how broadband and high-speed connections impact communities in North Carolina as well as previewing what’s to come in 2023.
The post MCNC’s ’12 Days of Broadband’ series to salute high-speed internet success stories across NC first appeared on WRAL TechWire.

MCNC’s ’12 Days of Broadband’ series to salute high-speed internet success stories across NC

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Explore a dozen ways MCNC continues to close the digital divide across North Carolina
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Nov. 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- It's the 12 Days of Broadband and MCNC gave to thee … tales of success from across the State of N.C.! For 12 consecutive years, the technology non-profit that builds, owns, and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN) has hummed this tune by providing the 12 Days of Broadband annually to showcase how critical high-speed Internet and related technology services really are for businesses, intuitions of learning, and the lives of North Carolina's citizens. From Dec. 1 to Dec. 16, the 12 Days of Broadband  returns to feature a dozen ways how broadband and high-speed connections impact communities in North Carolina as well as previewing what's to come in 2023. "As we continue to expand broadband across the state," explained MCNC President and CEO Tracy Doaks, "opportunities continue to accelerate and become more available for all residents and industries. From health care to education, cybersecurity to community outreach, North Carolina has seen record advancements in what high-speed Internet can do, and we can't wait to once again share these great steps forward with you." Over the past 40 years, MCNC has connected some of the most disparate communities to ensure digital equity and inclusion for every resident, old and young, and from every background. As in years past, the 12 Days of Broadband highlights how investments in infrastructure, bandwidth, and technology help ensure those opportunities continue to grow for everyone as well as drive economic and social change throughout the state. It's been another exciting year for advancing MCNC's mission to benefit North Carolina. Each day will explore a new topic that is crucial to the digital progress of the state; topics such as cybersecurity, health care, historic funding opportunities, digital equity and inclusion, new outreach efforts and collaboration, and the innovative steps taken at MCNC to streamline internal processes as well as expand research and development. "The 12 Days of Broadband has something for everyone," added Doaks. "Students, teachers, researchers, businesspeople, cybersecurity experts, and other engaged citizens will enjoy these stories highlighting how broadband has changed our world this past year and what we hope to achieve in the years to come." MCNC's network today spans more than 4,400 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure in every county in the state. This world-class network and MCNC's operational expertise provide critical connections and other important networking technologies and services for more than 1,000 community anchor institutions like research labs, libraries, health care sites, museums, public safety facilities, and all K-20 education in North Carolina. Reflect back at the previous 11 years of the 12 Days of Broadband as MCNC continues working every day to level the digital playing field all across the state. Social media users can follow along using #MCNC12days. About MCNC
MCNC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit client-focused technology organization. Founded in 1980, MCNC owns and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), one of America's longest-running regional research and education networks. With over 40 years of innovation, MCNC provides high-performance services for education, research, libraries, healthcare, public safety, and other community anchor institutions throughout North Carolina. NCREN is the fundamental broadband infrastructure for over 850 of these institutions including all public K-20 education in North Carolina. As one of the nation's premier middle-mile fiber backbone networks, MCNC leverages NCREN to customize protected Internet, cybersecurity services, and related applications for each client while supporting private service providers in bringing cost-efficient connectivity to rural and underserved communities in North Carolina. Graphics and Image(s)
This year's custom 12 Days of Broadband image is available for public use and can be downloaded here . Any high-resolution images that might be needed, please reach to MCNC Communication representatives. SOURCE MCNC

Celebrate 12 Years of MCNC's 12 Days of Broadband

Introducing NCShare
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Shared high-performance computing and advanced networking funding from National Science Foundation this year aims to boost STEM education and other technology resources for minority and smaller higher education institutions in North Carolina
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Sept. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Davidson College, Duke University and North Carolina Central University (NCCU), in collaboration with MCNC, today announced that the newly-created North Carolina Shared Research & Education collaborative infrastructure (NCShare) has received two National Science Foundation (NSF) grants totaling approximately $1.4 million to provide high-speed research network capacity, support high-performance computing, and boost STEM education to at least eight minority-serving, smaller, or mid-sized institutions of higher education throughout North Carolina. The first NSF award ( Abstract #2201525 for CC* Regional: NCShare Science DMZ ) is for $984,868 and spans two years in order to establish a parallel science network infrastructure to interconnect campus researchers to external sites with a speed and style of connectivity that is typically only available at large research universities. Rather than each participant needing to build their own science network infrastructure, this project builds a shared, regionally-based network operating on MCNC's existing state-wide research and education network. The result is expected to lower costs, require fewer campus support personnel, and provide fast and unrestricted data movement to multiple institutions. This virtualized approach increases accessibility of high-speed data-driven research by democratizing access to advanced cyberinfrastructure, enhancing research productivity, promoting collaboration, and reducing the time required for scientific discoveries at participating minority-serving and smaller institutions. Duke University Chief Information Officer (CIO) Tracy Futhey is the principal investigator (PI) for the project supported by co-PIs Davidson College CIO Kevin Davis, NCCU CIO Leah Kraus and Director of the Julius L. Chambers Biomedical/Biotechnology Research Institute Deepak Kumar, and MCNC President and CEO Tracy Doaks. "The NCShare partnership is an important step towards addressing historical IT infrastructure inequities at minority-serving institutions such as North Carolina Central University and preparing a diverse STEM/high computing workforce of the future," said Deepak Kumar, Ph.D., who also serves as interim associate provost and dean of Research and Sponsored Programs at NCCU. "The proposed infrastructure will foster collaborative and multidisciplinary research in areas such as big data and high-performance computing in genomics, drug discovery, clinical care and public health." The second NSF award ( Abstract #2201105 for CC* Compute: NCShare Compute as a Service ) is for $397,557 and also is a two-year grant that dovetails the work above but focuses on creating a shared computing environment supporting a common set of software and services, with priority use by Davidson, NCCU, and other North Carolina minority-serving and smaller institutions. The project leverages MCNC's high-speed, high-bandwidth network and Duke's already mature capability in automated provisioning, software containerization and advanced networking, which will accelerate implementation and make computation and powerful software environments quickly available to researchers, educators and students in the region. As a result, faculty at participating institutions will benefit from having access to tools and services that ease the delivery of customized computing systems to meet their research needs and enable easy access to powerful tools for students. By starting from a common base environment and then supporting customizations that can meet the specific research and education demands of participating institutions, this project provides hands-on opportunities for students to use advanced science capabilities and software environments. Charley Kneifel, Chief Technology Officer at Duke's Office of Information Technology, is the PI for the project supported by co-PIs Duke's Tracy Futhey, NCCU's Leah Kraus and Davidson's Kevin Davis. "North Carolina Central University is proud to partner with Davidson College and Duke University to enhance the overall academic experience and intellectual climate for our respective community members," said David H. Jackson, Jr., NCCU provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. "Through making our data infrastructure and software access more robust, this collaboration will assist us in fulfilling our Eagle Promise with innovative research opportunities that prepare our students to graduate on time with leadership skills, global relevance, and employment or acceptance to graduate and professional schools." "NCShare's assistance to current and future faculty and students with teaching, learning and research will be especially important to Davidson and other small North Carolina colleges and universities like us," said Shelley Rigger, interim vice president for academic affairs at Davidson College. "We don't have the resources or the demand to invest in technology at this level for ourselves alone. The funding provided by the NSF enables us to partner with North Carolina institutions as we invest in high-power computing to turbocharge undergraduate research." MCNC owns and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), one of America's longest-running regional research and education networks, providing high-performance networking services for education, research, libraries, health care, public safety, and other community anchor institutions throughout state. This network is the fundamental broadband infrastructure for more than 850 of these institutions (including all public K-20 education) in North Carolina. "This is a big moment," said MCNC's Tracy Doaks. "Our incredible minority and smaller institutions of higher education throughout North Carolina play a key role in our state's overarching digital equity and inclusion plans; they are hubs for innovation and economic opportunity in their communities. For over 40 years MCNC has been a trusted collaborator offering technology solutions and advanced networking to connect North Carolina. We are pleased to continue our long tradition of supporting important efforts such as this one." A virtual information session is scheduled Oct. 20 for those interested in these projects and want to learn more. About NCShare
The North Carolina Shared Research and Education (NCShare) infrastructure provides access to networking, scientific and statistical computing services to minority-serving institutions and smaller to mid-sized institutions of higher education in North Carolina, encompassing both private and public institutions. The program establishes a parallel research network infrastructure (a Science DMZ) to interconnect campus researchers to external sites. NCShare is a shared, regionally-based network operating on MCNC's existing state-wide research and education network, rather than as a separate infrastructure. The result is expected to lower costs, require fewer campus support personnel, and provide fast and unrestricted data movement to multiple institutions. NCShare is a joint effort established by Duke University, Davidson College, North Carolina Central University and MCNC. Additional information is available at www.ncshare.org . SOURCE MCNC

Introducing NCShare

MCNC recently announced it will fully support the collaborative efforts from many state, local and federal stakeholders to ensure North Carolina maximizes the unprecedented opportunities now available for broadband and digital equity and inclusion investments.
The post MCNC, which operates statewide fiber network, ‘fully’ supports Internet for All initiative first appeared on WRAL TechWire.

MCNC, which operates statewide fiber network, ‘fully’ supports Internet for All initiative

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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., May 27, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MCNC  today announced it will fully support the collaborative efforts from many state, local and federal stakeholders to ensure North Carolina maximizes the unprecedented opportunities now available for broadband and digital equity and inclusion investments. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo was in Durham earlier this month to announce the launch of the Internet for All  initiative, which will invest $45 billion to provide affordable, reliable, high-speed internet for everyone in America by the end of the decade. The initiative will be administered and implemented by the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Over the past 40 years MCNC has served as a vital convener and collaborator to bolster relationships with all key stakeholders in order to expand connectivity, increase innovation, and support economic development in North Carolina. MCNC President and CEO Tracy Doaks participated in roundtable discussions recently with NTIA, county and local municipalities, and other public/private collaborators including commercial service providers that focused on getting the right leaders in the same room to advance the state forward. "There is strength and unity through collaboration, and this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for North Carolina," said Doaks. "MCNC's mission is to strengthen North Carolina's future by making secure, high-speed Internet and technology services more accessible to everyone. This is now our moment! By working together every citizen in the state will gain the resources they need to fully participate in today's digital economy." MCNC continues to be the trusted technology non-profit that serves North Carolina, providing a statewide fiber-optic backbone, high-speed connectivity, consulting, cybersecurity, data center, network engineering, and other services to community anchor institutions, non-profit organizations, and commercial providers. Clients include education, non-profit health care, libraries, state and local government, research, public safety organizations, and more. The Internet for All initiative will build Internet infrastructure, teach digital skills, and provide necessary technology to ensure that everyone in America – including communities of color, rural communities, and older Americans – has the access and skills they need to fully participate in today's society. The Internet for All program launched with three Notices of Funding Opportunity:
Nearly two-thirds of states and territories have signaled their intention to get a piece of the new $45 billion broadband fund. On May 17, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper sent a letter  to the U.S. Department of Commerce declaring North Carolina's intent to participate, requesting $5 million in initial planning funds for the state – one of the first states to do so. Gov. Cooper has designated the N.C. Department of Information Technology Division of Broadband and Digital Equity as the recipient and administering agent for BEAD Program awards. Other states and territories have until July 18 to signal their intent to apply for the funding. About MCNC
MCNC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit client-focused technology organization. Founded in 1980, MCNC owns and operates the North Carolina Research and Education Network (NCREN), one of America's longest-running regional research and education networks. With over 40 years of innovation, MCNC provides high-performance services for education, research, libraries, healthcare, public safety, and other community anchor institutions throughout North Carolina. NCREN is the fundamental broadband infrastructure for over 850 of these institutions including all public K-20 education in North Carolina. As one of the nation's premier middle-mile fiber backbone networks, MCNC leverages NCREN to customize protected Internet, cybersecurity services, and related applications for each client while supporting private service providers in bringing cost-efficient connectivity to rural and underserved communities in North Carolina. Visit www.mcnc.org . MCNC Social: Facebook , Twitter , YouTube , LinkedIn . Keywords & Tags
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MCNC supports 'Internet for All' in North Carolina

Meta (NASDAQ: MVRS) is a social networking website that enables users to add friends and communicate with them via messages and to also update their personal profiles to notify their network of friends about themselves. The company's product Facebook also allows its users to join networks organized by any variety of dimensions including by city, workplace, school, and region and allows users to connect with each other. Meta was founded in 2004 and is based in Menlo Park, California.

MCNC and Facebook to Bring High-Speed Internet to Western North Carolina - The Quilt

Zscaler (NASDAQ: ZS) provides a security-as-a-service platform, which detects data breaches and protects any connected device across the organization from cyber-attacks. It provides ransomware and threat protection, cloud and mobile security, branch transformation, guest Wi-Fi security, and software package deployment. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in San Jose, California.

Zscaler

... Zscaler , Inc. , the leading cloud security company , today announced that MCNC , the non-profit operator of the North Carolina Research and Education Network , selected Zscaler Internet Access to provide secure Internet access to 1.5 million students , as well as teachers and staff in North Carolina .

MCNC Chooses Zscaler to Provide Secure Internet Access for Over 1.5 Million Students in North Carolina
Technology Nonprofit Chooses Leader in Cloud Security to Provide Secure, Scalable Solution for all 115 School Districts and Charter Schools.

InCommon provides integrated service and software solutions, such as single sign-on (SSO), access to cloud and local services, and global collaboration for students, faculty, staff, and researchers. It is based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

InCommon

Over time , those pilots evolved to build the InCommon , which is currently a proof of concept happening only in North Carolina in partnership with MCNC .

Connecting North Carolina's Future Today
MCNC works to extend FIM solutions to K-12, Community Colleges

World Fiber Technologies is a fiber optic network contractor. The company engineers, designs, constructs and maintains fiber optic and wireless networks for U.S. and international clients operating in the telecommunications, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), open road tolling systems (ORT) and renewable energy business sectors.

World Fiber Technologies

ECC Technologies offers technology and communications consulting services. It assists clients with broadband and implementing technology and security solutions in communities to improve economic development, public safety, education, and healthcare services. The company provides services to education, municipalities, government, and corporate sectors. It was founded in 1995 and is based in Penfield, New York.

ECC Technologies

Grant

MCNC is an independent, non-profit organization that employs advanced networking technologies and systems to continuously improve learning and collaboration throughout North Carolina's K20 education community. The company was initially funded by the North Carolina State Government in 1980 as a catalyst for technology-based economic development. MCNC's rich history and technological expertise spans over a quarter of a century.

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