Connecting rural communities with affordable broadband

[MUSIC]
Just because you live in a rural
area doesn't mean you shouldn't
have the opportunity
to be connected.
[MUSIC]
>> I was about I would say ninth
grade year is where I began
taking college classes
through dual enrollment.
And that requires that
you upload papers and
assignments to the college as
well as to the high school.
The internet was terrible
at home, so I would have to
do my assignments really early,
like a whole month early.
>> He had to submit
a lot of his paperwork.
It's just gonna sit there and
just spin and spin and spin.
>> You know that
the deadline's coming and
you know you need more research
and you know it's not enough.
It's a struggle.
[MUSIC]
>> In the beginning of the
semester, one of the questions I
ask the students just a show of
hands, who has Internet access?
Typically just a few.
Right there, that tells me that
I have to be a little limited
in any kind of homework
assignment I give.
It's a handicap for
teachers in the 21st century.
I mean here we are.
Hands are kind of tied.
>> The homework gap is a major
problem for our region.
And the exciting part
is that Charlotte and
Halifax County are two pilot
areas are no longer gonna be
left behind in this
digital divide.
[MUSIC]
TV White Space is
a new technology that
the FCC has allowed
vendors to transmit
broadband connections wirelessly
over previously unused airwaves.
Rural markets specifically,
it is critical to have access
to that lower band spectrum that
allows Internet providers to
serve that last mile affordably.
>> The goal is by fall to have
about 250 connected and we're
hoping to have 1,000 families
connected soon after that.
>> It's gonna open the doors
to economic development and
it'll allow
the people in our area
to have access to
a world class education.
>> It was a dramatic increase in
productiveness and efficiency.
>> Dylan has a small antenna in
his home which is connected to
a TV White Space device,
turns on his laptop,
connects via WiFi.
>> I don't know the tech side.
All I know is it works.
[LAUGH]
>> Now that I have
TV White Space Internet,
I can use the cloud and
my grade actually shot up.
Going forward with TV White
Space I got high Bs and As.
>> This is where I grew up and
I love it.
I'm a country girl.
Let's train our kids so
they can stay home and
have that knowledge and then
they can bring it back here so
that our community can grow.
TV White Space held up very well
with my college application.
Once I graduate,
I will be going to attend Old
Dominion University in the fall
studying computer science and
very excited to go.
[MUSIC]