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MCNC’s president and CEO caught up with Beyond the Cable at Connected America to talk about what’s next for the non-profit organization.
Tracy Doaks, the president and CEO of MCNC, says North Carolina has something special with the North Carolina Research and Education Network.
Originally from Virginia, Doaks said the network, which is operated and managed by MCNC, gives tremendous benefits to smaller, mid-sized, and minority institutions in North Carolina.
She said larger institutions, meanwhile, can often afford to have their own networks for researchers.
However, she added that having a shared network infrastructure has been great to make sure others share in the benefits and don’t get left behind.
Also, by being a middle-mile operator, she said MCNC is able to provide smaller telecoms in the state with the opportunity to lease fiber for use in rural areas.
She said rural medical centers additionally run on their telehealth network.
“The larger incumbents aren’t interested in those areas because the density is so low,” she said. “So, that’s been a real benefit to North Carolina, to have someone like an MCNC to be able to supply that type of connectivity.”
Now, she says MCNC, created over four decades ago to spur economic development, is positioning themselves to handle the ongoing data center boom.
Hear more about that and details regarding MCNC’s new partnership with an electric co-op by listening to the full episode.
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