What's Happening in Durham, NC…

The Durham Housing Authority was recently the gathering point for a “summit” of community stakeholders and partners to find out how far things had progressed for Durham on the ConnectHome initiative.

News of Durham’s selection as one of 28 cities that would receive help in closing the digital gap for those residing in low-income housing came last July. At that time Julian Castro, the Secretary of U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department (HUD), visited Durham and explained that the ConnectHome initiative would provide access to Google Fiber to 2,000 households in the Bull City.

The initiative is expected to impact 275,000 household across the country. In order to be eligible for selection, Durham participated in a competitive application process. According to Durham’s Deputy City Manager Wanda Page, the city was likely chosen to be a demonstration community because of the framework that already exists for it here.

A representative from Google Fiber was on hand at the recent meeting and explained that Google would offer not only high-speed Internet but also a product for small businesses and a basic Internet package. Additionally, the company agreed to make available free Internet service to households in select public housing properties.

Google Fiber hopes to partner with other organizations to create computer labs and digital literacy classes, and with the assistance of a flyer printing service, those eligible can be informed of the services available to them.