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White House Announces that Salisbury will join US Ignite “Smart Cities” Initiative

Fibrant’s 10 Gig Network provides foundation for innovation & collaboration

SALISBURY, NC – Today, the White House and US Ignite announced that Salisbury, NC has joined the Smart Gigabit Communities program, a network of communities that have each committed to leveraging next-generation smart city and Internet technologies to keep pace with the world’s rapidly changing, information technology-driven economy.

In today’s “Fact Sheet”, the Administration announced “Over $80 million in New Federal Investment and a Doubling of Participating Communities in the White House Smart Cities Initiative” noting that, “With nearly two-thirds of Americans living in urban settings, many of our fundamental challengesfrom climate change to equitable growth to improved healthwill require our cities to be laboratories for innovation. The rapid pace of technological change, from the rise of data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and ubiquitous sensor networks to autonomous vehicles, holds significant promise for addressing core local challenges.”

The Smart Gigabit Communities Program, which is funded largely by the National Science Foundation (NSF), was first announced during the launch of the Smart Cities Initiative last September. Working in partnership with US Ignite, each Smart Gigabit Community will develop two gigabit applications or gigabit public services that provide advanced technology solutions to issues faced by that community. Each city also agrees to share those applications with the other communities in the network.

According to the release, the White House inaugurated the Smart Cities Initiative to make it easier for cities, Federal agencies, universities, and the private sector to work together to research, develop, deploy, and testbed new technologies that can help make our cities more inhabitable, cleaner, and more equitable.”

In September of 2015, Catawba College, hosted the launch of Fibrant in partnership with Calix. Fibrant’s fiber-optic network was made available citywide, promoting Salisbury as America’s First 10 Gig City. Subsequently, Catawba College created CEED, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Experiential Development. CEED provides entrepreneurs with the tools to succeed as a small business owner, offering technology and funding to bring students’ business concepts to reality.

Continuing this spirit of collaboration, the City of Salisbury hopes that partnership between their Fibrant 10 Gig network and Livingstone College can bring forth new innovation. Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins, Sr., President of Livingstone College, shared his vision for this initiative saying, “It is our goal at Livingstone College to equip and enable our students to be prepared for leadership and service in the global society. Our continuing collaboration with the City of Salisbury represents unparalleled opportunity for our students in the fields of entrepreneurship and technology to reach this goal. Because of this partnership, our students will have an unfettered platform upon which to accelerate their success as innovators in the 21st Century.

“Solving society’s most vexing problems requires global thinking,” said US Ignite Chief Operating Officer Joe Kochan. “That’s why we’re pleased to have these four new cities, including our first international city, Adelaide, join the Smart Gigabit Communities program. This project will accelerate the development of next-generation applications while building a critical mass of hyper-connected communities which will have ripple effects: if advanced networks are fast, responsive, and widely available, companies can and will produce more capable applications to run on those networks, which in turn brings new users online and increases use among those who already subscribe to broadband services.”

“Salisbury is excited to be one of the four communities working with US Ignite on leveraging our broadband utility for increased technological knowledge to contribute solution to communities, both locally and globally,” said Salisbury, N.C. Mayor Karen K. Alexander.

In addition to Salisbury, the cities of Adelaide, Australia (also the first city outside the United States to join), Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Washington, District of Columbia are each committing to developing two gigabit applications that serve community needs. 


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06/2025Lighting the Way and Giving Back | Legacy Mural | City Budget Review
05/2025Rock Out at Cheerwine Festival | Cheers for Shirt Design Winner | Festival Shuttle Service | Festival Information
04/2025Statewide Litter Sweep, Fair Housing Month, BlockWork Call For Neighborhoods, Sidewalk Poetry Call For Poets, Paint the Pavement Call for Artists
03/2025Cheerwine Festival T-Shirt Contest, Spring Spruce Up Week, Protect Your Water Bill, Pilot Traffic Circle
02/2025Tips For Cold Weather, Cheerwine Festival on May 17, Join A City Board, Tree Give-A-Away
01/2025Downtown Winners, BlockWork T-Shirt Contest, MLK Weekend, Wine About Winter, Leaf Collection, Recycling Calendar
12/2024Holiday Contests | Spruce Up Week | Sculpture Show Call For Artists | Empire Hotel Phase 1
11/2024Holiday Events | Safe Shopping Tips | Toss The Grease | Greenway Committee | 130 S. Main St. Survey
10/2024Halloween Safety Tips | Sculpture Show Call For Neighborhoods | Recycling Do's and Don'ts | Leaf Collection Guidelines and Map | Fall Spruce Up Week
08/2024Take A Tree Tour | Officer Awarded For Saving Baby | Sculptures in the Spotlight | Go Out on a limb for the Tree Board
07/2024National Night Out | Footbridge Repairs | Approved City Budget | Citizen's Academy | Hurricane Prep
06/2024EDK Awards | Street Repaving | City Budget | Rec/Senior Center Survey | Spruce Up Week
03/2024Vote on Cheerwine Festival T-shirt Design | What to do for Water Line Breaks | Sign Up For RoCo Alerts | Spring Spruce Up Week
11/2023Holiday Events | Toss The Grease | Housing Survey | Bike Giveaway | Sculpture Show
08/2023An Outdoor Art Adventure | Summer Program Inspires Youth | Salisbury Invests In Community | City Changes Up Departments
08/2023An Outdoor Art Adventure | Summer Program Inspires Youth | Salisbury Invests In Community | City Changes Up Departments
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05/2023Neon Trees Headline Cheerwine Festival | Summers Camps | Smoke Alarms | Lawn Tips | Street Resurfacing | May is Bike Month
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05/2023Neon Trees Headline Cheerwine Festival | Summers Camps | Smoke Alarms | Lawn Tips | Street Resurfacing | May is Bike Month
04/2023Donations for Homeless | City Election Process | Landscape of the Month | Main Street Awards| Spring Spruce Up
03/2023Beautify Salisbury - Litter Sweeps, BlockWork, Adopt-A-Street, We Dig Salisbury | Cheerwine Festival | Salisbury311
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11/2022Holiday Events | Salisbury Youth Council Inducts New Members | Tips to Shop Safe | Toss the Grease
10/2022Tips for Trick-or-Treaters | United Way Rowan | Crime Prevention Month | 4th Cultivating Community Conversations | Leaf Collection
09/2022Bell Tower BREWFEST | BlockWork | Salisbury Police Foundation | Transit Month | Rowan Creek Week
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08/2022Kudos To Lifeguards | Grant to Fund Flood, Road Sensors | Funds for Family Water Bills | City Awarded For Good Health
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05/2022New City Manager | Cheerwine Festival | Local Humanitarian Awards | BlockWork Applications Open
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09/2020Dixonville Memorial Phase 2 | Leaf Map | Census 2020 | ADA/Parantransit Service | Go Transit Month | Safe Exchange Zone
08/2020Shop Local | Lock Your Car | Utility Bills | Enjoy Art Outdoors | Census Extended
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01/2020EDK Nominations | Runner-Friendly Community | Start/Change Water Services | Cheerwine Applications | Employee Spotlight | Winterize Your Pipes | Winter Spruce Up
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10/2019Fire Prevention Week | City Park Lake | Forward 2040 | Fall Spruce Up | Be Ready To Vote | Employee Spotlight | Leaf Collection Map
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09/2019Butterfly Release | Scoop the Poop | Dog Swim Party | Transit Month | Blockwork | Neighborhood Officer Map
08/2019Salisbury Youth Employees | New SPD Initiatives | Youth Baseball Camp | Brewbury Fest Returns | Recycling
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06/2019Sculpture Show Returns | Summer Camps | Hurricane Season Tips | Weather Alerts | Pool Hours | #PositiveGossip | Employee Spotlight | Summer Spruce Up | Celebrate Garbage Man Day
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04/2019Festival Music Lineup | Locals Receive EDK Awards | Business with the City | SPD Foot Pursuit 5K | City Nature Challenge
02/2019Cheerwine Festival Vendor Applications Open | Get Involved, Apply Now | Fair Housing Seeks Volunteers | Council Retreat Open to Public | Snow Safety | Employee Spotlight | Main St. Conference in Salisbury
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01/2019EDK Nominations | Holiday Storefront Awards | Celebrating MLK Weekend | Employee Spotlight | Winter Spruce Up Week | Transit Survey | New Tools Keeps An Eye On Water

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