Greenlight Fiber Keeps Wilson, NC, Forward Thinking
Wilson, North Carolina, is a forward-looking community nestled in the coastal plains of eastern North Carolina that combines the affordability and welcoming ambience of a small town with the amenities of larger cities. In particular, fiber internet in Wilson keeps residents and businesses connected, boosting the quality of live.
Chartered by the state in 1849, Wilson is the seat of Wilson County and home to about 50,000 of the county’s nearly 80,000 people. Founded as a railroad town, and still hosting an active Amtrak station, Wilson now sits along Interstate 95 and offers easy access to Interstate 40, two of the nation’s most traveled freeways. The town is also about an hour from Raleigh and the Research Triangle and two hours from Wilmington and the Atlantic Coast.
Over the years, Wilson has grown into a major commercial and industrial center for this region midway between the coast and the piedmont. A diverse economy and population and engaged civic leadership help keep the focus on enhancing quality of life through innovation, including some of the fastest broadband internet in America.
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Fiber internet in Wilson keeps life, business humming
Greenlight Community Broadband is Wilson’s fiber-based network, a city-owned operation offering gigabit speeds and the reliability that comes with 24/7 support from a local team committed to keeping the fiber connection lit for their friends, neighbors and families.
Wilson residents rely on Greenlight to power their ability to work and learn at home, access medical services online, stream their favorite shows and sports, and benefit from the best in smart home technology as those capabilities just keep growing.
Greenlight also supports the business community by meeting the demanding connectivity requirements of major industries and small businesses alike, and provides affordable internet access to low-income households, giving the community a much-needed buffer against the digital divide that can emerge where there’s limited access to critical broadband service.
Indeed, the city-owned service has a strong commitment to the whole Wilson community, reinvesting revenue into continually upgrading and expanding the network. Greenlight has grown into more than just an infrastructure and service provider; it’s a community partner.
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Shopping, dining and culture build quality of life
Wilson takes pride in its small-town charm and close-knit community life. A stroll down Nash Street in the historic downtown district takes locals and visitors past boutiques, antique stores, galleries and other specialty shops.
The Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park is at the center of the vibrant downtown’s revitalization and embodies the community’s creative yet practical spirit. Vollis Simpson was a farm machinery repairman who became a nationally known creator of large, colorful, wind-driven whirligigs using recycled industrial parts.
His farm became a tourist attraction despite no formal advertising and his works have been named North Carolina’s official folk art and grace national collections. Simpson died in 2013 at age 94. His legacy lives on at the 2-acre park that bears his name.
The park began as an economic development effort, creating more than 50 jobs in conservation and restoration of Simpson’s work. Now, along with the amazing whirligigs, there is a large, open-air shelter that hosts arts and crafts and farmers markets, and other community events and activities.
Pillars of cultural life here also include two lovingly repurposed historic buildings. The Edna Boykin Cultural Center is a former vaudeville and silent movie theater that now hosts exhibits, plays, and concerts, while Imagination Station Science & History Museum is housed in a former federal courthouse and features interactive exhibits that engage all ages in the exploration of science, history, and technology.
Another highlight is the Wilson Rose Garden, an All-American Rose Selections Public Garden that offers more than 1,200 rose bushes, including historic varieties and modern hybrids, along with a popular wedding venue and walking trails that grace the 10-acre site.
When it’s time to grab a bite, you’ll find plenty of places to eat in Wilson — the town’s culinary scene ranges from iconic North Carolina barbecue to gourmand-pleasing fine dining.
Enjoy the great outdoors close to home
Wilson has ample city parks and recreational facilities — anchored by the J. Burt Gillette Athletic Complex and its soccer fields and baseball complex — providing opportunities to enjoy green space and recreational amenities year-round. The athletic complex features batting cages and a championship stadium.
That park is one of more than 40 sites operated by Wilson Parks & Recreation, ranging from playgrounds to nature trails, athletic fields and facilities (with state-of-the-art pickleball courts in the works) and greenways, to Lake Wilson Park. Lake Wilson itself is a 90-acre reservoir that offers fishing, boating and paddle sports, while the park includes disc golf, a 2-mile walking trail, and more.
There’s also nearby Buckhorn Lake, a 185-acre reservoir that offers boating, fishing, hiking, horseback riding and camping. Wilson County Wildlife Club is a 200-acre area operated for hunting and fishing. Several well-known state parks are within easy driving distance.
Health care, education anchor thriving economy
Wilson Medical Center anchors the health care system. Among the county’s largest employers, the 294-bed hospital and medical center provides comprehensive services with more than 30 specialty practices.
Educational needs are met by Wilson County Schools, which serve about 11,000 students each year, and by several private and public charter options.
For higher education, there’s Wilson Community College with a student body of about 3,500 adult learners. Notably, WCC and Greenlight shared the distinction of piloting the nation’s first optical telecom (fiber) installation certification program.
Wilson also is home to Barton College, a four-year private liberal arts institution with about 1,000 students founded nearly 125 years ago by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Then only a half-hour to the east is East Carolina University (ECU), a 28,000-student public research university in Greenville. Not much farther to the west is Raleigh and the Research Triangle and its world-class universities.
The local economy is diverse, with manufacturing, education and health care providing a solid employment base. Major employers include Truist Financial, tiremaker Bridgestone Americas, and other major names such as Smithfield Packing Co., UTC Aerospace Systems, and pharmaceutical manufacturers Sandoz and Merck.
Forward thinking and investment gives Wilson the Greenlight
City leaders like to say that Wilson has something for everyone, combining all the amenities of a larger city while still being a place that celebrates the Little League teams’ latest championships.
That’s the result of decades of engaged residents, businesses and government leaders building a welcoming community that provides the schools, parks, cultural activities, and robust economy needed to provide a high quality of life at an affordable price.
Years of forward thinking and civic commitment also have positioned Wilson to continue to offer the best of small-town living coupled with the infrastructure, services and amenities that position it for ongoing prosperity.
Integral to that success is Wilson’s Greenlight broadband network. By having the vision years ago to build and expand fibe internet in Wilson, the city has made affordable high-speed connectivity a fact of life for residents, private businesses, and public institutions.
This investment also positions Greenlight and the community it serves to continue to quickly adapt to advancing technology. The city-owned network exemplifies the power of a community coming together to proactively invest in solutions that enhance essential connectivity to each other and the digital world beyond.