Tommy Jacobson

Tommy Jacobson joined MCNC in 1993 as a student intern the summer prior to his senior year at North Carolina State University and has been a part of MCNC’s efforts in advancing Internet connectivity and digital opportunity in North Carolina ever since. During his nearly three-decade tenure he has held progressively advancing roles in the operation of the organization and currently serves as MCNC’s Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. During his time at MCNC the North Carolina Research and Education network has grown from connecting the 17 members of the University of North Carolina system to now also connecting all 115 public school districts, 58 community colleges, over 200 charter schools, 26 private and independent colleges and universities, and more than 450 public and non-profit healthcare facilities in the operation of the North Carolina Telehealth Network.



Tommy presided over MCNC’s $150M fiber expansion project funded by the NTIA’s Broadband Technologies Opportunity Program and the GoldenLeaf foundation between 2009-2013, finishing the federally funded project under budget and on time. That infrastructure now serves as the foundation for all of NCREN’s network service delivery platforms. In 2023 he led efforts to secure a NTIA MMG award for MCNC’s HERO Project to bring broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved communities in North Carolina. The project will be complete in early 2026.


In his current role Tommy provides technical and management support for the teams responsible for service delivery, and network service development at MCNC and is part of MCNC’s executive team shaping the future of MCNC.