Brian Rathbone spent much of his 30-year technology career in the private sector consulting for mid-sized companies, manufacturers, dot coms, and NASCAR teams. In 2010, while working with a small wireless ISP (WISP), Brian was hired by the non-profit e-NC Authority as Technical Assistance Director for 31 counties in Western, North Carolina. He continued this work at the statewide level in the North Carolina Department of Commerce Broadband Division (NC Broadband). Rathbone was a driving force behind the development of the North Carolina open-source broadband map and created the original prototype.

After returning to the private sector in 2014, an opportunity to contribute to a Broadband Planning Primer and Toolkit for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) came along, and Rathbone couldn’t resist. A new company, Broadband Catalysts, grew out of this effort and participated in the Cool and Connected program sponsored by the USDA Rural Utilities Service, EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. In concert with this effort, Rathbone spearheaded development of a nationwide broadband spatial analytics and mapping system known as BroadbandAnalyzer®.

Most recently, Rathbone has played a key role in the North Carolina Rural Center’s Collaborative Broadband Initiative, which provides technical assistance, mapping, and digital inclusion services to 33 rural NC counties, as well as LISC’s Broadband Help Hub that provides similar services to 50 urban and rural communities across the US. Rathbone has also provided mapping and technical assistance to 13 NC communities as a part of a USDA Broadband Technical Assistance grant in partnership with Harvest Beam internet.