Sylva, NC - As many know, the Western North Carolina Education Network (WNC-EdNET) and BalsamWest FiberNET are working to provide students with some of the best connectivity in the state. To date, the project has connected over 50 schools in six counties and the Qualla Boundary. It has enabled very low-cost access to ultra-high capacity bandwidth for high-demand video, data and distance learning applications unseen before in this region. Although the project has had great success, the Highlands School had yet to be connected, primarily because the infrastructure did not exist until a private family business, Plateau, LLC, initiated construction of the lateral in to the area. Leonard Winchester, retired Swain County Schools Technology Director, who coordinated the project design and build-out, said, “We might not have gotten to Highlands had it not been for the generosity of the folks at Highland’s Cove and Patrick Carlton.”

Plateau, LLC and BalsamWest have been working collaboratively to continue to reach these underserved markets. Pat Carlton remarked, “Our family is fortunate to have been able to work with BalsamWest and share their vision of bringing this technology to our area.” Bill Gibson of the Southwestern Commission, which has managed the $6 million raised to build this education network, expressed his appreciation to the many agencies that provided funding including the Golden Leaf Foundation, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Cherokee Preservation Foundation and the NC Rural Center. Bob Byrd of the Western Regional Educational Alliance, who wrote the several grant applications that raised the $6 million, declared the completion of this high speed network a monumental achievement.

With the assistance and hard work of many, the Highlands School will soon be able to get the connectivity they have been waiting for. After obtaining several private easements, construction of the 11-mile build from BalsamWest’s 300 mile fiber-optic ring began in July. The route, beginning at Norton Road and proceeding through the town of Highlands consists of both underground and aerial fiber.

BalsamWest has been working with Verizon and Northland Cable so they can transfer their facilities to the new poles that the town of Highlands has placed. BWFN Outside Plant Manager, Ed Terry states, “Seventy percent of the aerial construction has been completed. The underground construction is fifteen percent complete. McClure’s Communications have encountered rock which we anticipated but we are still on track to have the project completed just after the first of the year.”

Schools across the region are now able to take advantage of gigabit connectivity and with completion of this build the Highlands School is now one of them. “The whole Highlands School family will be very happy when we have the additional throughput this connectivity will give our students and teachers when they do research online,” say Highlands School principal, Brian Jetter. Dan Brigman, Superintendent of Macon County Schools states, “I am excited to have this project completed and Highlands School connected to a world-class network that by far exceeds the communications and connectivity found in most metropolitan areas of our nation. The ultimate beneficiaries of this endeavor will be our students as they have access to a high-speed network that will bring the world of information directly into each classroom for many years to come. I am very thankful to all of the individuals and organizations that have made this vision become a reality.”

Although the purpose of this project is to provide connectivity to the school, this will in turn benefit the town of Highlands. Technology is a critical element in attracting 21st century business to our communities and creating industry and jobs that will help the region grow.

Originating in Sylva, N.C., and connecting the Tri-State area to nearby metropolitan centers, BalsamWest’s fiber optic network is connecting K-12 public and charter schools, school district offices, network operations centers and higher education institutions in the counties of Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain, and the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

BalsamWest FiberNet is a fiber optic-based, wholesale and enterprise telecommunications carrier and is jointly owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and Drake enterprises, Ltd. The mission of BalsamWest is to bring 21st century communications to Western North Carolina that previously have not been available in rural areas.

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If you would like more information please call Mandy Lail at 828-586-6141 or email Mandy at alail@balsamwest.net.