RUTHERFORDTON — Congressman Heath Shuler held a special sub-committee meeting on rural broadband connectivity Wednesday, and the topics discussed could have far-reaching implications for Rutherford County.

“Many rural communities across the country are strug­gling to remain competitive,' said Shuler in his role as chairman of the House Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepren­eurship. 'By harnessing new technologies, we can create new opportunities, improving the way businesses — espe­cially farms — operate, and reverse this trend.”

The benefits of the connec­tivity for farmers in Western North Carolina can be sub­stantial, with technology that not only helps keep costs down but also helps with remote temperature monitor­ing.

“We’re doing the right thing tying together the needs of the large metropolitan areas like Charlotte with the resources of rural areas like Rutherford County,” said Tim Will, execu­tive director of Foothills Connect, an Internet business incubator. “Here, we have large areas of arable land, and in the cities they have a great demand for freshly grown food. The Internet can bring those two things together — if you can connect.”

Connectivity can also help to link together businesses in other industries.

“As today's economy changes, so do the needs of this nation's entrepreneurs,” Chairman Shuler said. “Expanding the economic benefits of broadband is one way to help this nation's farmers and rural small busi­nesses increase the efficiency of their operations and, in turn, support economic growth.”

BalsamWest Fibernet was invited to testify before the Subcommittee due to their unique experience of success­fully extending broadband access to the difficult terrain of Western North Carolina.

Brandon Stephens, Chairman of BalsamWest, testified, '”The work of this isolated remote mountain region is a perfect example of the entrepreneurial spirit that has spurred so much innovation in the U.S. By col­laboration and pooling of capi­tal, resources, and expertise, the isolated mountain communities of this region are networked together, and can network small business and entrepre­neurs together on an ultra­high- speed superhighway of virtually unlimited capacity.”

For Will, the ability to connect to the web at high speed is inte­gral to growing new business in the county. “The Internet does not com­pute, it communicates,” Will said. “And with high speed you can do so in a much more media rich environment.

“As a former teacher, I’ve real­ized that students, and people in general, learn more visually than they ever do orally. With this kind of presentation avail­able, you can make all sorts of business deals happen. I am pleased that Congressman Shuler understands this impor­tance,” Will added.

Shuler added, “There are many debates going on right now about broadband policy. We must ensure that the needs of rural small businesses are taken into account whenever local, state or federal govern­ments act to change the broad­band marketplace...I hope we will begin a dialogue that will help make sure this happens.”

Contact Baughman via email at sbaughman@thedigitalcourier.com.