CHEROKEE – When people think of high tech, Silicon Valley, Boston and Research Triangle Park come to mind. Soon it may be Swain County, leading the list for broadband.

With the completion of the nearly 300-mile BalsamWest fiber optic network, the six farthest counties of Western North Carolina can boast connectivity better than many major cities.

“Once we get the schools wired the way we want, there will be nothing like this on the planet,” said Phil Drake, founder of Drake Enterprises in Franklin. “I’m hopeful in 10 years Google will say ‘we should have come to Swain County rather than Caldwell.’”

Drake’s company partnered with the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians, putting $14 million to build a regional network to bring the fastest Internet access to a region that has historically been slow to see new infrastructure such as highways, electricity and water and sewer.

On Friday, about 300 regional leaders marked BalsamWest’s milestone with a celebration at Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel.