The Congressional Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban entrepreneurship, chaired by Congressman Heath Shuler, held a hearing last week on the benefits of broadband technologies in rural and urban development. Brandon Stephens, chairman of the board of BalsamWest and member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians was among presenters before the subcommittee in Washington D.C., Wednesday, May 9 on the importance of broadband to rural economic development.

“BalsamWest’s testimony concerns the unusually severe challenges faced by a rural mountainous region in obtaining reliable, affordable, high-performance broadband infrastructure and services…and how people from within the Southern Appalachian Mountain region worked collaboratively to overcome the problem on their own- with stunning success,” said Stephens.

He said that not only did he want to tell the success story of BalsamWest, but that “the goal of the testimony was to show how broadband is making a connection in rural America.”

The ultra-high-capacity fiber optic network provides access to the traditionally isolated mountainous region. Drake Enterprises and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian were the primary investors in the project. Stephens was quick to point out that the collaborative effort between the two was the unique relationship that could make such an ambitious task a reality. As Stephens explained, Drake Software had a need for a better quality Internet connection in order to stay in the area and the Eastern Band of Cherokee was interested in moving the tribe into the future.

According to Rep. Heath Shuler, chairman of the subcommittee, BalsamWest FiberNET was invited because of their unique experience of successfully extending broadband access to the difficult terrain in western N.C.

"Many rural communities across the country are struggling to remain competitive," said subcommittee Chairman Heath Shuler. "By harnessing new technologies, we can create new opportunities, improving the way businesses-especially farms-operate, and reverse this trend."

According to Shuler, broadband technologies have been a key component of rural communities' growth and prosperity, facilitating partnerships, creating online infrastructure, and expanding the market for goods and services. For farmers, high-speed Internet technology that helps control costs and optimize production-such as remote temperature monitoring-can be especially important because the industry operates with low profit margins.

"As today's economy changes, so do the needs of this nation's entrepreneurs," said 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 collaborated with the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad to share the railroad right of way through some of the most difficult terrain. Since 2003, more than 300 miles of underground fiber optic cable has been deployed in western N.C., eastern Tennessee and northern Georgia.

BalsamWest was formed in 2003 to serve the critical need for access to reliable, affordable high-performance broadband infrastructure and services in the southwestern region of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. Southwestern Community College, along with Drake Enterprises and EBCI, played a leadership role in making the project a reality. BalsamWest made other connections, too, including the N.C.

Department of Transportation and the Westcare Hospital system.

The high-speed connection opens doors in telemedicine and the sharing of information between hospitals. Within a year ago, sending information to get a second opinion could take between 30 minutes to an hour, and now information can readily be sent using the connection with BalsamWest FiberNET and an answer can be received within 30 minutes.

In 2006, the first phase of “WNC EdNet” was completed, to connect schools K-12, SCC and Western Carolina University with high-speed Internet access and be connected in a network. “Funding has been awarded and construction is under way to connect 51 of the 70 K-12 schools within the next 12 months,” said Stephens.

Through a partnership with USCarrier Telecom, based in Atlanta, BalsamWest also has a direct connection to the 3,400-mile high capacity fiber optic network. As Stephens explains, the connection is far-reaching with providers that are both domestic and international, which use the Atlanta connection to connect with other networks.

“We want to make more of these connections,” said Stephens.

BalsamWest is interested in connecting to Knoxville, Chattanooga, Greenville, and more to increase the ability to outsource information and bring make more resources available here.

Other future plans include connecting research universities in surrounding areas, connecting rural municipal and county government sites.

Stephens promoted small business in a competitive environment, versus the traditional limited access through a company that has a monopoly on rural areas. “If we want broadband available quickly to rural America, we must open the networks to competitors so that we can ensure everyone in our area is able to benefit from the good work that we have begun. BalsamWest is an open network offering services to all,” said Stephens.

It’s a matter of opening choices for people in rural areas. “We’re talking about offering people the choice of providers such as national networks for cable service or telephone service. It’s one way that would help provide lower prices and quality,” said Stephens.

Stephens said that the representatives on the committee were generally pleased. “I think they were happy to know that there is some sincere and honest work being done in rural areas,” said Stephens.

“BalsamWest’s work has indeed been a stunning success for everyone who has been touched by the high-performance network,” said Stephens. He said many people believed that because of the terrain, regulations and the unique partnership between a sovereign nation and a business, that the project would not work, but indeed, the challenges were overcome. “Much work remains to be done, and more challenges will surely arise. But the resiliency and commitment of the mountain people to independently solve challenges will overcome future challenges.”