Representatives from Sylva’s BalsamWest Fibernet recently testified before Congress on the success of expanding broadband in Western North Carolina.

The company was among many providers and consumers of rural telecommunications services that recently told the House Small Business Subcommittee on Rural and Urban Entrepreneurship that while these technologies can increase investment and employment in their communities, the are not yet being used to their full potential.

“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.”

Broadband technologies have proven to be 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. Broadband can also be instrumental in creating networks of entrepreneurs that can increase employment and spur additional investment.

“As today’s economy changes, so do the needs of this nation’s entrepreneurs,” 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 its unique experience in successfully extending broadband access across the WNC mountains.

“The work of this mountain region is a perfect example of the entrepreneurial spirit that has spurred so much innovation in the United States,” said Brandon Stephens, Chairman of BalsamWest. “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 ultra-high-speed superhighway of virtually unlimited capacity.”

BalsamWest was formed in 2003 to serve the critical need for access to reliable, affordable high-performance broadband infrastructure and services in southwestern North Carolina.