energy & technology

These fiber connections offer huge benefits to small businesses, according to Greene. “These connections enable faster Zoom meetings, faster connections for financial and credit card applications, and offer more flexibility in where and how a business can answer phones,” Greene said. “These are all enabled better by fiber than by traditional copper wires.”

Local governments and critical services can also benefit, according to Greene. Local governments are putting more and more of their services online, making it easier for citizens to access them. He said from an energy perspective, critical services can still have phone and internet for at least eight hours after a power outage, and they can stay online as long as they can power devices.

Greene said the goal at AT&T is to get fiber to as many customers as possible. With rising interest rates as well as increasing pressure, the company is looking for places to reach the most people for the least amount of capital, according to Greene. For WNC specifically, the geography of the region is the biggest challenge. “You can’t bury fiber in granite,” he said.

The challenges are not insurmountable, according to Greene. AT&T’s goal is to deliver fiber to 30 million locations by 2025, and right now they are at 19 million residential and 3 million business locations.

“We are actively building capacity in several Western North Carolina communities,” Greene said. “Working with local governments in the GREAT grants program, looking at geography, and more continued on next page