ERC Broadband is a part of the
Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas, Inc. (ERC), a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The ERC began in 1997 when Congressman Charles H. Taylor of the 11th Congressional District of North Carolina called a meeting of regional college presidents to discuss plans for expanding Western North Carolina's and Upstate South Carolina's technology-focused infrastructure. The board of the resulting non-profit organization is currently comprised of the presidents of Brevard College, Mars Hill College, Montreat College, Western Carolina University, and a member of the local business community.
The focus of the ERC is to further economic development in the Western Carolinas through education, infrastructure, and capital development. In February 2003, a $4.3 million grant was awarded through the Library of Congress to begin the construction of a regional fiber optic network to expand the technological infrastructure for the region. The plan for the network is collaboration among public, private, and non-profit concerns to bring the same level of broadband access available in larger cities to the rural Western Carolinas. By furthering the region's access, the ERC will be a conduit for improved educational programs, health care, economic development opportunities, arts/culture programs, and overall quality-of-life improvements.
In April 2003, ERC Broadband opened its first Point of Presence (POP) in Asheville, NC, which is connected to Tier 1 and Tier 2 peering gateway nodes in Atlanta, GA, and Raleigh, NC. In November 2003, an additional $10 million grant from the Library of Congress allowed ERC Broadband to expand the network to operate a fully resilient, geographically diverse, fully protected and redundant N x OC-48 SONET optical backbone in Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina with two rings in Asheville, a connection in Washington (MAE East), and gateways in Charlotte, Raleigh/Durham, and Atlanta. Through a network of seven operational Points-of-Presence (POPs) ERC Broadband provides dedicated, low latency, IP connectivity to Tier 1 ISP NAPs in Washington and Atlanta. The ERC Broadband network is scalable, fully upgradeable, and state-of-the-art, making it highly adaptable to future technological changes.
The network has also been able to grow through a grant from Rural Internet Access Authority funds awarded through
Advantage West to extend the ERC Broadband network to Madison, Yancey, and Mitchell counties.
ERC Broadband is committed to improving the technological infrastructure of the Western Carolinas. With a focus on economic development through education, research, and government projects, ERC Broadband is not only bringing the Internet to the rural Western Carolinas, but also bringing next generation Internet and advanced technology to the region. We offer a wide range of communications services in support of the region. Please visit the
Products/Services page for more information.
For more information call 1-828-350-2415 or send us an
e-mail.
About Us
