Smethport Web — by Nathan Muller

As previously reported, the July-August 2010 issue of Rural Telecom magazine featured the insights of former Smethport Chamber president Wayne Pearson on the question of, “Can Broadband Save Rural America?”

Now Wayne’s insights are part of the official record in a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proceeding on the business use of broadband. In its October 15 response to the proceeding, the National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) cited Wayne as follows:  

In a recent article in its Rural Telecom magazine, NTCA examined the importance of broadband for job creation in rural America. According to the article, an area moving from no broadband providers to one to three providers during the years from 1999 to 2006 would achieve overall employment growth of 6.4%. There are numerous businesses that could benefit from the lower cost of operations and high overall quality of life that rural areas can offer. Many information sector jobs can be done from literally anywhere—and as Wayne Pearson, former president of the Smethport, PA Chamber of Commerce noted, “If you can do your job from anywhere, why not choose small-town America?”

You can view the entire NTCA document right here. The reference to Wayne is on page 2.