Business Facilities - August 2008 - (Page 13)

lion), according to recent Bureau of Labor Statistics surveys. Also from the Bureau, metro Atlanta ranks third and fifth, respectively, in the U.S. telecommunications and Internet services employment sectors. So while New York, San Francisco, and Seattle are traditionally recognized as wired coastal hubs, Atlanta is a major contender from the South, with more than 80% of the city’s residents currently connecting to the Web via speedy broadband link ups. In the corporate realm, Internet and cable giants like Earth Link, Cox Communications, BellSouth/AT&T, and Cingular, in addition to 137,000 other businesses, all call Atlanta home. In the education arena, metro Atlanta’s two largest public universities, Georgia State University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, enroll more than 44,000 students per year. This combination of big business and higher education translates to an insatiable demand for Internet access and communications technology. Students and CEOs alike take advantage of the more than 500 wi-fi hot spots in downtown Atlanta, plus the 760,000 miles of lightning-quick fiber optic cable (operated by BellSouth) enmeshed throughout the city. Additionally, Atlanta’s metro area is the world’s largest toll-free calling area, spanning more than 7,000 miles. The capital of Georgia also benefits from Wireless Atlanta, a citywide, public-private partnership, that provides a blanket of high-speed Internet connectivity to residents, visitors, and employees. This initiative was part of Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin’s second term goals to improve quality of life and promote economic development. The wi-fi network’s deployment began in 2007 when transmitters were installed on outdoor utility poles around Atlanta. Ninety-five percent of outdoor areas are covered by the network, and many public parks and common gathering points offer free access. Essentially, everywhere in Atlanta is Web-ready. WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA Winston-Salem, NC is encircled by 26 miles of fiber optic Internet connectivity which has transformed the city, once known mainly for tobacco, into a knowledge-based community of 223,000 people. Anchored by the efforts of Winston- Net, a nonprofit community technology initiative established in 1997, Winston-Salem aims to bridge the digital divide by linking educational institutions to its fiber optic network and providing community-wide wi-fi access through its innovative Wireless Winston initiative. Winston’s fiber optic network was born in the 1990s when Wake Forest University developed a high-speed Internet network to connect its medical school to its main undergraduate campus. The larger community, however, realized the potential of this technological advancement and formed WinstonNet which, in 1999, used a U.S. Department of Education grant to connect its local school #0902 at www.BusinessFacilities.com BUSINESS FACILITIES 13 http://www.pennsnortheast.com http://www.BusinessFacilities.com

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Business Facilities - August 2008 Contents First Word Snapshots Corporate Moves: Florida Economic Development 2.0 Everything's Big in Texas Aerospace Sites: Poised for Takeoff The Nebraska Advantage Metro Spotlight: Cullman, Alabama Special Focus: Louisiana Industry Focus: Financial Centers Advertiser Index Inside LiveXChange

Business Facilities - August 2008

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