Business Facilities - August 2008 - (Page 15)

Currently, the fire department of Winston-Salem uses a wireless dispatch system that provides data routing and imaging and helps decrease emergency response times—just one example of how wi-fi mobility can enhance public safety. Economically, the city’s aggressive approach to bolstering its digital infrastructure has helped draw and maintain 37,000 biotech employees as residents, with biotech companies bringing about $10 billion in annual revenue to Winston-Salem. In 2005, Dell Computer opened a manufacturing facility in Forsyth County, creating 1,500 jobs and investing more than $100 million—another example of the city’s tech success. THE BEST OF THE REST The North American wired communities highlighted here are large threads in the ever-growing web, but smaller communities also are rapidly linking up. Sallisaw, OK offers DiamondNet, an advanced video, Internet, and telephone service, to 4,800 households and commercial facilities. Sallisaw invested $7 million in this fiber optic network, which should be fully operational by year’s end and profitable within three years. “The information age makes the availability of these services paramount to our quality of life,” says Bill Baker, Sallisaw city manager. “In terms of economic development, we see this as a big plus for Sallisaw as businesses and industries look for relocation or expansion sites.” Another small community, Powell, WY, is wiring every home and business with fiber optics. This ambitious endeavor, PowelLink, boasts Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) technology which brings fiber to every front door in Powell. The network is a result of an innovative partnership between the City of Powell, network service provider TCT, and municipal broadband network facilitator, U.S. MetroNets (USM). “This model breaks new ground. You can count on the fingers of one hand those cities that have gone forward to provide FTTH,” says Ernie Bray, CTO and founder of USM. Think Strategically! HOWARD COUNTY, Maryland The Strategic Location of Choice for the Defense and Aerospace Industry BAE Systems  CACI  General Dynamics  Honeywell Technology Solutions, Inc.  Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory  L3 Communications  Lockheed Martin  Northrop Grumman Missions Systems  Raytheon Solipsys  SAIC  TCOM, L.P. To find out why, contact: Howard County Economic Development Authority 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 500  Columbia, MD 21046 Phone: 410-313-6500  Fax: 410-313-6525 E-mail: hceda@hceda.org  Web: www.hceda.org #1108 at www.BusinessFacilities.com BUSINESS FACILITIES 15 http://www.hceda.org http://www.hceda.org 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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