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Danville/Pittsylvania
County
By
Brenda
Neidigh
Program Director,
eCorridors Project
Office of the Vice
President for IT,
Virginia Tech
Virginia
Tech’s eCorridors
team has been
working with leaders
from the City of
Danville and Pittsylvania
County on a novel
challenge: to transform
a manufacturing
and tobacco-growing
area into a "wired",
high technology
region, where local
businesses thrive
and to which new
businesses are attracted.
Local leaders from
the area approached
Virginia Tech in
the Spring of 2000,
requesting help
in developing an
increased competitive
advantage for the
Dan River region.
Ultimately, a plan
was adopted and
through a local
non-profit, the
Future
of the Piedmont
Foundation,
the partners applied
for and received
a two-year, two
million dollar grant
to deploy a fiber-optic
network infrastructure
in the Dan River
area. Funding came
from the Virginia
Tobacco Indemnification
and Community Revitalization
Commission, a group
devoted to promoting
economic growth
and development
in tobacco-dependent
communities.
The
proposal consisted
of 5 elements:
•
Inter-Community
Connections: high
speed optical fiber
connections between
local communities;
• Next-generation
Internet Gigabit
Gateways;
• Community-based
hubs or Multimedia
Service Access Points
(MSAP) to efficiently
direct internet
traffic and to bridge
between the new
community network
and older or other
internet networks;
• So-called “1st
Mile” access: links
to businesses, schools,
government, healthcare,
organizations and
homes using wireless
(LMDS, 802.11a,
802.11b) and fiber;
• Business Plan:
including an envisioning
process to help
local businesses
and others see the
potential new possibilities
for eBusiness, health-care,
communications,
and education.
The
eCorridors Program
aims to create economic
benefit to communities
and regions by encouraging
local companies
to begin efforts
to supplement their
traditional manufacturing
and agricultural
focus with a New
Economy orientation,
including telecommunications
providers and local
entrepreneurs. In
the Dan River Pilot
project, one of
the first steps
after receiving
funding was to invite
local and regional
private sector companies
to participate.
It was important
to involve local
companies early
and then to seek
new businesses and
service providers,
to end up with a
wide range of participants.
The
Foundation issued
a Request for Collaborators,
published in the
local newspaper
and sent directly
to 50 companies.
It included an invitation
to attend an information
session in Danville
to learn more about
the project and
how companies can
get involved. The
meeting was held
on October 17, 2001
with about 75 companies
attending, including
seven national and
three international
corporations. Several
of the attendees
represented new
business start-ups
looking for a location
to establish their
dot-com businesses.
The information
session closed with
an invitation to
work together to
submit proposals
to the Foundation
either from individual
companies, or from
groups of companies
with complementary
expertise.
The
Foundation received
proposals from a
diverse range of
interested partners.
With assistance
from the eCorridors
team, the Foundation
evaluated proposals
and determined funding
levels. Several
companies participated
in local technology
demonstrations to
the community. For
example, the City
of Danville and
RACO, a local contractor,
are building a 40-mile,
60-fiber route linking
Danville to Chatham
and Gretna. Danville
is building a fiber
optic backbone within
the city. Access
drops are planned
for serving industrial
parks, education,
and others. Gamewood,
a local ISP, is
building the MSAP
communication sites
and will operate
them for the communities.
The communities
provided the space
and worked together
to provide access
to the necessary
rights-of-way. The
MSAP facilities
will deliver gigabit
Ethernet peering
and collocation
space for service
providers that will
provide local access
to users. Task forces
were created with
representatives
from the communities
and eCorridors team
to address public
relations, applications,
inter-community
fiber build, rights-of-way,
and MSAP facilities.
Expanding
interest and involvement
in this program
builds upon itself.
New private sector
investments multiply
the value of the
initial local investment.
More importantly,
every additional
company that takes
a serious look at
this region learns
of the many advantages
it offers, expanding
the network of proponents
and adding to the
attractiveness of
the region. Through
these programs,
expanding publicity,
and new partnerships,
there will form
a critical mass
of market demand
for advanced network
access and services.
In time, with the
infusion of technology
as a catalyst, the
region can transform
itself into the
"wired",
high technology
region it hopes
to become.
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