Pasco County Makes Technology History

ORLANDO—Pasco County is claiming a national first. Dubbed the "Connected City Corridor," part of the county has been designated as the first-ever planned "Smart Gigabit Community" in the US to be built from the ground up with fiber network providing Gigabit internet access.

US Ignite, a non-profit organization that is fostering the creation of next-generation Internet applications in communities across the country, awarded the designation to Pasco County. Metro Development Group is driving the planning for the "Connected City Corridor" and met with US Ignite a few years ago to brainstorm ways to create a high-tech community. The result is a partnership with US Ignite.

"Gigabit technology brings the digital and physical worlds together and will transform the way we live and work," Kartik Goyani, vice president of Operations for Metro, tells GlobeSt.com. "This project is about making big ideas happen to benefit not only citizens who want to take advantage of the connectivity, but also businesses."

US Ignite will work with Metro and Pasco County officials to share best practices and smart Gigabit applications from other US Ignite cities and offer advice on how to recruit tech-savvy companies that demand Gigabit Internet access. Established with the National Science Foundation and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, US Ignite is working with several cities on the Gigabit technology front but those projects are retrofitting existing neighborhoods.

Pasco County's new "Connected City Corridor" is different. The area is working to attract businesses, retailers, and residents to an area built around Gigabit-enabled applications and services that promise to deliver new advances in education, healthcare, public safety, energy, and transportation.

"We expect Gigabit fiber access to help ensure economic development, quality jobs, and an excellent quality of life in Pasco County," says William Wallace, executive Director of US Ignite. "This is a tremendous opportunity to create an entrepreneurial community well positioned to compete in the 21st century, offering a vibrant place to live and to work."

The new community is in a special planning area bordered by State Road 52, Interstate 75, Curley Road, and Overpass Road. Metro, which is taking a lead role in planning for the area, will build residential developments in areas previously known as Epperson Ranch, Cannon Ranch and Ashley Groves as part of the new community. Preliminary development work is already underway.