Sept. 17, 2012 – GeoTel was featured in a Crain’s Chicago Business article describing how Chicago’s rich history in manufacturing helped it to become one of the nation’s key hubs for fiber optic connections. This article examines Chicago on a digital layer level, utilizing GeoTel’s data mapping the concentration of telecommunication networks within and surrounding the city. GeoTel CEO, Dave Drazen, was quoted in the article crediting the impressive fiber cable and digital infrastructure to the large number of different industries and buildings thriving in the Chicagoland area.
Chicago places number three in terms of fiber optic capacity (see map), behind New York at number one, and Washington, DC at number two, but the city does boast a prime mid-continent location. It also has a long list of industries with a strong presence in the area that demands an increase in the ability to transmit large quantities of data on a global scale. These industries—including financial, research, and trading—will help shape the future of the community’s digital framework, by utilizing existing fiber optic cables and laying more.
While the need for a strong digital foundation is growing, many areas in the city remain under served. Chicago intends to encourage business growth and development by making it more affordable for companies to lay their digital roots, so to speak.
GeoTel was one of many companies contributing to the Crain’s article including Server Farm Reality Inc., Cleversafe Inc., and GrubHub Inc.
To view the full article visit “How Chicago became one of the nation’s most digital cities.”
