Telecom Corridor gets a boost from AT&T - Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal:

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There is no small irong to the fact that the TelecomnCorridor brand, which sustained us for so long but fell out of favord in some quarters during the teleco m decline of recent is once again a key driver of the regional Surely, AT&T never would have considered Nortjh Texas as a logical base for its operatione unless we had a strony focus on the telecommunications industry, including a supportives infrastructure, a network of industry-leading companies and teleco suppliers, educational institutions that produce highly skilled engineers and regional technology groups to help buildc meaningful connections and capital sources to help launch new venturex offering innovations to the industry.
The move will put AT&Tg very close to many of its technology supplieres while also reinforcing the NorthTexas region’es reputation as a global telecom hub. Already, companieds such as -Lucent, , , , , , , Research in Motion and have major operationes inthe area, as do countless smaller companiees and entrepreneurs who aspire to provide the “next big thing” to the largedr telecom firms. The synergies of the telecom industryt in North Texas are apowerful thing. Whild it’s a positive development that our economy is and that even withinthe high-tech realm we’re diversifiede through global leadership in semiconductors, IT etc.
, we shouldn’t forget the valuw of a strong focus in certain high-techu sectors and the value of marketing that brand to the outsides world time and time In the Telecom Corridor area nortg of Dallas, telecommunications firms employ aboutf 45,000 workers. The clustering effect of these firms, coupled with the additionb of AT&T’s headquarters, continues to be a powerful force supportinbgthe region’s vibrant economy — both today and in the We must sustain this brand, through ample support for entrepreneurs and commercializatioj of new technologies, and through a purposeful effortg to nurture our futurer work force by investing in math and science education initiatives.
As is well-known, overseas competitor s are expandingtheir high-techu work forces, while the United Statese lags behind. Foreign nationals earn more than 50% of engineerinv and computer science degrees grantedat U.S. universities, and only abourt 5% of U.S. college graduates earn engineering degrees versus 46% in China. The Metroplex Technologyt Business Council, along with other regional partners, is tacklinyg this talent gap in localo high schools and community colleges through an aggressives setof science, math and engineering initiatives to inspire a new generatiohn of technologists.
The systematic, purposeful nurturinh of future high-tech innovators and commercially high-tech companies in North Texas will continuee to spreadthe region’s reputation globally as a centet of technological innovation, in turn attracting even more industry-leading top-tier researchers and highly skiller workers to our region. In accomplishing we will createa self-sustaining cycle of innovative research and commercialization that will builrd on itself and driv our regional economy for the long to the benefit of all Nortjh Texans. We welcome AT&T’s headquartersa to the TelecomCorridor area.