100 gig Internet service in the Health-Tech Corridor has caught the attention of Next City, a leading proponent of smart growth.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland's plan to offer the world's fastest commercial Internet service in the Health-Tech Corridor raised a question that has not really been answered. Who needs it?
A new fiber pipe will bring 100-gigabit Internet speed to businesses and institutions in the corridor that connects downtown to University Circle. That's about 100 times faster than what Google is offering in its fiber neighborhoods; faster even than the 10-gigabit service touted by South Korea, the most networked nation on Earth.
No one is sure what kinds of jobs materialize in the blink of downloads and uploads, but a leading proponent of smart growth says not to worry. The uses will come, declares Next City, and so will companies savvy enough to know that faster is always better in the tech economy.
There's plenty of room for businesses in the Health-Tech Corridor, where developers have been preparing old industrial buildings like Victory Center for new life in a smart economy. Next City, a Philadelphia-based online magazine that promotes the revival of cities through design, public policy and entrepreneurship, thinks Cleveland is on to something big.
"The network isn't being built for today but for tomorrow, and if there's one thing the last 20 years in the tech economy have shown: It doesn't pay to bet against what will be possible tomorrow," Brady Dale wrote in an article titled "Cleveland Thinks Broadband 100 Times Faster Than Anyone Else."
OneCommunity, a non-profit Internet provider based downtown, is run by Lev Gonick, the former tech czar for Case Western Reserve University. In November, Gonick unveiled plans to string advanced fiber optic cable through an emerging med-tech neighborhood with much promise but plenty of vacancies. His $1 million idea, to be paid for largely with federal funds, was heartily endorsed by the city's economic development specialists.
The Cleveland super gig is to become available later this summer. Already, the city is using it to pitch the corridor to developers and tech companies.
Next City sees a powerful lure and a reasonable investment.
"By building in the maximum possible capacity now ... it won't be expensive later for Cleveland's Internet service provider, OneCommunity, to provide faster speeds as their customers need it," Dale writes.
Meanwhile, some uses are already apparent in a city with a mighty healthcare industry, he argues.
"What could these higher speeds do for such businesses? Well, for one, 300,000 X-rays could be downloaded in less than a minute, according to the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet). The location will be important for new health ventures, too," he writes.
Apple's Steve Jobs was famous for seeing a market before it appeared. Maybe Gonick has the same knack.
Industry Digital Summit returns with focus on product design
After a splashy debut last fall, the Industry Digital Summit is poised to come back with a new focus: making things.
Organizers plan to spotlight modern product development when they again muster the entrepreneurial community in Cleveland's Midtown. Nationally renowned speakers will help sound the new theme.
Nir Eyal, author of the bestselling "Hooked: How to Build Habit Forming Products," leads a speaker line-up that incudes Bob Moesta of the Jobs to be Done framework and Baremetrics founder Josh Pigford.
Startup impresarios Paul McAvinchey (founder of TechPint) and John Gadd (chief executive of HotCards) launched the summit last September, seeking Cleveland's answer to Big Omaha. They said they wanted to create a scene that celebrated digital innovation and entrepreneurship and encouraged more of it. The name played off of Cleveland's industrial roots.
On a Friday in September, more than 400 people descended on Gadd's cavernous Midtown offices for a day of discussions, presentations, product showcases, live music and a barbecue.
The encore looms more expansive and expensive. The summit is expanding to two days, September 11 and 12, and ticket prices have nearly tripled, to $595.
Organizers are offering an early bird price, $395, until March 18. They're also welcoming feedback at the summit website, http://indsum.com/
Robert L. Smith covers economic development for The Plain Dealer. Follow him on Twitter @rlsmithpd.