The Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2009
| ICF named the Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2009 at a 21 January ceremony during PTC'09, the annual conference of the Pacific Telecommunications Council in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. The following communities, drawn from the Smart21 of 2009, were named to the Top Seven based on analysis of their nominations by a team of independent academic experts. Complete profiles of the communities will be available on ICF's Web site following publication of the white paper, Top Seven Intelligent Communities of 2009, in February. |
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Community
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Population
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Bristol, Virginia, USA
 Bristol is located in a rural, low-income region whose traditional products – tobacco and coal – are in major decline. Starting in 1998, Bristol fought incumbent telcos in court and the state legislature to win the right to deploy a fiber network called OptiNet. It was conceived as a backbone serving government and schools but grew into a fiber-to-the-premises network for business and residents in Bristol and four neighboring counties. With a 62% market share, OptiNet has saved its customers an estimated $10 million. It has also attracted more than $50 million in private investment, including the region's first technology employers, and improved rural education and healthcare by connecting local providers to leading institutions. Links:
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17,500
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Eindhoven, Netherlands
 The Eindhoven metropolitan area (a 2008 Smart21) – including Eindhoven and Helmond – has long been the industrial heart of the Netherlands. Through a public-private collaboration called Brainport, the region is ramping up its knowledge economy to maintain and accelerate growth in a hyper-competitive global market, while at the same time coping with an aging population and shrinking workforce. Among more than 40 public-private projects are an award-winning coop that has brought FTTP and a broadband culture of use to the suburb of Neunen; the SKOOL outsourced IT management system for public schools; the remote home health care program Viedome; and the Technific campaign, which promotes technology and tech education. Links:
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297,000
2008 Smart21
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Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
 For most of its history, government and education were the economic mainstays of Fredericton, capital of New Brunswick Province and a 2008 Top Seven. The downsizing of government in the 1980s pushed public servants into the market, who unexpectedly formed a well-educated entrepreneurial class. When it could not get broadband from the private sector to meet their needs, Fredericton founded the e-Novations coop, which deployed a fiber ring that spurred competition, giving the city a 70% penetration rate at speeds of up to 18 Mbps. The next step was the Fred-eZone wireless network, which provides free WiFi service across 65% of the city. The combination of broadband, entrepreneurship and Fredericton's universities has powered the creation of over 12,000 jobs in science parks, research centers and incubators, and engendered a strong culture of use for broadband in daily life. Links:
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50,535
2008 Top Seven
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Issy-les-Moulineaux, France
 Issy-les-Moulineax (a 2006 Top Seven) became the industrial zone of Paris in the early 20th Century only to suffer de-industrialization in the post-war years. Beginning in 1980, a visionary mayor focused policy on creating an innovative, IT-based knowledge economy. Issy implemented e-government, outsourced its IT needs, and took advantage of liberalization to attract competitive fiber carriers deploying cost-effective broadband. Competition has since spurred further private investment in FTTP at up to 100 Mbps and free WiFi. Public-private innovation includes a cyber-kindergarten for children, cyber tearooms for older citizens, citizen e-participation in decision-making, a successful business incubator and ICT-based real estate projects. With 1,500 employers (nearly 60% in ICT and digital media) providing 70,000 jobs, Issy now has more jobs than residents. Links:
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61,000
2006 Top Seven
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Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada
 Twenty years ago, the Moncton region was a former railroad and industrial hub facing a doubtful future. Strong leadership in the municipalities of Moncton, Dieppe and Riverview focused on information and communications technology as key to the future. Since then, this bilingual community has become a major Canadian customer contact and back office center, and built a "near-shore" IT outsourcing industry. Private-sector carriers have collaborated in the city's growth as a telecom-centric economy, and helped power the addition of 20,000 new jobs since the early 1990s, largely in management, finance, health services, technology and education. Moncton is now leveraging this success with a Vision 2010 plan. It calls for partnership with regional universities to deepen the region's knowledge economy, diversifying its IT economy into new sectors, and actively promoting tech-based entrepreneurship. Links:
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125,000 |
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Stockholm, Sweden
 Stockholm is the economic and political capital of Sweden. With 45,000 employees, its government is the country's largest employer, so its decisions have a big impact. In the mid-90s, Stockholm established a company called Stokab to build an open-access fiber network. Today, the 4,500km network connects more than 90 competing service providers to government and business customers. Though the city already has a 98% broadband penetration rate, Stokab will also provide FTTP access to over 95,000 low-income households in public housing by the end of 2009. Stockholm also manages KISTA Science City, housing more than 1,400 companies, plus a support program for start-up and early-stage companies. The city's latest focus is to become northern Europe's quality-of-life leader by enlisting all 45,000 employees in a 3-year effort to improving housing, traffic, and the delivery of an already impressive list of online services. Links:
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795,000 |
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Tallinn, Estonia
 Three-time Top Seven community Tallinn has risen from post-Soviet economic ruin to become an economic tiger largely on the strength of ICT. Making creative use of people and funding, Tallinn computerized its schools and deployed widespread WiFi as well as nearly 700 public access kiosks. The city also developed a large-scale digital skills training program, extensive e-government, and an award-winning smart ID card. Through partnerships, it developed high-tech parks including Ulemiste City, Tallinn Technology Park and Cooperative Cyber Defence Center. Rated #2 worldwide for economic potential by the Financial Times, Tallinn is home to half of Estonia's companies, which receive 77% of the country's foreign direct investment. Tallinn's leaders are now focusing on attracting and fostering talent, building partnerships, internationalization and even faster innovation. Links:
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400,000
2007-2008 Top Seven
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