Columbus, Ohio (February 2, 201) - The City of Dublin, home to the Central Ohio Research Network, recently was named a Top Seven Intelligent Community in a think tank’s annual list of smart cities.
The designation was made public Jan. 20 by the New York-based Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) at the Pacific Telecommunications Council’s annual conference. The communities received the designation were: Arlington County, Va.; Dublin, Ohio; Dundee, Scotland; Eindhoven, Netherlands; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Suwon, South Korea and Tallinn, Estonia.
According to the ICF, Intelligent Communities are those which have -- whether through crisis or foresight -- come to understand the challenges of the broadband economy, and have taken conscious steps to create an economy capable of prospering in it.
In a study funded by the Province of Ontario, Canada, the Intelligent Community Forum defined five critical success factors for the creation of Intelligent Communities: broadband connectivity, knowledge workforce, digital inclusion, innovation, and marketing and advocacy.
According to the ICF, Intelligent Communities are those which have – whether through crisis or foresight – come to understand the enormous challenges of the Broadband Economy, and have taken conscious steps to create an economy capable of prospering in it. In a study funded by the Province of Ontario, Canada, the Intelligent Community Forum defined five critical success factors for the creation of Intelligent Communities: broadband connectivity, knowledge workforce, digital inclusion, innovation, and marketing and advocacy.
In 2005, Dublin leveraged its innovative underground fiber optic network, DubLink, to connect to the Ohio Academic Resources Network (OARnet) to establish the Central Ohio Research Network (CORN). The research network links government, businesses and schools to the Ohio Supercomputer Center (OSC) and other powerful online resources for research and economic development.
DubLINK encompasses nearly 100 miles of fiber-optic cable, while OARnet provides a statewide network backbone of more than 1,850 miles, linking Ohio's K-12 schools, colleges, universities, educational medical centers, public broadcasting stations and state and local governments. OSC, a statewide resource funded through the Ohio Board of Regents, provides client organizations with valuable high performance computing and storage systems, software and services.
“It is a great honor to be considered in league with these global communities, and to be recognized for our efforts to keep our citizens and businesses connected to the world,” said Terry Foegler, Dublin city manager.
The awards cycle concludes in New York City in May, when one of the Top Seven will succeed Stockholm, Sweden, as Intelligent Community of the Year.
The Intelligent Community Forum is a New York-based think tank that studies the economic and social development of the 21st Century community. ICF, founded by Robert A. Bell, John G. Jung and Louis A. Zacharilla, has partnered with the Polytechnic Institute of New York University since 2005. For more information, visit www.intelligentcommunity.org.
