TECHNOLOGY >>>

- Digital firms flourish on the Silicon Prairie -
Chicago’s rapidly expanding hi-tech sector is expected to power the local economy for decades to come

The concept of a Midwest version of California’s Silicon Valley is taking shape on the shores of Lake Michigan. Already the fourth-largest hi-tech region in the US, the greater Chicago metropolis has been dubbed the ‘Silicon Prairie’. The five-year budget for hi-tech development is nearly $2 billion and the industry is expected to drive the city’s growth in the decades to come. Katherine Gehl, Mayor Daley’s technology tsarina, says: “Chicago’s tech economy is strong, diversified and growing.” The region boasts more than 11,600 hi-tech companies that employ 288,000 workers, and Chicago is the first major city in America to design a detailed business plan aimed at bringing more technology into schools. There are also plans to create an extensive fibre-optic infrastructure, bringing the potential for inexpensive, high-speed broadband access to virtually every address within the city limits. The diverse nature of Chicago’s economy helps to underpin hi-tech development.

The city is a leading producer of machinery and equipment, metals, electronics, publishing and foods, as well as being the country’s top retail trade centre. “One thing Chicago knows how to do is business, which is why technology companies are growing here,” says Shaye Mandle, president of the Illinois Coalition, a public-private group that is dedicated to building up the hi-tech economy. He believes that Chicago has the resources to become a leader in the burgeoning biotechnology industry. “Nobody has cornered the biotech business yet.” Larry Kolek, executive director of the Midwest Council of technology industry trade group AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association), says Chicago’s strength has not been in dot coms. Instead it draws vitality from essential industries that support the new economy. “As long as these companies continue to reinvent themselves and create new firms, the Chicago market will remain strong in the hi-tech sector,” he adds. Among the businesses benefiting from the global demand for cellular networks is Andrew Corporation, a leading manufacturer of telecommunications systems, equipment and services.

The Orland Park, Illinois-based organisation, founded in 1937, employs nearly 6,000 people at its plants, marketing offices and research laboratories around the world. The firm completed construction of the first broadband wireless internet system in South America last December, which brought high-speed, data and web connections to Lima and Callao in Peru. One month later, the company returned to seal a contract for a network in Argentina. The corporation’s lightning flash logo has become a familiar feature in every corner of the globe – on broadcast towers, antennae, cables, communications and computer equipment, as well as its factories, R & D centres and offices. Last year was exceptional for sales, which rose 29 per cent, topping the $1 billion mark for the first time. Chairman Floyd English says: “All of us are using more data and have much more at our fingertips than five years ago. Obviously this is good for business. We have become so accustomed to the convenience and mobility of wireless phones that they are now a necessity. We are also spending considerably more time surfing the internet.” Customers are demanding increased bandwidth to provide a wider range of services to end-users, he adds. “The next step in this telecommunications revolution is the ‘last mile’.

Business and residential users are tired of waiting for the picture to slowly come up on the screen – now they want it to appear instantaneously.” Andrew Corporation has been operating in the UK for more than 40 years now, from its offices in Wokingham and a manufacturing plant in Lochgelly, Scotland. This makes the plant one of the longest established of its 70 facilities in 27 countries. “We are well-positioned throughout Europe in preparation for the roll out of new technologies – 3G is going to happen there very soon. European licences have already been awarded, and our wireless subsystem components will be available to ensure the new networks are constructed quickly and cost-effectively,” says Dr English. A universal standard for mobile telecommunications (UMTS) has been adopted for high-speed internet access. A technology known as Bluetooth easily enables fast interconnections between different networks at home or in the office using a digital short-range wireless connection.

The city has the resources to be a leader in biotech

“The concept of bringing together voice, data, email, internet and all of the other variations in some standard form is vital if an international system is ever to be built,” he says. “We are starting to see the effects of Bluetooth in the products available from Ericsson, Motorola, Nokia and many others. From our perspective, however, the signal still needs to be delivered to the proximity of whatever device needs it.” Europe already has GSM (the global system for mobile communications), a standard for cellular telephony that has been adopted widely throughout the world. The US is the exception, as a different standard was adopted. “I just wish there could be an international standard,” says Dr English. “We are seeing more GSM in the US. Change will probably come when we start looking at refinements in equipment that uses the spectrum differently, rather than forcing equipment to be developed that conforms to traditional bandwidth slots.” Illinois-based Tellabs, which designs, makes, markets and services fibre-optic networks, next-generation switching and broadband access solutions, is another manufacturer with a global presence.

The company has a manufacturing plant in Shannon, Ireland, as well as large R&D; centres in Finland and India. One of the fastest growing firms in the US, and recently ranked first in a 100 best corporate citizens poll, Tellabs has just signed an agreement with Sweden’s Ericsson to provide carriers with the power that is needed to create 3G networks. Under the deal, Ericsson will market Tellabs products to provide the bandwidth needed for 3G networks and help carriers monitor, control and manage communications traffic. Chief executive Richard Notebaert says: “The demand for bandwidth throughout the world has increased. There have been a few pundits who have said there is a glut, but they are wrong. The demand continues to rise for bandwidth and for higher bit rates for transport.”