Press Release August 14, 2001 District Selected as Nation's Most Wired City, Ranked No. 2 in Tech Workforce (Washington, DC) Business Facilities Magazine's July 2001 cover story named the District America's "Top Wired City." According to the article, Washington, DC "greatly exceeds its traditional position in the communications hierarchy of the United States…and much of this capacity is dedicated to distributing content from the enormous Internet presence maintained by the Federal government." Most major telecommunications companies that have planned routes in the District have completed, or are near completion of the routes. In the Expanded Central Business District (CBD), the major business and entertainment area of the District, users will find at least one completed route on every street, allowing for immediate access to services. University of Minnesota Using 1997 economic census data, a University of Minnesota study confirms that the Washington region ranks in the top tier in terms of technology employment. According to the study, Greater Washington, DC businesses employ 321,600 high-tech workers. Our Nation's Capital is second only to Chicago, which has high-tech businesses that employ 347,100 workers. Several sets of data suggest that if more current economic census statistics were available, the Greater Washington region would likely rank first. The Minnesota study is based on analysis of the 1997 Economic Census from the US Census Bureau, US Department of Commerce. Other Interesting Facts In a study entitled "Building the New Economy" by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the region's information and communications industry increased by more than 200,000 jobs from 1997-2000. The Greater Washington Initiative's analysis of government data placed the Washington region first in the country in high-tech occupations for 1999 (computers, engineering and science occupations) Greater Washington Silicon Valley Chicago 204,270      251,660 247,140 204,270 GWI's data is based on 1999 metropolitan area occupational employment and wage estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (US Department of Labor). DC Keeps on Winning! These awards are the latest in a string of tech accolades the District has won in the past year: Newsweek. In the April 30, 2001 edition of Newsweek, the Washington, DC area was named one of 10 "New Tech Cities—10 cities that have become important players in the Information Age." According to Newsweek, 67 percent of the metro area's residents are on-line. Venture capital has skyrocketed from $94 million in 1999 to $3.1 billion in 2000. The Progressive Policy Institute. In April of 2001, the Progressive Policy Institute—a liberal think-tank—released its Metropolitan New Economy Index—a technology grade of the country's major metropolitan areas. The DC Metro area ranked 6 overall. In addition, it ranked high in several key indicators: No. 1 in knowledge jobs, No. 1 in workforce education, No. 4 in transformation to a digital economy and No. 4 in the country in on-line population. Visit the Metropolitan New Economy Index to read the complete report.