Affordable, high capacity broadband does not replace the basics. Roanoke has a small regional airport with the second highest landing fees in the country; lousy, overpriced coffee; poor food service; and extremely high ticket prices. That's not a formula for attracting businesses to the Roanoke and New River Valley regions.
With the focus on broadband, it may be easy to forget that the in the global Knowledge Economy, we still have to travel. When HD quality business videoconference systems like HP's Halo Studio are commonplace, we may see a slight reduction in travel, but what is more likely is that HD conference systems will replace telephone conference calls, not face to face meetings.
Skeptics of the importance of broadband should take a look at the off the shelf HD conference systems already being sold. It takes anywhere from twenty to forty megabits of bandwidth just to have a single two way meeting, and you have to add another ten to twenty megabits of bandwidth for each additional location. Try that with DSL, cable modem, or wireless (Hint: it won't work).
Communities and regions that can show they understand the full range of business needs--affordable aire travel options, affordable broadband, affordable, high quality office space, and the right mix of business services have a winning combination.