Energy is powering the Knowledge Economy. That may seem like a statement of the obvious, but broadband by itself is not a complete economic development strategy. Increasingly, it is the combination of affordable, high performance broadband AND reliable, resilient electric power that makes a region attractive to business.
In New York City, ConEd, the power company, is designing a new main power line that will be highly resistant to terrorist attacks and extreme weather. The low temperature, superconducting cable will have enormous capacity and will help reduce brownouts and power surges, which are a big problem for all the electronic equipment that powers business networks.
The right telecom infrastructure is necessary, but not sufficient. Regions with a history of power problems are not going to be successful in attracting certain kinds of businesses that make heavy use of computer and network equipment. And remember that heavy manufacturing today is almost totally dependent on networks and computers. There is no going back to the old Industrial Economy; everything--every kind of business of any size is part of the Knowledge Economy, no matter what they make. A region's economic development strategy has to address the needs of those businesses, starting with affordable broadband and reliable electric power.