Thank each and every one of you for being here tonight and for the contribution you have made to the success of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project and the Greater Washington Region.

Excitement – "A Time of Convergence"

On Saturday November 7th, NBC Nightly News ran a national story calling Northern Virginia the next Silicon Valley. That story may have been a surprise to some, but we have all known for a while that the Greater Washington Region -- Northern Virginia, Suburban Maryland and the District -- will be a leading center for "opportunities in the digital age" – and its importance will only continue to grow.

Why? Because many of today's — and tomorrow's — most exciting opportunities are coming from a new convergence of communications, computing and content. Although computing technologies have been a predominant opportunity engine for the past two decades, that supremacy is being supplanted by the convergence and the new opportunities it is introducing.

In addition to promising opportunity in each converging sector, we are seeing the creation of hybrids, of new business models like America Online; new industries like wireless communications, typified by firms like Teligent and Nextel; cross-industry alliances such as WorldCom/UUNet and AOL; and new products coming from integration – like Internet and telephony. These are examples of a trend leading to vast economic possibilities that will build on and then outstrip what we experienced in the PC revolution. The context is simply that much larger.

Greater Washington is at the center of this convergence because it is one of few places with strengths in all three sectors, and most importantly, because it may well own the "book ends" of the convergence – the communications and content that surround computing technologies.

The region already possesses a remarkable concentration in communications and is arguably the hub of the telecommunications industry. This distinction will only grow as deregulation and satellite/wireless innovation redefine telecom.

Then look at the enormous, unmatchable opportunity at the other book end, the content, by which the region will become the dominant producer of digital information products, such as information data bases, online news and entertainment, bio- informatics, and distance learning. We are home to the richest sources of information and cultural objects in the world and a workforce with a legacy and talent to develop it.

We are the nerve center of a global systems integration industry that spans this convergence and represents one of the most important intellectual resources. It is this integration capability which will be the "gating factor" to the long-term sale and deployment of the diverse and complex technologies now available and yet to be introduced.

And, Greater Washington's enviable position at the center of the convergence will only be magnified by its international position and leadership in the expanding global economy.

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