Anchored by the 240-acre Piedmont Triad Research Park in downtown Winston-Salem, the community is emerging as a leading technology center for health care, research, science, and advanced manufacturing. One of the major advantages of attracting technology and life science companies to Winston-Salem/ Forsyth County is the superior power and telecom infrastructure that exists. Winston-Salem lies just west of the major Internet Backbone that traverses the eastern United States. In addition, there is an expansive effort to make downtown wireless.

WiFi on Fourth

In April 2003, Winston-Salem launched “WiFi on Fourth” which offers free Wireless Internet access along Fourth Street between Spruce and Main streets. People in restaurants and businesses along Fourth Street can access the Internet through high-speed connections and enjoy browsing the Web, checking and sending e-mail, or chatting through instant messaging services. When the city launched “WiFi on Fourth,” Winston-Salem was the first city in the nation to offer free wireless Internet access in a downtown area.

WinstonNet

WinstonNet is a high-speed fiber-optic communication system that links the schools, libraries, city and county government, medical centers, the Piedmont Triad Research Park, and local industry. WinstonNet was a major component in Winston-Salem’s achievement as a “Top 7 Intelligent Community” in the world in 2008 by the Intelligent Community Forum.

First conceived in 1997, WinstonNet today comprises a 25-mile fiber-optic ring connecting Wake Forest University with Forsyth Technical Community College, Winston-Salem State University and the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County School System. The connection will soon be completed with the county’s public library system as well as other county and city governmental offices and the Chamber of Commerce. Future connections will include Salem College and the The University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Piedmont Triad Research Park

Piedmont Triad Research Park (PTRP) is a unique campus-style development in downtown Winston-Salem. This world-class research environment is a collaborative effort between academia, government and the private sector, with developable sites to accommodate up to 300,000 square feet of lab and R&D buildings. PTRP provides value added services to growth companies by offering office and laboratory space in a highly interactive, master-planned, advanced technology community. The primary targets for the Park are the small-to medium-sized, high-growth technology companies focused on imaging, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, medical devices and information technologies.

The Park is home to private enterprises, public companies and university-based research operations. Notable tenants include Targacept, the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the Wake Forest Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.

For more information please visit www.ptrp.com

For community technology initiatives please visit www.winstonsalem.com/technologyoverview.aspx