A handful of locations around the world make the world wide web work. They are called Global Internet Hubs, and are all thriving cities. But this is about to change.
The world’s next Global Internet Hub isn’t a single city but rather America’s 12th megaregion known as the I-64 Innovation Corridor.
Located just two hours south of Washington, D.C., the I-64 Innovation Corridor is comprised of Richmond and Hampton Roads, two neighboring Virginia localities. This 8,000-square-mile megaregion has a combined population of 3 million-plus residents, placing it among the top 20 largest U.S. population centers.
The I-64 Innovation Corridor also has gained a place on the intercontinental internet map. Since 2019, this corridor has experienced a 73% compound annual growth rate in international internet bandwidth, according to TeleGeography. This statistic paired with the enormous digital infrastructure investments already made here and the billions of dollars in existing and proposed data centers leaves no doubt that the I-64 Innovation Corridor is well on its way to becoming a Global Internet Hub.
How we are building our Global Internet Hub:
RVA757 Connects, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing economic prosperity for everyone in the Richmond region (RVA) and Hampton Roads (757) region, identified the opportunity to accelerate the development of the I-64 Innovation Corridor’s digital infrastructure. RVA757 Connects is comprised of a network of top leaders representing business, higher education, and community.
The organization established a Steering Committee with more than 60 experts from 10 different industry and business categories. The group hired two leading international digital infrastructure consultants – TeleGeography and InterGlobix Consulting – with the goal to develop a strategic vision and action framework capitalizing on the combined digital assets of the Richmond region and Hampton Roads.
