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ETCOTA - the concept.

01. Technology Infrastructure: the NAP.

Miami and South Florida are already, according to a recent ranking in a national publication, the fifth most important telecommunications center in the world, based on volume of traffic, behind only Tokyo, London, New York and Los Angeles.

Governor Bush’s IT Florida Task Force has made the creation of a Network Access Point or NAP in Florida a key component in the State’s technological and economic future.

The Task Force answered the rhetorical question, “What is a NAP and why is it important,” this way:
“The NAP is considered to be the heart of the state infrastructure. … It is literally the aggregation point of global network convergence. Specifically, it is seen as the technological catalyst for sustained economic growth throughout the State, nationally, and in the continued effort to brand Florida as the gateway to Latin America; a geographic advantage for that should not be taken lightly. … (It is) the cyber highway to South America, our largest trading partner.”

In other words, a NAP is a fiber-optic, high-speed, major Internet switching facility that links users with telecommunications companies and service providers globally.

Only four cities in the United States have Tier One NAPs: New York City, Washington, D.C., Chicago and San Francisco. And, now, two NAPs are coming to Miami and the State of Florida.

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