Telecommunications

Greater St. Louis has a long history in the telecommunications industry. Southwestern Bell was founded here in 1920 with roots going back to 1877. Today, AT&T Missouri is one of the area’s largest employers with approximately 9,000 employees. Over 30,000 workers are employed in the information industry in the metro area as of 2007.(1) Further, St. Louis’ strength as a center for corporate headquarters, advanced manufacturing, and transportation has resulted in the creation of significant telecommunications and IT infrastructure and workforce to support these industries.

The St. Louis region enjoys a superior broadband infrastructure. Over 40 Internet Service Providers (ISPs) exist in the region including industry leaders:

• AT&T – regional operations center and Yellow Pages headquarters,
• CenturyTel,
• Charter Communications – St. Louis headquarters,
• Level 3 Communications,
• SAVVIS – St. Louis headquarters,
• Sprint,
• Time Warner Telecom - one of two National Operations Centers,
• Verizon, and
• XO Communications - Network Management Center.

SAVVIS now has approximately 25% of the global Internet routes with 17,000 miles of OC192 backbone in the U.S. This network covers 110 cities in 45 countries through their 24 worldwide data centers.(2)

In many areas of the St. Louis region, these carriers offer SONET OC-192 connectivity. Additionally, many areas have available “dark fiber”. Connections to carrier hotels offer multiple connections to the many broadband carriers doing business in the St. Louis region. The Digital Realty Trust carrier hotels in downtown St. Louis have approximately 50 separate ISP connections.

In addition, the St. Louis Regional Exchange is the only U.S. municipally sponsored Internet exchange point, or broadband hub, to expedite and optimize regional Internet traffic and services.

Greater St. Louis has exceptional telecommunications infrastructure and resources including Internet backbone and fiber capacity from national and regional carriers. This infrastructure, coupled with our significant regional IT talent and corporate resources, make St. Louis a very attractive IT and telecommunications market. The area’s exceptionally low electricity costs and IT wages make these operations even more profitable.

Sources: (1) "State and Area Employment, Hours, and Earnings" U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2007.
(2) "Backbone Directory: SAVVIS" ISP Planet, 2008.