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Innovation & Technology

With a long history rich in technology innovation, from the first GPS satellite to revolutionary advances in drilling and beyond, it should be no surprise that Lafayette has positioned itself to become a leader in the twenty-first century economy. In particular, 2010 saw Lafayette take huge strides to establishing itself as a hub for digital economic development. With companies like Pixel Magic, a top tier digital effects shop, and initiatives like the Accelerator, a partnership between Lafayette Economic Development Authority, the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, and the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Lafayette has proven itself to be an environment in which innovation can thrive.

Looking forward, Lafayette’s future is brighter than ever, particularly as it relates to becoming a leader in building the next generation of the Internet. With its unique mix of public and private providers, Lafayette boasts one of the most robust broadband infrastructures in the country, delivering more bandwidth for less money along with greater competition than can be found in major metropolitan areas like DC or San Francisco. In April, seventy five experts from around the world came to Lafayette for FiberFete to marvel at what this community has accomplished, and to help leverage Lafayette’s many resources to continue its growth in the twenty-first century. Now the question becomes: what can Lafayette do with this unique opportunity to lead the country?

Founded to help answer that question is a new non-profit called FiberCorps. Grown out of the successes of TechSouth, and boasting the support of six stakeholder organizations (the Chamber, LEDA, ULL, LITE, Lafayette Consolidated Government and the Community Foundation of Acadiana), FiberCorps aims to tackle the sociological and business challenges associated with enabling and empowering all facets of the community to benefit from and innovate on advanced broadband networks. A first-of-its-kind initiative, FiberCorps will help facilitate Lafayette realizing its full potential as the hub city for fiber-powered innovation.

The future of Lafayette could not be brighter because of how this community embraced the infinite possibilities of technology. Innovation is built into this culture’s DNA. And by working together, we can lead the world into the twenty-first century.

A vibrant, amenity-filled town center and innovative high-tech infrastructure have made Lafayette, Louisiana a launching pad for entrepreneurs of all stripes. The city is the center of a multicultural and multi-industrial region, and is surrounded by a unique, publicly owned fiber optic loop.

Wireless technology was pioneered right here, as a way for oil and gas companies to communicate with their production rigs in the Gulf of Mexico. Lafayette’s entrepreneurs drive our economy, and as we move into a technology-driven economy, our local technology leaders and the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise stand to continue our growth far into the future. This ability to embrace and apply technology became clearly evident in 2005, when Lafayette voters approved the financing needed to extend fiber connectivity to every home and business within the city.

Lafayette’s Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH) initiative has been a key component of City-Parish President Joey Durel’s administration. In 1999, Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) upgraded its electric grid monitoring technology by deploying a 65-mile, 96-strand fiber optic network around the city. This fiber optic backbone has also been used to provide communication services to businesses, government and educational entities. Beginning in 2008, LUS Fiber, a division of LUS, began extending this network directly to every home, business and school, creating the city’s only 100% fiber optic network. This powerful network is composed of more than 83,000 miles of glass fiber in the city alone. This powerful communications infrastructure will deliver enhanced TV, the fastest Internet speeds and crystal-clear phone service for improved quality of life and greater opportunities for economic development.

Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE) is a 3-D immersive visualization and high-performance computing resource center hosting clients in commercial industry, government and university sectors. LITE’s leading-edge facility features a comprehensive set of advanced visualization systems and a massive high-performance computing system. Conceived as a magnet for economic development, LITE’s advanced facilities and staffs of industry experts are available to your business or organization to help transform the process of innovation and accelerate the time to discovery.

While the bulk of LITE’s clients to date have come from the health and medical, architecture and construction, film and entertainment and oil and gas sectors, LITE is eager to work with any industry.

LITE is a $27 million, 70,000-square-foot facility located at the Research Park of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. LITE is governed by a board of commissioners. More information regarding LITE can be obtained at lite3d.com; or by calling (337) 735-LITE; or by emailing learnmore@lite3d.com.

With an already impressive success rate, the Lafayette Entertainment Initiative (LEI) was created under the leadership of City-Parish President Joey Durel to share our community’s next-generation resources with the global entertainment industry. Emerging as one of the largest municipality-owned, fiber-optically connected communities in the United States and home to one of the most advanced publicly owned, 3D immersive technology and super-computing environments in the world, Lafayette is positioned as a city of true innovators.

By coupling these forward-thinking community resources with our online systems for scouting locations, accessing labor pools and other physical as well as virtual production infrastructure, the Lafayette Entertainment Initiative successfully serves the industry today, with an eye on anticipating the needs of the creative industries tomorrow.

LEI is an initiative of the Lafayette Consolidated Government in partnership with the Lafayette Economic Development Authority & the Lafayette Convention & Visitor’s Center.

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