Each year, membership in WGTA has grown, and each year the organization has focused on a project to improve telecommunications infrastructure in west Georgia. Today, there are members from both public and private schools, from kindergarten to college, from small to large businesses, from city and county governments, and from individuals. Results include as much as 35 percent reductions in telecommunications costs from enhanced competition and a spin-off effort to form a collaborative technology incubator and broadband telecommunications membership cooperative. Georgia Tech s Economic Development Institute has a new service called TechSmart to help communities and companies with telecommunications and information technology needs. World Wide Web and e-mail list services for publishing and distributing information about the group.
Technology alliances can transform communities, as west Georgia discovered.
This program focuses on meeting the workforce needs of businesses expanding or relocating in Georgia. These include the fields of information technology, computer networking, and telecommunications engineering technology. Currently, the service includes 9,000 resumes.