ORLANDO—Pasco County is claiming a national first. Dubbed the "Connected City Corridor," part of the county has been designated as the first-ever planned "Smart Gigabit Community" in the US to be built from the ground up with fiber network providing Gigabit internet access.

US Ignite, a non-profit organization that is fostering the creation of next-generation Internet applications in communities across the country, awarded the designation to Pasco County. Metro Development Group is driving the planning for the "Connected City Corridor" and met with US Ignite a few years ago to brainstorm ways to create a high-tech community. The result is a partnership with US Ignite.

"Gigabit technology brings the digital and physical worlds together and will transform the way we live and work," Kartik Goyani, vice president of Operations for Metro, tells GlobeSt.com. "This project is about making big ideas happen to benefit not only citizens who want to take advantage of the connectivity, but also businesses."