More than 500 technology companies -- including Nortel, Ericsson, Alcatel, MCI, Fujitsu, and Rockwell -- are contributing to the development of one of the United States' primary hubs for the telecommunications industry. That hub, called the Telecom Corridor, is bringing relocators from all over the country and the world who want to work in this region of North Texas, which only comprises five square miles. So where is this city? It's Richardson, a growing suburb located a mere 20-minute drive north of its big brother, Dallas. The city was named by the Wall Street Journal in a 1989 report one of the "top 10 boomtowns of the 1990s." Since then, Richardson has not only met but exceeded those expectations.

Despite its solid sense of identity -- employment projections foresee Richardson on a near-equal status with nearby Dallas -- Richardson remains mindful of its larger neighbor to the south. As real estate values rise and industries break ground in the Corridor, Richardson city leaders are keeping a watchful eye on maintaining a symbiosis that, if fostered by its plans for a light rail system and superhighway, could link the two cities in more ways than one.

In the first quarter of 1994, the Telecom Corridor held 70 percent of the state's communications equipment manufacturing jobs and more than 50 percent of its semiconductor manufacturing jobs. The North Central Texas Council of Governments has projected the Corridor's employment will reach approximately 127,000 by 2020. With the city's proliferation of international companies -- Fujitsu from Japan, Siemens from Germany, and Ericsson from Sweden -- Richardson enjoys a diverse and distinctive community.

Despite its identity as a town on the cutting edge of the global telecommunications industry, Richardson feels like a small town. As the first major suburb to develop north of Dallas, its neighborhoods are old and established, yet well-kept, quiet, and safe. Many Telecom Corridor employees ride their bikes, walk, or drive to work delayed only by a single "Stop" sign.

Keenly aware that technology is changing faster than secondary schools and universities can change their curriculums and churn out graduates, the city's telecommunications giants have banded together to provide high-tech instruction to college students. Upon graduation, students receive a degree, and more important, a certificate qualifying them to work in any one of Richardson's 500-plus technology firms. It's a boon for local universities, an insurance policy for the future of the Telecom Corridor, and a promissory note for Richardson's growth.

Under the terms of the program (called the Technology Training Network), students at Richland College (in the Dallas Community College System) and Collin County Community College begin working on a part-time basis at one of the Corridor companies during their first year of college. By training students early, companies hope to develop classes of generic, high-tech workers with interchangeable skills, transferable at various market-specific occupations. The program is funded by a $1.9 million grant called the Skilled Development Fund, announced by the Texas Workforce Commission last year.

The Richardson Independent School District, which has the highest number of exemplary schools in Texas, 17 according to Texas Education Agency ratings, has consistently performed well despite a formidable challenge: The district's students come from backgrounds that embrace 67 different languages. Corridor industries have risen to meet that challenge, recognizing that many of the students in the back yards of their companies will soon be knocking on their doors for jobs. Industry executives hope to ensure the preparation of college-bound students -- as well as those whose future plans don't include college, providing them with numerous types of post secondary training.

The Corridor's global corporations have brought a sizable international population to Richardson, most notably its Asian community, which comprises 6 percent of the city's population. Besides the obvious draw of corporations from the Orient, like Fujitsu, Asians have been attracted to the availability of jobs across the Corridor, as well as its strong technology orientation. Richardson's strong public school system and its high quality of life also have been factors for the region's international contingent. Take a drive along northern Greenville Avenue in Richardson, and you'll spot an array of Oriental restaurants, markets, and churches. The diversity of nations -- France, Canada, Sweden, and Germany, for example -- represented in the Telecom Corridor has brought international flavor to both the Corridor and its surrounding neighborhoods.

When Richardson City Manager Bill Keffler arrived in Richardson 21 years ago, "the image of the community was one of a good quality of life and strong residential communities," he says. "Richardson benefited from three key components: quality of the public school system, the growth of the major corporations at that time -- Texas Instruments and Rockwell International -- and the presence of Central Expressway the major highway that leads to Dallas. The city planners have created an industrial center in the middle of the community and surrounded it with neighborhoods. Even today, one of the drawing cards is the compatibility of business development and residential development and the fact that they can work and exist in concert with each other."