Charles Pointe

BRIDGEPORT -- Charles Pointe, the big planned development now under construction in these rolling hills, is designed to make it easy to stay in touch. Rather than build houses, offices and businesses and then wiring them, Charles Pointe is being built with communications as an integrated part of the plan. "Our mission is to develop a master planned community based on how people will live, work and play," said James "Jamie" Corton, managing partner of Genesis Partners, the developer. "Fiber optics cross all of those things. We look at fiber not necessarily as a utility but as an amenity." Genesis Partners hired The Broadband Group of Sacramento, Calif., to develop a technology master plan for the development, which will eventually encompass 1,700 acres. It is planned to be a complete, self-contained community with more than 1,700 homes, a traditional "downtown" with retail shops and restaurants, office parks, and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities. Corton said $40 million has already been invested in the development. More than $750 million will be invested when it is completed in 15 to 20 years, he said. Charles Pointe is just north of the Jerry Dove Drive exit of Interstate 79. Tom Reiman, The Broadband Group's founder and president, said Corton's commitment to install a pure fiber network throughout Charles Pointe makes many things possible. "I think that vision sets the tone for how the community will communicate," he said. "The first step we did was, we created a technology master plan for Charles Pointe," Reiman said. The company studied how the community might live in terms of entertainment, information, security, and energy management. "To us, the telecommunications story at Charles Pointe goes way beyond telephone and Internet access and entertainment," Reiman said. "It really becomes the life of the community. "In addition to a general fiber infrastructure, there will be a community Intranet that will link everyone in the community, based on their area of interest," he said. Communications Plus of Westover is building out the infrastructure at Charles Pointe and will be the community's service provider. "We will provide the phone service and Internet access, we will be piping in the video, we will maintain the service in the community and we will do the billing," said Walter Burmeister, vice chairman and chief operating officer of TelAtlantic Communications Inc. TelAtlantic is headquartered in Alexandria, Va. It is the corporate parent of Communications Plus. "We will operate the Intranet," Burmeister added. "There will be specific Web pages with events going on in the community. When you get up in the morning you can turn on your video screen and see a list of events in the community - what time soccer practice is, what's on at the movies, what's offered at the restaurants. "Mom might go off to work and Dad might take the kid to soccer with the day pretty well planned out." Reiman said a soccer coach could reserve a field and schedule practices online. Burmeister said there will be WiFi hot spots at the pool and the soccer field.