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erizon Wireless is indeed a telecom firm in an expansion mode, with multiple recent facility projects across the U.S. One of its latest is in Hanover, Md., where a US$22-million customer service center debuted late last year.
   Verizon Wireless spokesman John Johnson says the company outgrew the space at its regional operation in Laurel in 2004.
   "We set out to find another site where we could expand," Johnson says. "We looked for a place close enough to Laurel that it wouldn't be a bad commute and where we could draw labor from the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore areas. The site we settled on is near the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and has tremendous highway access."
   The 139,000-sq.-ft. (12,900-sq.-m.) facility employed more than 800 in early April, but Johnson expects the center to reach its capacity of 1,100 later this year.
   Rochester, N.Y., is the home base of Paetec Communications, a provider of integrated communications services, including local and long distance voice services and data and Internet services. The company is adding 29,000 sq. ft. (2,700 sq. m.) and 55 jobs in leased space near its headquarters.
   Jolanda Chesonis, Paetec's vice president, human resources, says the company also looked at expanding its facilities in New Jersey, near Philadelphia.
   "We have good relationships with the University of Rochester and RIT [Rochester Institute of Technology] and there's a tremendous skill set available in this area," Chesonis says.
   The company opened a sales office in Tampa last year and there's been speculation that area might grow into a major hub for the company. Chesonis says the company will be looking to see

Telecom Spending Growth Forecast Total spending in the U.S. telecom industry rose nearly 9 percent last year to nearly $857 billion, according to an industry review and forecast from the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). That type of growth is forecast to continue. The organization predicts the U.S. industry will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9 percent during the period 2006-2009. TIA predicts overall international telecom spending will reach $2.7 trillion by 2009.

how that area grows before making any expansion decisions there.

   Recent global investment includes development of R&D centers by telecom companies and their suppliers.
   Colorado Springs-headquartered Intelliden, a provider of networking products, is investing $5.5 million in the creation of a European R&D center in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The company says it selected Belfast for its highly skilled work force.
   French telecommunications equipment firm Alcatel has opened a $48-million R&D center in Chennai, India, and expects to employ 300 by the end of this year.
   Deutsche Telekom plans to establish a $12.1-million research institute at Ben-Gurion University in Be'er Sheva, Israel. The facility will be the company's first R&D site outside of Germany. "There is no question that Israel is one of the best locations in the world for innovation in the areas of IT and communications," Deutsche Telecom CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke said in a February 2006 announcement.