Verizon Call Center One Step Closer to Laramie

If you are not already familiar with the details of this story, Verizon Wireless may be locating their next mega data center in Laramie. Last month Verizon aquired a two year option on 160 acres of land located 1 mile North of the City of Laramie. The proposed location is off of 30th street and is currently owned by Lodgepole Ranch LLC. Verizon currently has data centers worldwide and as theirbusiness has grown so has their need for these data centers. However you might be asking why Laramie? It turns out that the facilities high powered computers require considerably less air conditioning units to keep the equipment cool in our climate. If Verizon does move forward with plans to locate their facilities in Laramie, it would be a big win for the economic environment since the call center will employ 200 people with jobs at salaries around the $75,000 mark when fully staffed; not to mention the fact that construction of the $4 billion dollar facility itself will have a huge economic impact. 

There are still several other cities in the running for the call center including Cheyenne, although the steps Verizon has taken in Laramie seem promising to this point. Wyoming cities look to fare very well in the running for the new data center after the senate passed a bill this past Friday that would grant centers like Verizon's certain tax breaks. Wyoming's governor, Matt Mead, will sign this bill, HB 117, into law this coming Friday at 9 AM. In a Billings Gazette interview with Chief Executive Officer of the Wyoming Business Council, Robert Jensen, it was mentioned that the location of the facility in Laramie would be a "game changer" because "once a big center like this comes in, others tend to follow."