New Local Firm Part of Wireless Revolution

Tom Patterson envisions a world in which cars in a traffic jam form their own wireless network, handheld devices alert you when a friend walks into a crowded restaurant and your local 7-Eleven contacts you when its computers sense you are running low on milk.

In that world, nearly every object -- from windshield wipers to medication dispensers -- will be equipped with sensors hooked up to a far-reaching Internet, letting people manage just about every aspect of their lives online. That will be made possible, Patterson said, through Internet Protocol Version 6, the second-generation addressing system that will significantly increase the number of devices able to be connected to the global network of computers.

Patterson is chief executive of Command Information, a venture-capital-backed company in Herndon that has grown quickly since it opened its doors less than a year ago. In the past two months, the company has opened a training lab, developed a division to work specifically with federal agencies, acquired two companies and merged with another.

Command Information started with two employees in January; now it has 335 and expects to hire at a rate of one person a day through the end of the year. The firm has already brought in $50 million in revenue and plans to add 300 jobs in the next 12 months.

Congress has mandated that all government agencies switch to the new addressing system by 2008.

"Most of the commercial world is just waiting to see what these agencies will do with IPv6. When the largest [information technology] buyer in the world invests, the commercial players will follow," said David B. Green, vice president and chief of research and development at Command Information. "This will open up a whole new range of services . . . the business model is really going to change."

The IPv6 network, which replaces the IPv4 system that has been in use for 35 years, will allow up to 1 trillion devices to be hooked up to the Internet. Now, about 600 billion computers are hooked up. The new system will allow people and companies to track inventory and connect to others without having to be at a computer, an idea Patterson calls telepresence.

Command Information has recently partnered with Microsoft Corp. to create applications for the software giant's new operating system, Vista, which uses IPv6 technology and is expected to be released early next year. In the next year, Patterson said he expects at least $25 billion in government contracts requiring computer systems and equipment that are compatible with IPv6.

"That's going to open the floodgates," he said.

New Owner for Austin Grill

Herndon-based Thompson Hospitality Corp., the 10th-largest food service company in the country, announced last week that it will acquire the six Austin Grill locations in the Washington metropolitan area, including one restaurant in Springfield. Austin Grill, which opened its first Washington location in 1988, brings in more than $16 million in annual sales.

Thompson plans to expand the restaurant into a national chain. Locally, the company plans to open in Rockville next year, and it is looking for locations in Loudoun County. Smaller versions may also appear on college campuses.

Higher Job Numbers

Almost 1,000 jobs have been added by 31 companies in Fairfax County during the third quarter, according to the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority.

Infinitive, a McLean-based management consulting firm, has added 100 jobs. A.T. Kearney Inc., a Vienna management consulting firm, and Claraview Inc., a technology consultant based in Reston, each added 75 jobs. Ten Korean companies, two from Japan and two from Israel are among those expanding in the county, the authority announced this week.

Expanding businesses contributes to the county's tax base to provide public services for residents, said Gerald Gordon, president and chief executive of the FCEDA. And as firms fill office space, it creates a demand for new construction, which yields new tax revenue for the county.

With current zoning, 42 million square feet of office space is available in the county. Tysons Corner alone has about 27 million square feet. That number could rise as high as 50 million when a Metro station is built there.