More than a century ago, Lynn was a major center of shoe manufacturing. Now, Lynn has turned out to be the ideal location for one of the most advanced telecommunications cables in the world.

Now that 360 Networks Inc.--formerly Worldwide Telecom Inc.--of Vancouver, B.C., discovered Lynn's fiber-optic potential, the North Shore city may never be the same. Already, at least 11 companies have relocated to Lynn.

Whenever new businesses comes to town, they tend to locate in the heart of Lynn's Cyberdistrict. The idea for the district was inspired by Lowell Gray, chief executive officer of Shore.Net, the city's first Internet service provider.

Dot-com startups generally prefer the camaraderie of a like-minded community. By far, the strongest lure for Internet-related companies is the speed of telecommunications via underwater cable.

That's where Lynn has been making a big splash--through a trans-Atlantic cable project known the "Hibernia System" that will connect Boston to Europe, and a new project, announced this week, in which New Canaan, Conn.-based Asset Channels Inc. (ACI) will install an underwater fiber-optic cable system that will eventually stretch from Boston to Miami.

"This connection opens up new markets for New England businesses along the entire Eastern seaboard," said Lynn development director Stephen A. Harausz.

Lynn officials said the ACI cable will enter Lynn at the Nahant Rotary, which will serve as the northern anchor for the $300 million fiber-optic project. Construction is expected to begin in November.

The city of Lynn broke ground in December for 360 Networks' trans-Atlantic cable project. That cable network is scheduled for completion in March 2001. "We believe that this network will help satisfy the growing need for bandwidth capacity between North America and Europe," said Michelle Gagne, a spokeswoman for 360 Networks.

Jordan Malik, chief operations officer of LookTrade.com, a developer of online business-to-business auctions, has been in Lynn for a year and a half. He said that the cable project was not the only reason he moved there, but it was an attraction.

Another Lynn transplant is Richard Frenkel, founder and general manager of Infoboard.com, which provides web hosting tools and support. Based in the ever-popular Cyberdistrict, Infoboard has a growing list of customers, some as far away as Asia. With last year's annual revenue surpassing $1 million, Frenkel looks forward to super-fast access around the world via the new cables.

"They're ripping up the streets as we speak," he said.

In fact, some locals have nicknamed the construction the "Big Ditch."

Alex Peselman, CEO of Aegis Global Partners LLC, moved to Lynn last May, drawn by low rents and impending cable. A provider of technical outsourcing, he has been surprised by the number of businesses that have already come to town and impressed with the community's support. With a goal of global expansion, he is already developing business in Central Europe and the Pacific Rim. "The fiber will provide us with an infrastructure and very fast access," Peselman said.

"Lynn is not trendy or cutesy," said Shawn Stockman, president of Boomerang Business Services, a customer relationship service firm. "This is a real working area."

Formerly director of the Lynn Small Business Assistance Center, Stockman caught high-tech fever three years ago. He envisions at least part of his target market will be European companies, to which he will have fast, secure access because of the trans-Atlantic fiber-optic cable.

As anticipation of the cable's potential grows, excitement in the real estate market grows, too. One of the city's prime pieces of property is Bell Atlantic Corp.'s 151,000-square-foot, Internet-ready data center. The building is on the edge of the Cyberdistrict.

David Fitzgerald, executive vice president of CB Richard Ellis/Whittier Partners of Boston, said, "Part of what makes this property attractive is fiber-optic cable. There are already conduits in the street. There is an existing data center with good built-in services."

Another prime piece of Lynn property is the Clock Tower building, marketed by Burgess Properties Inc. of Malden. President Phillip Burgess said he is about to sign a lease with Primus Telecommunications Group Inc. of McLean, Va., the company that recently purchased Shore.Net.

Lynn officials tout the Clock Tower building as one of the next great "cyber buildings." The two-story, 250,000-square-foot facility is "a landlord's dream," said Burgess.

Lynn and Oasis Development Enterprises Inc. are involved in a joint development venture to market the Goldblock site, a two-block collection of historic properties. Phase 1 of the Goldblock consists of 60,000 rentable square feet, including 15,000 square feet of tech-oriented workspace. The Goldblock site is being marketed as a high-tech incubator ideal for start-ups. City officials predict that at least 84 new jobs will be created after development.

As the "Big Ditch" casts a glow on Lynn, Internet companies and the real estate agents trying to settle them say they haven't seen this much excitement for many decades. "There's a herd mentality," Fitzgerald said. "There's good property, good labor and good fiber."

Says Burgess: "This will change the world."