The city of Wilson, North Carolina connected its municipal buildings with a fiber optic network, and now its investment is paying off. Wilson has five fire stations, and getting all the firefighters together for training sessions would compromise response time if a fire were to break out. So the city set up a videoconferencing system among all the stations, allowing the firefighters to participate in training from their own firehouses. The two-way video connection lets the firefighters ask questions of the instructors. Here's a local news clip about the program (requires Windows Media Player).

Now the city is considering running fiber to all local homes and businesses.