Drew Clark
California Telecom Regulator Rachelle Chong, Former
FCC Commissioner, to Keynote 'Broadband Census for America'
California Telecom Regulator Rachelle Chong, Former FCC Commissioner, to Keynote 'Broadband Census for America'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, September 25, 2008 – California Public Utilities Commissioner Rachelle Chong, a member of the Federal Communications Commission from 1994 to 1997, will kick off the Broadband Census for America Conference with a keynote speech on Friday, September 26, at 8:30 a.m.
Eamonn Confrey, the first secretary for information and communications policy at the Embassy of Ireland, will present the luncheon keynote at noon. Confrey will overview Ireland's efforts to collect data on broadband service through a comprehensive web site with availability, pricing and speed data about carriers.
Following Chong's keynote address, the Broadband Census for America Conference – the first of its kind to unite academics, state regulators, and entities collecting broadband data – will hear from two distinguished panels.
One panel, "Does America Need a Broadband Census?" will contrast competing approaches to broadband mapping. Art Brodsky, communication director of the advocacy group Public Knowledge, will appear at the first public forum with Mark McElroy, the chief operating officer of Connected Nation, a Bell- and cable-industry funded organization involved in broadband mapping.
Also participating on the panel will be Drew Clark, executive director of BroadbandCensus.com, a consumer-focused effort at broadband data collection; and Debbie Goldman, the coordinator of Speed Matters, which is run by the Communications Workers of America.
The second panel, "How Should America Conduct a Broadband Census?" will feature state experts, including Jane Smith Patterson, executive director of the e-NC authority; and Jeffrey Campbell, director of technology and communications policy for Cisco Systems. Campbell was actively involved in the California Broadband Task Force.
Others scheduled to speak include Professor Kenneth Flamm of the University of Texas at Austin; Dr. William Lehr of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Larry Landis; and Jean Plymale of Virginia Tech's eCorridors Program.
Keynote speaker Rachelle Chong has been engaged in broadband data collection as a federal regulator, as a telecommunications attorney, and since 2006 as a state official.
Chong was instrumental to the California Broadband Task Force, which mapped broadband availability in California. She will speak about broadband data collection from the mid-1990s to today.
The event will be held at the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences' headquarters at 12th and H Streets NW (near Metro Center) in Washington.
For more information:
Drew Bennett, 202-580-8196
Bennett@broadbandcensus.comConference web site:
http://broadbandcensus.com/conference/
Registration:
http://broadbandcensus.eventbrite.com/
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Drew Clark
Executive Director
BroadbandCensus.com
202-580-8196 (office)
drew@broadbandcensus.comDaily news now available at
http://BroadbandCensus.com
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NEW! "Agenda for Broadband Census for America Conference on September 26, 2008" at
http://broadbandcensus.com/conference
To register, visit
http://broadbandcensus.eventbrite.com