Put D.C. on your Autumn Schedule, BBC Conference October 30, 31

Tuesday September 10, 2019

Broadband Communities Mag has celebrated the unsung heroes of community broadband by sharing their stories so others can learn from local challenges and victories. This autumn, travel to Washington, D.C., to get noisy about those places implementing better connectivity in their communities without fanfare. October 30 and 31, Broadband Communities will bring several to their conference in a panel hosted by Christopher. There’s still plenty of time to sign up for the conference, and put the conversation, “Quiet Success in Community Broadband,” on your schedule.

In the Nation’s Capital

This year’s conference, titled “High-Speed Broadband: Driving America’s Growth,” will take place in Washington, D.C. Organizers decided to hold the event at The Westin Alexandria Old Town in the D.C. metro because, “We believe the federal government must play a pivotal role in bridging the digital divide. The involvement of Washington lawmakers and policy-setters is crucial to solving the problem.”

Folks arriving on October 29th can get acquainted at a welcome reception that evening; panel discussions begin the following morning. Christopher’s panel, scheduled for 9:40 a.m. on October 30th, brings together officials from four networks that aren’t usually on the front page:

Jason Grey – Director of Utilities, City of Danville, Virgnia
Robert Bridgham – Executive Director, Eastern Shore of Virginia Broadband Authority
Richard J. Sherwin – CEO, Spot On Networks, LLC
Mel Poole – Director, OCALA Fiber Network

The discussion will be an opportunity to learn about approaches that these quiet heroes are taking to improve connectivity in their communities.

View the other panels, presentation topics, and speakers on the conference agenda.

Cerf and CLIC

As in prior years, the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) will offer a conversation focusing on local authority. This year, they're bringing along Vint Cerf, Internet Pioneer who is also VP and Chief Internet Evangelist for Google. He'll be joined by Jon Sallet, Senior Fellow for the Benton Foundation who is also a former FCC general counsel. Sallet authored "A Vision for the 2020s: Access to Broadband in the Next Decade," from Benton. Joanne Hovis will moderate the conversation about the future of broadband Internet and local Internet choice.