Ramsey, Waz to Discuss Strategies to Connect “Underserved” Communities at TPI Event
Contact: Amy Smorodin
(202) 828-4405
July 26, 2010 – A recent Federal Communications Commission report found that between 14 and 24 million people lack access to broadband. What are the best ways to expand access to unserved or underserved communities? What similar programs have been successful in the past? What are the most promising new ideas? How can the government encourage broadband deployment and adoption in these communities? Two leading technology experts who have been active in this area will discuss these questions and how they are addressed in the National Broadband Plan in the session, “Serving the Underserved: What Are the Best Ways to Do It?” at the TPI Aspen Forum, scheduled for August 22nd -24th.
Participants in the discussion will be:
Rey Ramsey is the Chairman of the Board of One Economy Corporation, which specializes in bringing broadband access to low-income people and training and employing youth to enhance communities’ technological capacity. He is also President and Chief Executive Officer of TechNet, a bipartisan political network of CEOs and Senior Executives of leading U.S. technology companies. Ramsey also founded the Public Internet Channel and served on the Knight Commission on Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy.
Joe Waz is Senior Vice President of External Affairs and Public Policy Counsel at Comcast Corporation. He also serves as President of the Comcast Foundation, where he has overseen the Foundation’s focus on digital literacy strategies. He has played an instrumental role in the cable industry’s broadband outreach efforts, from its commitment to wire America’s schools in 1996 to the recent announcement of the industry’s Adoption Plus initiative. Waz is a past recipient of the Vanguard Award, the cable industry’s highest honor, for his work in government and community relations.
The discussion will be moderated by Phoebe Yang, Senior Advisor on Broadband to the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, where she also served as General Counsel of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative.
TPI’s Aspen Forum will bring together leaders from business, government, and academia in a relaxed, informal setting to discuss and debate the key public policy issues surrounding information and communications technology. Confirmed speakers include Paul Otellini, President and CEO of Intel Corporation; Mark McLaughlin, President and Chief Executive Officer of VeriSign; Reid Hoffman, Co-Founder of LinkedIn and Partner at Greylock Partners; Brad Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer at Intuit; and Thomas Tauke, Executive Vice President of Public Affairs, Policy and Communications at Verizon. Edward Mueller, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Qwest Communications, will offer opening remarks at the premier policy event.
To register, please visit www.techpolicyinstitute.org/aspen2010. For additional information, please contact Jane Creel at [email protected]. Members of the press can contact Amy Smorodin at [email protected].
The Technology Policy Institute
The Technology Policy Institute is a research and educational organization that focuses on the economics of innovation, technological change, and related regulation in the United States and around the world. More information is available at https://techpolicyinstitute.org/
