Broadband Census for America Conference September 26, 2008

WASHINGTON, September 8, 2008 – Many of the nation’s foremost broadband policy-makers and experts will analyze and discuss best practices for improving the collection and sharing of public data about high-speed internet access at the Broadband Census for America Conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday, September 26, 2008.

Panelists at the half-day conference include Rachelle Chong, California Public Utility Commissioner; broadband data pioneer Professor Kenneth Flamm of the University of Texas at Austin; Dr. William Lehr, an economist and broadband expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jane Smith Patterson, executive director of the e-NC Authority; Indiana Utility Regulatory Commissioner Larry Landis, who is also the state chair of a telecommunications regulatory task force charged with coordinating state efforts to collect broadband data and preparing reports on broadband to Congress; and National Telecommunications and Information Administration Chief Economist James McConnaughey.

Eamonn Confrey, the First Secretary for Information and Communications Policy at the Embassy of Ireland, will present the luncheon keynote: an overview of his nation’s efforts to collect data on broadband service in Ireland through a comprehensive web site with availability, pricing and speed data about carriers.

Also participating on the panels will be representatives from BroadbandCensus.com, the California Broadband Task Force, Connected Nation, Communications Workers of America’s Speed Matters, Public Knowledge, and Virginia Tech’s eCorridors Program.

Official Website: http://broadbandcensus.eventbrite.com/