|
Fiber to the Home Council to Hold "Community Toolkit" Conference in Kansas City
WASHINGTON, DC, Jan 29, 2013 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --
One week after launching its Online Community Toolkit for building
ultra high-speed networks, the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council
Americas has announced it will hold a special conference in Kansas
City, May 29-30th to assist local civic and community leaders from
across the U.S. pursue their dreams of gigabit connectivity.
The conference, From Gigabit Envy to Gigabit Deployed, will bring the
Community Toolkit to life, with working sessions that focus on every
aspect of upgrading a network from building the business case and
securing community support to navigating the local government and
engaging the key stakeholders. Also featured at the conference will
be a keynote speech from Lev Gonick, Vice President, Information
Technology Services and CIO Case Western Reserve University, who will
discuss how gigabit connectivity has changed Case Western and the
city of Cleveland.
Partnering with the FTTH Council on this event will be Google Fiber,
Gig.U, KC Digital Drive, NATOA, Broadband Communities, and the
National Telecommunications Cooperative Association (NTCA) each of
whom will contribute their expertise in helping participants plan and
deploy ultra high-speed networks in their communities.
"We're responding to the overwhelming interest in obtaining gigabit
connectivity from community and business leaders across the U.S. by
giving them the tools they need to make sure their communities stay
competitive," said Heather Burnett Gold, President of the FTTH
Council. "Not only is this an opportunity for them to connect with
and learn from partners who have gone through the steps of building a
fiber network, but more importantly, it is also a chance to craft an
action plan that they can take back to their communities and begin
implementing."
The FTTH Council's announcement comes just days after Federal
Communications Commission Chairman, Julius Genachowski, issued a
"Gigabit City Challenge" calling for every state to have at least one
gigabit community by 2015. More than one thousand communities had
expressed interest in hosting Google Fiber's network that is
currently being deployed in Kansas City.
"Our recent Online Community Toolkit was the first step we took to
provide resources to community and business leaders that want to
upgrade their local networks. We're looking to build on top of this
web-platform and create an interactive space at the conference for
folks to really share experience-based knowledge and offer guidance
on how to jump-start community-driven gigabit projects. The
Chairman's challenge reinforces the imperative of moving our country
to all-fiber connectivity in order to advance our competitiveness and
economic security," said Gold.
"By building on its Online Toolkit, the FTTH conference is setting
itself up as an effective incubator for community leaders interested
in joining the gigabit revolution. Gig.U is looking forward to
partnering with FTTH and sharing its knowledge with city officials,
business leaders, and communities," said Blair Levin, Executive
Director of Gig.U and partner at the FTTH conference. "This is a
unique opportunity for communities to learn how they can turn the
dream of gigabit connectivity in their communities into a reality."
About the FTTH Council Americas
Now in its 12th year, the Fiber to
the Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit association consisting of
companies and organizations that deliver video, Internet and/or voice
services over high-bandwidth, next-generation, direct fiber optic
connections -- as well as those involved in planning and building
FTTH networks. Its mission is to accelerate deployment of all-fiber
access networks by demonstrating how fiber-enabled applications and
solutions create value for service providers and their customers,
promote economic development and enhance quality of life. More
information about the Council can be found at
http://www.ftthcouncil.org.
Media Contact:
Katie Barr
Glen Echo Group
(202) 525-4343
SOURCE: Fiber to the Home Council
[ Cable Spotlight's Homepage ]
|
