The Internet Innovation Alliance is a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations that aim to ensure every American, regardless of race, income or geography, has access to the critical tool that is broadband Internet. The IIA seeks to promote public policies that support equal opportunity for universal broadband availability and adoption so that everyone, everywhere can seize the benefits of the Internet - from education to health care, employment to community building, civic engagement and beyond.
The leaders and supporters
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Bruce P. Mehlman
Co-Chairman
David Sutphen
Co-Chairman
Tracey Sawicki
Executive Director
Larry Irving
Former Co-Chairman
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Blog posts tagged with 'Larry Irving'
Monday, July 13
After more than five years helping to guide IIA as Co-Chairman, Larry Irving is moving on. His vision, energy, and ideas will definitely be missed, and we at IIA wish him nothing but the best as he starts his next chapter.
Read the IIA press release about Larry Irving’s departure.
Monday, April 13
Multichannel News has an interview IIA co-chairman Larry Irving about the federal broadband grants program. From the interview:
MCN: What specific advice would you give to NTIA as they prepare to give out all this money?
Lyndon Johnson said about appointments in government that for every one you make 99 enemies and one ingrate. NTIA is going to be facing a similar scenario in terms of the grants. One of the things NTIA has to be very cognizant of is that for every grant they give, it’s “thanks very much for the money, now go away.”
If you really care about a national broadband strategy, there is going to need to be continued review, oversight and responsibility at NTIA, which has to file quarterly reports on every grant that goes out there.
It is important that grant recipients not looking to NTIA as a funding source, but as a partner. We can’t do all the things with federal dollars that need to be done in this country.
What we learn from the grants will be really helpful in terms of a going-forward strategy for NTIA, the FCC and RUS.
Thursday, April 09
With the FCC calling for input on a national broadband plan, and the federal broadband stimulus still waiting to be distributed, Telephony Online asked IIA co-chairman Larry Irving for his thoughts on both. From the resulting article:
“There are two different things going on here, that are all of a piece,” Irving said in an interview this morning. “The stimulus is a timely, targeted and temporary effort to stimulate the American economy, and this administration has always realized that broadband is a part of that.”
At the same time, every agency of the federal government is exploring ways to “use technology to make the lives of the American people better, and part of that is the national broadband policy,” Irving said. “The FCC has a big job ahead of it.”
Check out the full interview.
Tuesday, March 10
IIA co-founder Larry Irving has penned an op-ed for Roll Call on the broadband portion of the federal economic stimulus. Here’s an excerpt:
Virtually every analyst agrees that rural Americans are the least likely to have available access to broadband. Geography and economics conspire against investment in broadband in America. It is simply not easy to recoup broadband investment in states where cattle outnumber people and homes are dispersed widely. Fiber optic and other broadband technologies are expensive to deploy in these areas, and broadband wireless technologies are just now becoming fully viable for deployment.
Just as this nation brought electricity, telephones and Internet service to rural America, we must make broadband networks ubiquitously available, as well. Appropriately, the lion’s share of this funding will address broadband in unserved areas through programs at the Departments of Commerce and Agriculture. In addition, funding will be available for improving broadband networks at libraries, community colleges, community technology centers and other locations where low-income families and the working poor are most likely to go for broadband access. According to Morgan Stanley, the national residential broadband penetration rate is currently about 56 percent of all households. For those 40 million plus households who don’t have broadband at home, and for those tens of millions of Americans without basic Internet access who disproportionately are poor, recent immigrants, senior citizens or other minorities, these community investments will make broadband more available and more accessible.
Check out the full op-ed. And for more articles from IIA’s founders, visit the op-ed section of the IIA press room.
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