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Most Recent PostsBroadband Ambassador Program
The IIA has embarked on a national education and advocacy campaign to promote the importance of broadband as a means to enhance economic development across all demographics, promote quality of life through broadband-enabled applications, and ultimately eliminate the Digital Divide.
The IIA Broadband Ambassador program enlists the participation of notable Internet executives, elected officials, academics and real Americans across a broad spectrum of fields such as health care, education, business and technology to help stress the critical importance of every American having access to broadband and its many benefits and to promote equal opportunity for universal broadband availability and adoption.
Honorary Leaders
The Honorable Fabian Núñez, Speaker Emeritus of the California State Assembly, and David Steward, chairman and co-founder of World Wide Technology, Inc., the largest African-American-owned business in America, will lead the IIA Broadband Ambassador Program, the IIA announced today. As Honorary Chairmen of the program, Núñez and Steward will seek to harness their legislative and business experience to highlight the critical importance and benefits of every American having access to broadband, particularly at a time when adoption and accessibility of wireless Internet is receiving increased focus.
David Steward
Chairman and Founder of World Wide Technology, Inc.
Fabian Núñez
Former Speaker of the California State Assembly
Meet the Ambassadors
Roll over the images to learn why they think broadband is important to the economy, consumers and the nation.
We need to let broadband breathe and grow. Excessive regulation will lead to slower growth. Access and affordability can be sustained through less governmental intervention.
Harry C. Alford
President & CEO, National Black Chamber of Commerce
If America is to continue as the world's innovation headquarters, she will need the creativity of all her people – and that requires ubiquitous and affordable broadband.
Phil Bond
CEO, Information Technology Association of America
Changing the way physicians and patients interact, how the elderly are cared for in their homes and how specialists deliver services to people from afar have one thing in common. They rely on reliable, fast and ubiquitous connectivity.
David J. Brailer
Health Evolution Partners
Historically, America's geographic vastness has been viewed as an asset. This asset is not currently paying dividends in connecting our social and economic communities. Available technology and funding is closing the gap, but we have a responsibility to connect all Americans. We must look at the future broadband technology in such a way that spurs economic development and heightens social responsibility.
Jason Brennan
Partner, Stream Strategies
The internet has brought the world to my doorstep. Living in a small rural community I could not have had a successful business. As the owner of a small home business, being able to market my product via the internet is vital. As our nation becomes connected by broadband service I think it will transform the way small business operate to be more successful.
Becky Collins
Owner, Grannybsclothesline.com
The Internet has a tremendous positive multiplier impact on the overall economy and especially on the environment. Public policy should therefore encourage expansion of the Internet. However, telecommunications is highly taxed. We should not tax what we want to encourage.
Joseph P. Fuhr
Professor of Economics, Widener University and Senior Fellow, American Consumer Institute
Broadband is a force multiplier for video games. With two-thirds of US households playing video games and millions playing them online every day, broadband connects friends and families around the world. Robust broadband infrastructure in the US is vital for job creation in the fast-growing video game industry, and the expansion of markets here and abroad.
Michael Gallagher
CEO, Entertainment Software Association
The history of the rise of the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries is a testament to the power of combining freedom of movement of people, goods and ideas with the infrastructure to make it happen. Our political freedoms can only survive with economic stability and strength through this century, which in turn requires a telecommunications infrastructure that is the envy of the world, not an embarrassing throwback. Ubiquitous broadband now!
Douglas S. Glucraft
Partner Nixon Peabody LLP
The American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance believes that universal broadband access is critical to the future of the country. Both Internet commerce and teleworking offer ways for homeowners to help reduce energy consumption and global warming while saving money. Education is increasingly dependent on broadband tools, and healthcare is the next frontier for this technology.
Bruce Hahn
President, American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance
The increasing dialogue about the need for a national broadband strategy and ubiquitous coverage is really exciting. Never before in the history of America has there been a more opportune time to join efforts and see this vision become reality. Perhaps nowhere in the country would widespread, affordable broadband service transform a state moreso than in Alabama. Our state offers cutting edge medical research at renowned teaching hospitals, serves as home to widely respected academic institutions and small and large businesses thriving in the global market. But the gap is large and the distance long in our ability to effectively share this expertise with others. With ubiquitous broadband throughout Alabama, the world will finally witness the entrepreneurial spirit that enriches the very fabric of our people.
Kathy Johnson
Director, Alabama Broadband Initiative
Coming soon.
Brian Mefford
CEO, Connected Nation
For all the overheated rhetoric about "digital divides" and about America falling behind the rest of the world in broadband, the U.S. is increasingly a broadband-rich economy. Broadband penetration has reached 60% of households faster than any analogous technology in history. But there are important cracks in our Nation's broadband foundation. The economic returns for broadband providers are poor, limiting the prospects for achieving true ubiquity. The economic returns for content providers are worse, raising critical questions about the sustainability of today's online media models. Questions abound about what is and isn't reasonable "network management." And lurking behind the scenes is a huge and growing piracy epidemic that is forcing market participants at all levels into economically irrational decisions out of fear of the even worse alternative of rampant theft. The broadband ecosystem is crying out for sensible policy guidelines to help broadband market participants to navigate the next generation of broadband questions.
Craig Moffett
Sr. Analyst Sanford Bernstein
coming soon
Susan Patrick
President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning
I am very pleased to be assisting the Internet Innovation Alliance in meeting their goal to raise the awareness and importance of new technologies making the internet available at higher broadband frequencies, to satellite served subscribers and especially the Mobile Satellite Service markets.
Anthony J. Navarra
President, Global Operations of Globalstar, Inc.
At One Economy, we have seen firsthand how broadband can connect Americans from all walks of life to resources that improve their lives. We must take advantage of the opportunities afforded to us by the digital age and have sensible policies to ensure that broadband is available, affordable, and adopted by all Americans.
Rey Ramsey
CEO One Economy Corporation
Coming soon.
Tom Rogers
CEO and President, TiVo
At Ciena, we believe that broadband is a fundamental driver of the global economy with all sectors and members of today’s information age bound together by the need to communicate. Increasing numbers of Americans are using the Internet in ways that touch virtually every aspect of daily life, and they covet the ability to communicate in a private, reliable, and secure fashion to share information and enrich their lives. As an industry, we must work toward a common broadband strategy that ensures all citizens can share in this opportunity, bringing the benefits of technology into their homes and businesses and enabling them to partake in today's digital global economy, competing and collaborating with anyone, anywhere.
Gary Smith
CEO, Ciena Corporation
Real broadband will drive an "exaflood" of rich new applications and services that can boost American productivity and innovation and revive the U.S. economy.
Bret Swanson
President, Entropy Economics LLC | Visiting Fellow, Digital Society
Effective community broadband strategy, properly conceived and executed, improves local businesses, creates and attracts new ones, prepares current and new generations of workers for a digital economy and overall raises the quality of life for everyone.
Craig Settles
Founder and President, Successful.com
We stand at a moment in time when our health care system is under enormous pressure due to rising costs, a perception of poor quality and heightened demands by patients, employers, providers of care and payors. Our health care system must get smarter, more effective, more efficient, safer and more accessible. We will only achieve these goals when the knowledge and practices at the best caring centers of the world is also known and practiced by the most remote rural provider caring for her patients. We are at the threshold of empowering the emergence of individuals to know more and do more to manage their health regardless of their geographic location, disability or condition. This empowerment however requires real time transference of best practices, which can only occur in a fully wired America.
Carl W. Taylor
Director of the Center for Strategic Health Innovation at the University of South Alabama College of Medicine
The history of the rise of the United States in the 19th and 20th centuries is a testament to the power of combining freedom of movement of people, goods and ideas with the infrastructure to make it happen. Our political freedoms can only survive with economic stability and strength through this century, which in turn requires a telecommunications infrastructure that is the envy of the world, not an embarrassing throwback. Ubiquitous broadband now!
George M Tronsrue III
Executive Chairman SinglePipe Communications, Inc
Ubiquitous broadband (wireline and wireless), is a key foundational growth driver for a multitude of industries and has the power to impact every life in America. As a leading company in the mobile data infrastructure markets, we have seen the roll-out of high speed wireless broadband networks drive exponential growth of mobile internet usage, which includes everything from teenagers creatively personalizing their phones, to businesses enabling their workers to access critical time-sensitive information from any location in the world, to parents being able to locate the nearest hospital in a matter of seconds from a mobile search. All of these examples share a common denominator: access to broadband networks.
Ryan Wuerch
Chairman & CEO, Motricity