Series Runs from September 15, 2009, and Culminates on February 9, 2010, One Week Before the Federal Communications Commission’s Plan is Due to Congress

Press Release

WASHINGTON, September 9, 2009 – BroadbandCensus.com on Wednesday announced a new series of the Broadband Breakfast Club, “Setting the Table for the National Broadband Plan,” beginning on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, at 8 a.m.

The series, which will run until February 9, 2010, one week before the FCC’s plan is due to Congress, will continue the Broadband Breakfast Club’s year-long tradition of inviting top experts and policy-makers to share breakfast and perspectives on broadband technology and internet policy.

The first panel, on Tuesday, September 15, 2009, will consider the FCC’s summer broadband workshops. What have they accomplished? What role have and will FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski and his new staff play in shaping the plan?

How will this plan unfold over the next six months? And how will the broadband stimulus program already underway affect the development of the FCC’s plan?

Confirmed panelists for the event include Joe Waz, Senior Vice President, Comcast; Aaron Smith, Research Specialist, Pew Internet & American Life Project; Bruce Kushnick, Executive Director, New Networks Institute; and Joanne Hovis, President, Columbia Telecommunications Corporation and President-Elect, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors.

This new series, the third since BroadbandCensus.com launched the Broadband Breakfast Club in October 2008, features an in-depth look at how individuals and entities across the economy and society will be impacted by the FCC’s National Broadband Plan.

The events are hosted by Drew Clark, Editor and Executive Director of BroadbandCensus.com and a respected journalist covering the politics of telecom, media and technology. Join the conversation for an engaging and in-depth examination of broadband – one of the most vital topics of our day.

Following the September event, the agenda for the series is as follows:

Tuesday, October 13, 2009, 8 a.m. – Health Care and Telemedicine

How will broadband affect burgeoning controversies over health care? Are the cost savings available through telemedicine as good as promised? Will information technologies be part of the solution – or just another complicating factor in the intricate medical system?

Tuesday, November 10, 2009, 8 a.m. – The Environment and Telecommuting

How carbon-positive a technology is broadband? What’s keeping telecommuting from being more widely adopted as a technology? What are the other “green” benefits of broadband communication, and how can the National Broadband Plan best encourage them?

Tuesday, December 8, 2009, 8 a.m. – Bridging the Digital Divide

Increasingly, access to broadband is being seen as a civil right. Is the promise of broadband technology truly available to all? What are the best ways to “move the needle” in this country on broadband adoption? Globally, what lessons have and can be learned from other nations’ experiences in ameliorating the digital divide?

Tuesday, January 12, 2010, 8 a.m. – Education and Distance Learning

As with telemedicine, broadband has long offered the prospect that rural residents will be able to take advantage of something generally available only in urban or suburban areas: the best that higher education has to offer. Is broadband living up to this educational promise? Also, what role can both secondary and specialized forms of education play in helping turbo-charge the FCC’s National Broadband Plan?

Tuesday, February 9, 2010, 8 a.m. – TBD

One week before the FCC’s National Broadband Plan is due to Congress, the concluding event in this series of the Broadband Breakfast Club will consider a topic to be determined.

About BroadbandCensus.com and the Broadband Breakfast Club

The Broadband Breakfast Club is produced by Broadband Census News LLC, a limited liability company in the Commonwealth of Virginia devoted to news and events, including daily reporting from Washington and the states. The Broadband Breakfast Club has been inviting top experts and policy-makers to share breakfast and perspectives on broadband technology and internet policy on the second Tuesday of each month since October 2008.

Broadband Census News LLC is a sister company of Broadband Census Data LLC (d/b/a BroadbandCensus.com), which offers commercial services – including the independent verification of broadband data – to cities, states, carriers and broadband users.  Both Broadband Census News LLC and Broadband Census Data LLC are subsidiaries of Broadband Census LLC, and are organized in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The “Broadband Breakfast Club: Setting the Table for the National Broadband Plan,” is sponsored by the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc., and the Benton Foundation. For additional sponsorship opportunities, please e-mail: sales@broadbandcensus.com.

The Broadband Breakfast Club is Sponsored by:

International Broadband Electric Communications, Inc.

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