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NATOA to Speak at State of the Net Conference

Washington, DC –

NATOA Board Member, Ms. Joanne Hovis, will speak today at the State of the Net Preconference “Strategies for Investing in and Benefiting from America’s Broadband Infrastructure” hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on Capitol Hill. 

At 3:25 p.m. this afternoon Ms Hovis will be joining a panel discussion titled “If We Build It Will They Come:  Barriers to Broadband Adoption and Use.”  The session description states that “[a]s policymakers discuss more, and faster, broadband, and the attendant cost, there appear to be significant barriers to realizing broadband’s full potential. Despite widespread availability, residential broadband adoption rates hover at about 55%. Commercial and institutional users, including medical, education, public safety, environmental and energy are not using broadband services to their fullest potential. We’ll explore the barriers to broadband adoption and usage and what can be done to overcome them.  The panel will be moderated by Rick Cimerman of NCTA; additional speakers will include Mr. Link Hoewing, Verizon, Ms. Nicol Turner-Lee, One-Economy, Geoff Dailey, AppRising, John Horrigan, Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Ms. Hovis has been representing NATOA and participating in on-going meetings with Congressional leadership and staff on NATOA’s initiative to ensure that local governments are included in the broadband stimulus package.  Additional information and materials on Broadband as an Economic Development Tool is available on the NATOA website here.   Ms. Hovis has served on the NATOA Board for the past three years, and is the President of Columbia Telecommunications Corporation, a public interest engineering and financial analysis firm.

NATOA promotes community interests in communications.  A national trade association based in Alexandria, VA, NATOA represents local government jurisdictions and consortiums, including elected and appointed officials and staff, who oversee communications services within their communities.  Visit NATOA on the web at www.natoa.org.