COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
Office of the
Governor
Timothy M. Kaine
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Governor
June
13, 2007
Contact:
Kevin Hall
Phone: (804)
225-4260
Cell Phone: (804) 393-9406
Internet: www.governor.virginia.gov
Lars Anderson
/Warner
Karen Jackson/Office of
Telework Promotion
(703) 717-6414 (757)
869-7129
GOVERNOR KAINE ANNOUNCES
ROUNDTABLE TO RECOMMEND STRATEGIES FOR LOW-COST, “LAST-MILE”
BROADBAND
~ Former Governor Mark
Warner to lead Roundtable ~
RICHMOND – Governor Timothy
M. Kaine today announced the formation of a Broadband Roundtable charged with
developing a “last-mile” telecommunications blueprint for advancing his goal of
ensuring broadband access for every Virginia business. The Roundtable, to be led
by former Governor Mark Warner and Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh
Chopra, will be supported by national expert Dr. Ted Rappaport and Karen
Jackson, Director of the Commonwealth’s Office of Telework Promotion and
Broadband Assistance.
“Broadband access is a priority for my administration, and we intend to
build on the successes of the Warner Administration, which worked to install 700
miles of broadband in our rural communities,” Governor Kaine said. “Today, our
challenge is to find innovative ways to connect even more businesses to that
network at the most affordable cost possible. That is why I’ve tapped former
Governor Mark Warner to help lead this endeavor.”
During
his term in office, Governor Warner helped create, fund, and build open access
fiber-optic networks throughout Southside and Southwest
Virginia. In Southside
alone, the Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative (MBC) backbone connects four
cities, 20 counties, and 56 industrial parks.
MBC provides affordable, high-speed Internet access to last-mile service
providers that ultimately reach nearly 700,000 citizens and more than 19,000
businesses in rural parts of the state.
“The
promise of the 21st century lies in the ability to connect to the rest of the
world, and I am honored that Governor Kaine has asked me to co-chair the
Broadband Roundtable,” Warner said. “We have made tremendous strides in laying
the fiber-optic backbone for the Commonwealth, but now we must find a way for
every business in Virginia to have the resources necessary to
compete in the global economy.”
Roundtable members will include leaders from state and local government,
business, and education, and announcement of additional members will be made
soon.
Dr.
Rappaport, an electrical engineering professor at the University of Texas now residing in Chatham, Virginia, will provide consulting support to
the Roundtable. From 1988 to 2002, he was on the electrical and computer
engineering faculty of Virginia Tech, where he founded the Mobile and Portable
Radio Research Group (MPRG), one of the world’s first university research and
teaching centers dedicated to the wireless communications field. An accomplished
entrepreneur, Dr. Rappaport founded TSR Technologies, Inc. and Wireless Valley
Communications, Inc.
“Professor Rappaport has a strong national reputation in the wireless
industry and a genuine fondness for rural Virginia. I appreciate his and other
Roundtable members’ willingness to lend their time and expertise to this
important issue,” Governor Kaine said.
“The information we obtain through this process will be invaluable to
solving the ‘last mile’ challenge in communities across the
Commonwealth.”
Governor Kaine said the roundtable will begin its work this summer, with
a final report due by July 2008.
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