W2i Digital Cities Convention Next Stop: Houston, Texas, February 28March 2, 2006
For Immediate Release
The global conference series explores win-win solutions for deploying broadband-wireless networks across cities, counties and regions; hosted by W2i in partnership with local-government, international-development and private-sector organizations
January 12, 2006 (Boston, Mass.) To provide local-government technology stakeholders with tools for their professional development, including practical training sessions, high-level panels, focused brainstorm workshops, and best-practices sharing on major issues surrounding the planning and deployment of broadband-wireless networks for cities, counties and regions, the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) and the City of Houston, Texas, will host the W2i Digital Cities Convention, February 28March 2, at the Houston Marriott North at Greenspoint.
The W2i Digital Cities Convention is the world’s leading conference and professional development series for local-government officials and their agency executives implementing broadband-wireless infrastructures to enhance public safety and emergency response, improve local-government workforce productivity, spur economic development, and bridge the digital dividewhile dramatically lowering telecommunications costs.
The conference will feature a special appearance by Houston Mayor Bill White. The city’s Chief Information Officer, Richard Lewis, will co-chair the event, which features:
• a special emphasis on government-process reengineering, emergency response, and neighborhood portals through case studies and brainstorm workshops;
• plenary panels on the technology, regulatory landscape, public-private partnerships and funding;
• daylong professional-development seminars for local-government executives and systems integrators providing actionable tools for building and operating broadband-wireless networks; and
• a concluding panel to further explore the critical role and expectations of local business and community leaders in planning and implementing Houston’s citywide network.
The conference features keynote addresses by industry experts from BelAir Networks, IBM, Intel, and Motorola; representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, National League of Cities, and National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisers, among others; and case-study presentations from more than a dozen local-government field practitioners.
Please visit the Convention Website for complete details.
Private-Sector Endorsements
In addition to ongoing cooperation agreements with international-development organizations, such as the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) and CIFAL Atlanta, the W2i Digital Cities Convention, endorsed by the WiMAX Forumä and the Texas Municipal League, has secured the sponsorship of BelAir Networks, IBM, Intel, and Motorola; Cisco Systems and SkyPilot Networks.
“Properly planned and deployed, municipal wireless networks can deliver high-quality voice, video, and data services while helping to bridge the digital divide with quick and cost effective high-speed Internet access to underserved areas,” said Phil Belanger, Vice-President, Marketing, BelAir Networks. “The W2i Digital Cities Convention thoroughly explores the multi-service nature of these networks and helps cities make technology choices that address public safety, municipal workers, and public access needs both now and in the future.”
“The promise of city-wide Wi-Fi services stands to dramatically change the way cities increase efficiencies, roll-out new services and improve the way their constituents live, work and play,” said Brett Galloway, Vice President and General Manager, Wireless Networking Business Unit, Cisco Systems. “The W2i Digital Cities Convention creates an ideal environment for industry leaders to share information, collaborate and define best practices in bringing citywide Wi-Fi solutions to fruition.”
“We believe these public-private partnerships are a great opportunity for us to offer consumers more choices in high-speed Internet service while delivering a more affordable option to stay connected to the Internet,” said Donald Berryman, President of EarthLink’s Municipal Networks Division. “EarthLink is actively pursuing relationships with cities to build wireless networks meeting the need for high-speed, low-cost access to the Internet.”
“When we look at what community broadband can do in the challenges that cities, local, and state governments facebudget constraints, not enough tax dollars, the aging populationthis is crucial and central to why this technology should be implemented,” said Bronwyn Guthrie, Vice President, IT Services, Public Sector, IBM Global Services. “While there’s no perfect way to do this, no preordained business model, the W2i Digital Cities Convention is the forum for exploring how to get your plan going and to act with a sense of urgency.”
“Visionaries everywhere are moving beyond broadband,” said Paul Butcher, Marketing Manager, State and Local Government, Intel. “These Digital Communities not only enable people to have affordable access to information, but are also advancing the quality of life. The W2i Digital Cities Convention explores the full range of wired and wireless broadband solutions that truly have a positive impact on the way we live, work and play.”
“Motorola strongly supports the Wireless Internet Institute's mission to provide a forum for exchanging vital information between vendors and end users of municipal wireless broadband networks,” said Rick Rotondo, Director of Marketing, Motorola. “As metro-area deployments transform the way communities communicate, Motorola is committed to offering cost-effective, reliable and robust solutions that meet the needs of all constituents in cities worldwide.”
“Mesh networking systems offer municipalities of all sizes cost-effective solutions for meeting the critical communication and application needs of local governments and their constituencies,” said SkyPilot Networks CEO Bob Machlin. “From public safety to general purpose Wi-Fi, the key to widespread adoption in 2006 will boil down to optimizing network economics without compromising performance, reliability and security. At the W2i Digital Cities Convention, SkyPilot will showcase how its architecture is being leveraged by leading municipal operator, MetroFi, for the cities of Cupertino and Santa Clara, CA, to deliver multiple networks on a single metro-scale Wi-Fi mesh infrastructure at unprecedented price points.”
About the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) and the W2i Digital Cities Convention
The W2i Digital Cities Convention is a global program gathering together local-government elected and agency officials as well as broadband-wireless ecosystem stakeholders such as regulators, technology vendors, service providers, system integrators, real-estate and rights-of-way owners, and funding organizations. Following industry-defining events in 2005 in Philadelphia, Shanghai, San Francisco, and Bilbão, Spain, the 2006 series includes events in Houston, Rio de Janeiro, Taipei, Los Angeles, Westminster (U.K.), and Philadelphia. For more information or to partner with W2i, please e-mail us: info@w2idigitalcitiesconvention.com. The Wireless Internet Institute was launched in 2002 as an independent forum bringing together stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of broadband-wireless technologies in support of universal connectivity for economic, social, and educational development around the world.
Contact:
Daniel Aghion
Executive Director
Wireless Internet Institute
(617) 439-5400
daghion@w2i.org