Wireless Internet Institute Announces
2006 Wireless Communities Award Winners
Five categories honor local governments and organizations as best-practice exemplars of broadband-wireless applications and services
Boston, Mass. (December 11, 2006) To pay tribute to local governments implementing broadband-wireless applications and services for cities and communities, the Wireless Internet Institute has hosted the second annual Wireless Communities Best Practices Awards. Winners were announced at a special awards ceremony on Day 2 of the W2i Digital Cities Convention in Philadelphia, Sheraton City Center, Dec. 56, 2006.
Five best-practices awards for Technology Innovation, Community Momentum Building, Digital Inclusion, E-Government Applications, and Neighborhood Portals honor the exemplary efforts of local governments and supporting organizations around the world who are realizing the promise of broadband-wireless solutions for their communities.
The 2006 Wireless Communities Best Practices Award Winners are:
- Kista Science City, Stockholm, Sweden (Technology Innovation)
- OneCommunity, Cleveland, Ohio, USA (Community Momentum Building)
- Basque Government, Spain (Digital Inclusion)
- Taipei City, Taiwan (E-Government Applications)
- National e-Mexico System, Mexico (Neighborhood Portals)
The 2006 runners-up are:
- City of Granbury, Texas, USA
- Rhode Island Wireless Innovation Networks (RI-WINs), USA
- Town of Knysna, South Africa
- Paris Local Transport Authority (RATP), France
- PhilaVoice Portal, Philadelphia, USA
The candidates struck many common themes in a pre-award roundtable moderated by awards jury Chair Dr. Costis Toregas. At the roundtable, finalist organizations were represented by Tomas Bennich, Project Manager, Kista Science City; Mark Ansboury, Chief Operating Officer, OneCommunity; Naiara Goia, Deputy Manager, ITELAZPI, Basque Country, Spain; Richard Yin, Chairman, Information Technology Total Services (Advisor to Taipei City Government); Anthony Tull, Information Technology Director, Granbury, Texas; Fred Hashway, CFO for Business Innovation, Rhode Island Economic Development Corp.; and Judith Miller, President, Ninth Wave Media and Founder, PhilaVoice.
“All finalists spoke of their accomplishments as being the mere beginning rather than the end of an ongoing process of connectivity toward a higher goal, and they promised to continue their involvement with broadband deployments,” Dr. Toregas said. “It was clear that sharing experiences was high on everyone’s list, as the knowledge to be gained outweighs the resources available to learn individually. The presenters affirmed their commitment to share their experiences, and ‘continue the learning,’ as one presenter mentioned.
“Finally, the celebration of excellence was seen as simply an affirmation of a true Innovation Revolution which is upon us. The spoils will go to the public-private partnership teams that understand the collaboration imperative as well as the importance that applications themselves play, beyond the accomplishment of connectivity using the ever-evolving technologies.”
For full conference details, visit: http://w2idigitalcitiesconvention.com/12062006/
About W2i Digital Cities
The Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) is an independent forum bringing together stakeholders around the world to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet in support of economic and social development and better city and county management. Held annually in three to four regions of the world, the W2i Digital Cities Convention includes a thought-leadership conference exploring the issues surrounding the deployment of broadband-wireless infrastructure for cities and communities; practical training for local-government professionals; roundtables for service providers and digital-inclusion stakeholders; the annual Wireless Communities Best-Practices Awards; and a technology showcase produced in partnership with local authorities, the private sector, and international development institutions. Building on conventions in
Philadelphia,
Shanghai,
San Francisco,
Bilbão,
Houston,
Rio de Janeiro,
Los Angeles,
Taipei and
London, planning is in final stages for Tempe (February 1314, 2007) and Chicago (May 2223).