W2i Digital Cities Convention 2006 Program to include Paris, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, San Mateo, and Shanghai
For Immediate Release
Building on the inaugural Convention in Philadelphia, a global conference series explores win-win solutions for deploying broadband networks across cities, counties and regions; hosted by W2i in partnership with international-development, local-government, and private-sector organizations
May 3, 2005 (Boston, Mass.) To provide local-government technology stakeholders with high-level panels, focused brainstorm sessions and best-practice sharing on major issues surrounding broadband-wireless metropolitan-area networks, the Wireless Internet Institute announces its 2006 Digital Cities Convention program on four continents.
W2i Digital Cities Convention is the world's leading conference and exposition for municipal and local government broadband-wireless strategies. The 2006 program builds on the Digital Cities Convention 2005 conference series in Shanghai (China), Bilbao (Spain), and the inaugural Convention in Philadelphia featuring 20+ exhibitors, 250+ field practitioners and 55+ experts in five plenary sessions, four case-study panels, and eight structured brainstorm sessions.
Philadelphia Mayor John Street and CIO Dianah Neff co-hosted the Convention, which included keynote addresses from IBM and Intel as well as panelists from the Federal Communications Commission, the National Association of Counties, the National Conference of State Legislatures, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners, and the US Department of Commerce Technology Opportunities Program, among a range of local-government and industry experts; the Mayors from Scottsburg, Indiana; St. Cloud, FL; and Spokane, Washington; and significant representation from Latin America and Europe including cities such as Westminster, UK; Bilbao, Spain; São Paul, Brazil; and Bogotá, Colombia.
2006 Program
Following the 2005 Convention program in North America, East Asia, and Europe, the 2006 Digital Cities Convention program will take place in the following locations:
October 2005San Mateo, CA
March 2006Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
May 2006Shanghai, PRC
June 2006Philadelphia, PA
October 2006Paris, France
Background
The wireless Internet has the potential to bridge the digital divide by providing low-cost broadband Internet connectivity to underserved areas within cities, communities and regions. Leapfrog wireless technologies may be deployed rapidly to increase field-force productivity in city operations, help foster economic development, and deliver social-service applications in the areas of e-health, e-education, and e-government. Its deployment can become a critical factor in improving productivity and security and in bringing Internet-based services and connectivity to whole new segments of underserved populations at a fraction of the cost of legacy infrastructures. Bringing the stakeholder community together can improve decision-making and provide an open forum to discuss the roadblocks that can slow its integration and drastically limit the potential of the wireless Internet.
Private-Sector Endorsements
In addition to ongoing cooperation agreements with the UN ICT Task Force, the UN Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), and CIFAL Atlanta, the W2i Digital Cities Convention is endorsed by the WiMAX Forum‰ and has secured the sponsorship of IBM, Intel, Alvarion, Belair Networks, Earthlink, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, NextPhase Wireless, Pronto Networks, Tropos Networks and SR Telecom. Additional event exhibitors include Airpath, Firetide, Infinet Wireless, Nomadix, Redline Communications, Vivato, and Winncom Technologies Corp.
About W2i
The Digital Cities Convention is the newest in a series of thought-leadership conferences undertaken in partnership with the , the private sector, local authorities and regulators, and international development institutions. The Convention builds on W2i’s multi-year to foster the adoption of broadband wireless technologies under the leadership of local government organizations around the world, in support of universal connectivity, the Millennium Development Goals, and the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS).
was launched in 2001 as an international, independent think tank bringing together broadband wireless stakeholders to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet in support of universal connectivity for economic, social and educational development around the world. W2i, a division of , addresses policy, regulatory and economic models, and sharing of best-practice issues associated with the deployment of wireless Internet technologies.
