Should Government Funding Be Part of a National Broadband Plan?

BroadbandCensus.com presents the November meeting of the Broadband Breakfast Club at Old Ebbitt Grill event:

NOTE: Because of Veteran's Day, the November meeting of the Broadband Breakfast Club will take place on Tuesday, November 18, at 8 a.m., and not on the usual second Tuesday of the month.

Should Government Funding Be Part of a National Broadband Plan?

The second forum of the Broadband Breakfast Club at Old Ebbitt Grill, this November 18 event will direct this discussion group to its core area of focus: helping to develop an informed consensus -- or, failing that, an informed level of disagreement -- around broadband policy questions.

Fresh from the election returns and the prospect of a new administration, this and future events of the Broadband Breakfast Club will consider core disputes around broadband policy: universal service, questions of bundling/unbundling, the role of broadband mapping and data, the wireless broadband pipe, and other topics. We very much want to encourage repeat attendance so as to elevate the quality of the discussion.

The event will bring together several key stakeholders to debate a fundamental question looming behind all discussions of broadband policy: Should Government Funding Be a Part? Each of the three panelists has strong views about the disireability or undesireability of federal investment in broadband networks. The panel will consider the pros and cons of direct subsidization, indirect investment through federal tax credits, and whether there is a need for government intervention at all.

• Drew Clark, Executive Director, BroadbandCensus.com (Moderator)

• Stan Fendley, Director, Legislative and Regulatory Policy, Corning, Inc.
  • Fendley has represented Corning Incorporated on matters of tax and telecommunications policy since joining the company in 2000. In that time, he has been actively involved in initiatives to provide financial incentives and remove regulatory barriers for next-generation broadband deployment. Prior to joining Corning, Fendley served as counsel to the Senate Finance and Small Business Committees during a seven-year stint on Capitol Hill, preceded by work in private legal practice in Washington, DC. From 1984-88, Fendley was a business planner with the New Mexico Technology Innovation Program, assisting start up ventures in initial planning and search for capital. He is a former U.S. Army field artillery and German liaison officer, serving with the 3rd Infantry Division from 1979-83.

• Kyle McSlarrow, President and CEO, National Cable and Telecommunications Association
  • McSlarrow on March 1, 2005, began his tenure as President & CEO of the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the primary trade association of the cable television industry in the United States. He was appointed in 2007 to serve on the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC). Prior to joining NCTA, McSlarrow served as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy, an agency with more than 100,000 federal and contractor employees, 17 national labs, and a budget of $23 billion. In that role, he exercised policy and programmatic supervision over a diverse portfolio that included the nation's nuclear weapons complex and non-proliferation programs. Prior to joining the Department of Energy, McSlarrow served as Vice President of Political and Government Affairs for Grassroots.com, rivately-held Internet company marketing web-based political tools and services.

• John Windhausen, Jr., President, Telepoly Consulting
  • Windhausen has worked in the communications policy arena in Washington, D.C. for over 20 years. He began his career as a staff attorney at the Federal Communications Commission in 1984. He moved to Capitol Hill in January, 1987, serving as counsel and then senior counsel to Senator Hollings, Senator Inouye, and the Democrats on the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee for 9 years. He participated actively in the drafting and passage of the 1992 Cable Act, the 1993 Spectrum Auction Act, and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. In June, 1996, he joined the Competition Policy Institute as General Counsel. In January, 1999, he became the President of the Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS), where he led the facilities-based competitive local telecom industry in its efforts to provide consumers with a choice of local telecom providers. In October, 2004, he opened his own consulting practice, called Telepoly Consulting.

Breakfast for registrants will be available beginning at 8:00 a.m., and the forum itself will begin at around 8:30 a.m., and conclude promptly at 10 a.m. Seated attendance is limited to the first 45 individuals to register for the event.

Future events in the Broadband Breakfast Club monthly series will feature other key topics involved in broadband technology and internet policy.

For more information about BroadbandCensus.com, or about the Broadband Breakfast Club at Old Ebbitt Grill - on the second Tuesday of each month - please visit http://broadbandcensus.com, or contact Drew Clark at 202-580-8196.