W2i Digital Cities Convention Next Stop: Los Angeles
Hosted in partnership with local-government, international-development and private-sector organizations, the global conference series explores win-win solutions for deploying broadband-wireless networks across cities and communities
Boston. 03/23/2006 —
March 23, 2006 (Boston, Mass.) — To provide local-government technology stakeholders with tools for their professional development—including practical training sessions, high-level panels, case-study sessions, and best-practices sharing on major issues surrounding the deployment of broadband-wireless for cities and regions—the Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) and the City of Los Angeles will host the W2i Digital Cities Convention at the Marriott Los Angeles Downtown on May 24–26, 2006.
The W2i Digital Cities Convention is the world’s leading conference and professional development series for local-government officials and 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 divide—while dramatically lowering telecommunications costs.
The W2i Digital Cities Convention in Los Angeles is chaired by Thera Bradshaw, General Manager, City of Los Angeles Information Technology Agency. Special features include:
- more than a dozen case-study presentations on public safety and emergency response, government-process reengineering, intelligent transport, and neighborhood portals;
- general panel sessions on the technology infrastructure and regulatory landscape as well as findings from Roundtables for Service-Provider Executives and Digital Inclusion Experts and Field Practitioners;
- Day-long Professional-Development Seminars for local-government IT professionals, VARs and systems integrators providing actionable tools for planning and implementing broadband-wireless infrastructures; and a
- a Technology Showcase with emerging technology vendors, systems integrators and service providers discussing their solutions and achievements for meeting local-government telecommunications, services, and application needs.
“Los Angeles welcomes the Digital Cities Convention and supports W2i’s best-practices sharing mission to encourage social and economic development with broadband wireless technologies,” said Thera Bradshaw, General Manager, City of Los Angeles Information Technology Agency. “In our effort to unwire the city, we are eager to learn from fellow travelers.”
“W2i is delighted to bring the Digital Cities Convention to Los Angeles in support of its plans to bridge the digital divide, accelerate economic development, and improve the efficiency of local government operations with broadband-wireless technology,” said Daniel Aghion, Executive Director, Wireless Internet Institute.
The Convention will feature 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.
Private-Sector EndorsementsIn 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 is endorsed by the WiMAX Forum and has secured the sponsorship of BelAir Networks, IBM, Intel, and Motorola; Cisco Systems, SimDesk Technologies, and SkyPilot Networks.
“The W2i Digital Cities Convention helps cities make technology choices that address public safety, municipal workers, public access, and economic development opportunities now and in the future,” said Stephen Rayment, CTO, BelAir Networks. "As a leading manufacturer of wireless mesh equipment for municipal networks, BelAir has been consistently impressed with the quality, depth and timeliness of the information presented.”
“When we look at what community broadband can do in the challenges that cities, local, and state governments face—budget constraints, not enough tax dollars, the aging population—this 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.”
“Network operators and service providers are coming together to deploy and manage neutral host metropolitan wireless broadband networks, using OSS and roaming services platforms such as those from Airpath, to enable broadband data services for all. These efforts are making the digital city a reality,” said George McHorney, President, Airpath Wireless. “The Digital Cities Convention provides a great opportunity for discourse on all the opportunities associated with metropolitan broadband-wireless networks and the challenges faced by municipal governments in bringing ubiquitous connectivity to citizens.”
“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.”
“Broadband-wireless access networks can deliver voice, video, and data for a broad range of applications and advanced services for public and private user groups,” said Robert Stubblebine, CEO, InfiNet Wireless. “The Digital Cities Convention is a superb best-practices forum for bridging the technical aspects of broadband wireless access networks with local community drivers and agency needs.”
“Broadband-wireless technology deployed across municipalities, counties and regions provides unprecedented flexibility and richness of features for local governments to better serve their constituents, and for residents and visitors to get connected to the Web,” said Karrie Rockwell, Director of Sales & Marketing, NeoReach Wireless. “The W2i Digital Cities Convention provides a platform where all stakeholders can discuss the technical, partnership, and funding aspects of these deployments while exploring the broad range of potential applications and service opportunities they can provide.”
“Metro networks continue to gain momentum, offering a new way for local governments to reach their constituents and promote their city,” said Scott Zumbahlen, Director of Marketing, Nomadix. “Existing best practices used with similar types of applications can and are being adapted to this new market. There are a variety of business strategies available, each with the goal of ensuring long-term cost effectiveness, supportability and security. Nomadix is involved in assisting a variety of groups in implementing sound business and technology strategies within this Digital City market.”
"As the global demand for quick connectivity and trouble-free Internet access across cities, counties and regions increases, communities will turn to ubiquitous high-speed wireless solutions to enhance their social, cultural and economic lifestyles," said Richard Montefusco, Director of Managed Services, Siemens Communications, Inc. "To provide these enhanced services to their constituents, some communities will look to outsourcing support and management of their network to organizations that can reduce their costs while providing a higher level of network reliability, improving customer service and boosting customer satisfaction. As a managed service provider, Siemens Enterprise finds the W2i Digital Cities Convention an ideal environment for vendors and users to communicate the benefits and challenges of deploying and managing large-scale Wi-Fi networks."
“The ongoing deployment of broadband-wireless networks for cities, counties and regions demonstrates the high value placed on universal access to technology for all citizens,” said Wendy Haig, Executive Vice President, SimDesk Technologies. “We strongly support W2i’s mission to facilitate collaboration among industry thought leaders, and look forward to helping municipalities go beyond Internet access by delivering affordable, on-demand computing services on a population-wide scale. There is a fundamental shift taking place in the technology world, and we are proud to help lead the way.”
“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.”
“Scalable mesh networks provide 100% reachability and 100% mobility, economically serving large communities of interest,” said Nan Chen, Vice President of Marketing, Strix Systems. “Based on that requirement, mesh network systems must provide the high-throughput, low-latency, scalability, security, seamless roaming and management needed to support high-quality voice, video and data. Whether the application is for government, enterprise or service provider, W2i Digital Cities Convention is establishing itself as a formidable event by which others could be measured. At W2i, Strix will be demonstrating the Access/One™ OWS, provide onsite expertise and present first-hand case studies.”
About W2i and the W2i Digital Cities ConventionThe Wireless Internet Institute (W2i) is an independent forum bringing together stakeholders around the world to accelerate the adoption of wireless Internet in support of universal connectivity and economic and social development. 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, communities, and regions; practical training for local-government professionals and VARs; a Service Provider Executive Roundtable; 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, and Houston, planning is in final stages for Rio de Janeiro (April 4-5), Los Angeles (May 24-26) and Taipei (June 28-30).
Contact:
Daniel Aghion
Executive Director
Wireless Internet Institute
(617) 439-5400
daghion@w2i.org
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