W2i Announces Program Agenda for Digital Cities Convention in Houston
W2i Announces Program for Digital Cities Convention in Houston
Boston. 02/02/2006 —
BOSTON, Mass. (February 2, 2006) — To provide local-government technology stakeholders with professional-development seminars, high-level panels, and best-practices sharing on the major issues surrounding the planning and deployment of broadband-wireless networks for cities, counties and regions, the Wireless Internet Institute and the City of Houston, Texas, will host the W2i Digital Cities Convention, February 28–March 2, 2006, at the Houston Marriott North at Greenspoint.
Local-government officials, industry thought leaders, technology and service providers and systems integrators will participate in an interactive three-day program to explore the full range of opportunities and roadblocks surrounding broadband-wireless network planning, deployment, applications, and services.
Houston Mayor Bill White will make a special appearance and Houston CIO Richard Lewis will co-chair the Convention. Along with the Greater Houston Partnership Technology Infrastructure Task Force, they are leading a collaborative effort to provide affordable high-speed Internet access across the region while enhancing health, education, economic development, transportation and public safety.
Executives from BelAir Networks, IBM, Intel, and Motorola will deliver keynote addresses reflecting on their experiences with digital cities and communities. Program special features include a technology showcase with leading vendors and a press conference. The agenda will proceed as follows:
Day 1 — Tuesday, Feb. 28 - NetLogix Professional Development Seminar for Local-Government Officials,
- Civitium Professional Development Seminar for VARs and Systems Integrators,
- Yankee Group Service Provider Executive Roundtable.
Day 2 — Wednesday, Mar. 1 - A technology infrastructure panel will gather together “tag teams” of systems integrators and local-government representatives from Corpus Christi, Galt (CA), and Oklahoma City.
- A regulatory update panel chaired by Lori Panzino-Tillery, President, National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA) will explore local-government rules of engagement at the federal and state levels.
- A public-private partnerships panel chaired by Berge Ayvazian, Executive Vice President, Yankee Group, will report on the findings of the Service Provider Executive Roundtable held on Day 1.
- A funding panel will explore the range of grants, bond underwritings, and private-equity arrangements available to local governments deploying broadband-wireless infrastructures.
Day 3 — Thursday, Mar 2
More than a dozen local-government field practitioners will give case-study presentations throughout the morning on broadband-wireless infrastructure as a platform for: - government-process reengineering,
- emergency first response,
- neighborhood portals, and
- public safety applications.
The convention wraps up with a unique locally focused panel, chaired by Umesh Verma, CEO, Blue Lance, Inc., exploring the role and vested interests that local business organizations and corporate citizens have in actively shaping the local community’s efforts. 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, endorsed by the WiMAX Forumä and the Texas Municipal League, has secured the sponsorship of BelAir Networks, IBM, Intel, and Motorola; Cisco Systems, SkyPilot Networks, and Tropos Networks.
“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.”
“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.”
“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. “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.” About W2i and the Digital Cities ConventionThe 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. 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.
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