[Scan-DC] COG Board Approves Report on Region-Wide Broadband Access

[Alan Henney]

-----Original Message-----
From: Makeda Saggau-Sackey
Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2007 4:26 PM
To: Makeda Saggau-Sackey
Subject: PRESS RELEASE: COG Board Approves Report on Region-Wide
Broadband Access

For Immediate Release
CONTACT:  Makeda Saggau-Sackey

April 11, 2007
202-962-3284

COG Board Approves Report on Region-Wide Broadband Access

WASHINGTON, DC - The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
(COG) Board approved unanimously the COG Broadband access Task Force
(BATF) report which promotes the development of faster and readily
available internet access to strengthen the region's economy.

The report summarized the state of broadband access and outlined
local, regional, and national recommendations for expansion.  It also
provided ways that COG and local governments can work together to
improve connectivity and regional access and set up policies to
encourage competition.

"The region needs to keep a competitive edge by working with the
private sector to deploy broadband internet," said Lori Waters,
Supervisor from Loudon County and chair of the taskforce.  "Faster
speeds at affordable prices will come with competition and partnering
with the private sector to remove governmental barriers. Using these
opportunities will eventually enhance the quality of life of
residents," she added.

The BATF recommended that COG and local governments work together to
establish a regional agenda for improving access to broadband by
setting goals for availability and adoption by residents and
businesses.  It also recommended local governments to institute a
Regional Broadband Advisory Board, and explore the feasibility of
leveraging existing infrastructure for public use.

The group also recommended local governments provide a speed of  1
gigabit -- equal to one billion bits of information transferred in a
second -- to every household by the year 2015, stating that
technological advances make this goal feasible. "As more sophisticated
computer applications are made available, gigabit speed is a
necessity; residents and businesses would be hindered without the
ability to use these applications," said Lori Waters.

The BATF was established in 2006 with the purpose of focusing
exclusively on broadband internet access.  The task force also
completed survey of member jurisdictions regarding existing projects
and attitudes about municipal broadband .It based its recommendations
on studies by the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S.
Government Accountability Office, the Pew Internet and American Life
Project, and the COG Digital Divide Task Force (DDTF), a group
established in 2000 to examine access to technology in the
metropolitan region.

For more information and the complete Report of the Broadband Access
Task Force, go to www.mwcog.org.

COG is the association of 21 jurisdictions working for a better
metropolitan region. #