Broadband Breakfast on April 10, 2024 – Achieving Internet for All, Addressing Discrimination and Rurality
This special NCTA-Broadband Breakfast hybrid event will shed light on broadband availability data across demographics.
Special Time on Wednesday, April 10: 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ET
Join us for this special Broadband Breakfast Live Online and In-person Lunch at the headquarters of NCTA – The Internet & Television Association.
At the kickoff of the presentation at 11 a.m., Paul Garnett, Founder and CEO of the Vernonburg Group, will present a paper on "Achieving Internet for All." The paper considers the role of broadband availability, digital discrimination and the concept of "rurality" in achieving high-speed internet access for all. After his data-rich presentation, Garnett will join a Broadband Breakfast Live Online panel moderated by Drew Clark, CEO of Broadband Breakfast.
Panelists
- Paul Garnett, Founder and CEO, The Vernonburg Group
- Alejandro Roark, Chief, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
- Robert Branson, President and CEO, Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC)
- John Yang, President and Executive Director, Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC)
- Kathryn DeWit, Project Director, Broadband Access Initiative, The Pew Charitable Trusts
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Read the Vernonburg Group paper
Paul Garnett
A tireless digital equity advocate, Paul Garnett is Founder and CEO of Vernonburg Group, a consulting firm based in Savannah, Georgia, USA that works with large and small corporate, international organization, and government clients to close the global broadband gap, with a focus on policy and regulation, access to financing, technical due diligence, program development, and project management. Garnett spent 12 years at Microsoft where he created and led the Airband Initiative, leveraging a partner-driven approach to extend broadband access to unserved communities in the U.S. and in over 20 emerging markets. He also worked at CTIA-The Wireless Association, the Federal Communications Commission, the law firm Swidler Berlin, and the management consulting firm Price Waterhouse.
Alejandro Roark is Chief of the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB) which develops and implements the commission's consumer policies, including disability access. CGB serves as the public face of the commission through outreach and education, is responsible for responding to consumer inquiries and complaints, and maintains collaborative partnerships with state, local and Tribal governments. Prior to joining the FCC, Alejandro led a CEO roundtable of national Latino civil rights organizations working in partnership to promote access, adoption, and the full utilization of technology and telecommunications resources by the Latino community across the United States.
Robert E. Branson is the President and CEO of the Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC), a non-partisan, national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and preserving equal opportunity in the tech, media, and telecom (TMT) industries, and closing the digital divide on behalf of its members and constituents. In his corporate career, most recently, he was an Associate General Counsel with Verizon Communications, and served as President of the Federal Communications Bar Association. He also participated as a member of the FCC’s CEDC Working Group examining the Digital Discrimination issue.
John C. Yang is the president and executive director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC. At Advancing Justice | AAJC, John leads the organization’s efforts to fight for civil rights and empower Asian Americans to create a more just America for all through public policy advocacy, education, and litigation. His extensive legal background enables Advancing Justice | AAJC to address systemic policies, programs, and legislative attempts to discriminate against and marginalize Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and other minority communities.
Kathryn de Wit directs The Pew Charitable Trusts’ broadband access initiative, which works to accelerate efforts to connect millions of Americans to affordable, reliable high-speed internet. Before joining Pew, de Wit was an associate with Booz Allen Hamilton, where she focused on broadband deployment, organizational management, and public affairs. De Wit holds bachelor’s degrees in communications and sociology from Penn State University and a master’s in public administration from the University of Pittsburgh.
Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing campaign for broadband data. As Editor and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media company advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.
