Drew Clark to Lead Discussion at Broadband Communities Conference in Chicago on Role of Fiber Networks in Economic Growth

Monday, October 28, 2013 – Drew Clark, Chairman and Publisher of BroadbandBreakfast.com, will lead a panel discussion at the Broadband Communities Conference next week on the role of fiber developments in fostering economic growth. The Economic Development Conference Series will be held in Tinley Park, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) from Tuesday, November 5, through Thursday, November 7.

The event moderated by Clark, “Making Broadband Projects Sustainable,” will begin at 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday, November 6.

This fall, Clark will take the next step in his work as a nationally-known broadband leader and expert with the launch of a national association devoted to broadband internet services. The association will advance the benefits of broadband internet services — particularly Gigabit Network services — in homes, businesses, and local governments. Broadband internet services are the benefits that broadband provides: job creation, telemedicine, online learning, public safety, the smart grid, eGovernment, and family connectedness. These services turn high-speed internet connections into tools for more productive and healthy lives.

To register to attend the conference, please visit http://bbcmag.com/chicago.

Making Broadband Projects Sustainable – Fostering Economic Growth is Key to Building Robust Revenue Streams

The fiber will last 30 years, but will the network? In this session, our panel of experts will examine key economic-development-driven steps that communities can take to enhance revenues, control costs, and make their networks sustainable.

Leader: Drew Clark – Chairman and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast

Speakers:
Eric Frederick – Executive Director, Connect Michigan
John Honker – President, Magellan Advisors
Bernadine Joselyn – Director, Public Policy & Engagement, Blandin Foundation
Tom Weisner – Mayor, Aurora, Illinois

As Executive Director of Broadband Illinois, Clark united the Land of Lincoln around a vision of Better Broadband, Better Lives. Illinois’ State Broadband Initiative became the national model for public-private collaboration. Clark came to Illinois having founded Broadband Census and the Broadband Breakfast Club, the premier Washington forum advancing the conversation on broadband.

Clark implements Gov. Pat Quinn’s personal motto, “everybody in, and nobody left out,” and he brings experts and practitioners together to advance a common purpose. Clark’s work at Broadband Illinois united Southern Illinois and Chicagoland, Eastern Illinois and Western Illinois, and he built up the Broadband Deployment Council’s efforts to use internet expansion to improve economic development in the State.

Broadband Illinois’ pioneering work in internet planning, convening and educating Illinois set the standard for engagement between communications providers and users of internet services, who have different interests but are both essential to advancing broadband. Clark established the framework of the 10 regional eTeams: community groups that link technology improvements to concrete economic development objectives.

The maps, resources and toolkits available on broadbandillinois.org provided the way that other state broadband entities followed. Under his leadership, the State launched the Illinois Broadband Innovation Fund and the Federal Communication Commission awarded a broadband lifeline grant for rural Western and Southern Illinois.

Clark earned his Bachelors of Arts (with Honors) in Philosophy and Economics from Swarthmore College, his Master of Science from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, and his Juris Doctor from George Mason University School of Law. He serves on the board of the Rural Telecommunications Congress. You can find him on Google+, Twitter, and LinkedIN.