Broadband Technology Opportunities Program

Brookings Institution
January 16, 2013
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM EST
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2013/01/16-broadband-technology-opportun...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 included $7.2 billion to expand access to high-speed Internet services to close the digital divide, drive economic growth, and build the technology infrastructure and skills that America needs to compete in the 21st century. Roughly $4 billion of that total supports the , or BTOP. The program, which is administered by the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), is investing in roughly 230 projects to increase broadband access and adoption around the country.

On January 16, Governance Studies at Brookings will provide an update on the BTOP program three years after Vice President Joe Biden announced the first round of BTOP awards at a factory in Dawsonville, GA. The event will feature keynote remarks by NTIA Administrator Lawrence E. Strickling, followed by a panel of officials from BTOP projects that will provide firsthand accounts from around the country.

Introduction and Moderator
Darrell M. West
Vice President and Director, Governance Studies
Founding Director, Center for Technology Innovation

Keynote Speaker
Lawrence E. Strickling
Administrator, NTIA
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, U.S. Department of Commerce

Panelists
Bruce Abraham
Member, Board of Directors
North Georgia Network

Susan Corbett
Chief Executive Officer
Axiom Technologies

Curtis Lowery, M.D.
Professor and Chairman, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Director, UAMS Center for Distance Health
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Mark Malaspina
President
CFY