Contact:
Sascha Meinrath
Executive Director
CUWiN Foundation
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
217-278-3933 x31
INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT TO ADDRESS FUTURE OF BROADBAND
-- Community Technology Leaders from Six Continents to Participate --
Champaign-Urbana, I.L., April 18 -- The CUWiN Foundation and the
Center for
Community Informatics (CCI) will host the International Summit for
Community
Wireless Networks (http://WirelessSummit.org) from May 18-20, 2007 at
Loyola
College in Columbia, Maryland.
The summit is the largest gathering of wireless network developers,
technology
and policy experts, and community organizers working to build universal,
low-cost broadband networks around the world. "We are proud to host
an event
that brings together technologists and activists committed to
universal access
to informatics," said Marco Figueiredo, CCI Director.
"The International Summit for Community Wireless Networks explores the
opportunities and challenges facing the growing movement to build
community and
municipal broadband networks," said Sascha Meinrath, co-founder and
Executive
Director of CUWiN. "This event showcases cutting-edge technologies
and develops
political strategies to increase digital inclusion."
Since the first National Summit for Community Wireless Networks in
2004, over
300 Community Internet and municipal broadband projects have sprung
up in the
United States alone. The Summit will focus on how these networks can
better
serve their target populations, the policies needed to support broader
deployment of community wireless systems, and the latest
technological and
software innovations.
Presenters at previous summits have included FCC Commissioner Jonathan
Adelstein, Jim Baller of the Baller Herbst Law Group, Annie Collins
of Fiber for
Our Future, Mark Cooper of the Consumer Federation of America, Harold
Feld of
Media Access Project, Robert W. McChesney of Free Press, Matt
Rantanen of Tribal
Digital Village, Greg Richardson of Civitium LLC, Paul Smith of the
Center for
Neighborhood Technologies, Jim Snider of the New America Foundation,
Dana
Spiegel of NYCwireless, Esme Vos of Muniwireless.com and many other
luminaries.
"High-speed broadband access is the electricity of the 21st century,
yet many
rural and poorer urban communities are being left off the grid," said
Ben Scott,
policy director of Free Press, the DC-based policy think-tank. "The
innovators
and organizers at the International Summit for Community Wireless
Networks are
blazing the trail to make broadband affordable and available to
everyone."
About CUWiN (http://www.cuwin.net)
The CUWiN Foundation is a world-renowned coalition of wireless
developers and
community volunteers committed to providing low-cost, do-it-yourself,
community-controlled alternatives to contemporary broadband models.
CUWiN is
fiscally sponsored by Grassroots.org, a non-profit 501c3. CUWiN's
mission is to
develop decentralized, community-owned networks that foster
democratic cultures
and local content. Through advocacy and through our commitment to
open source
technology, CUWiN supports organic networks that grow to meet the
needs of their
communities.
About CCI (http://cci.cs.loyola.edu)
The Center for Community Informatics engages Loyola College’s
students, faculty
and staff in supporting the creation and deployment of informatics
tools for
community empowerment. CCI develops the Community Telecenter Free
Software
Toolset; promotes awareness events for the Loyola College community;
offer
courses in Community Informatics; promotes Digital Inclusion
Conferences;
researches and develops human-friendly technologies to facilitate
inclusion in
the New Society of Knowledge; and, evaluates, documents and develops
sustainable
models for Universal Access to Informatics.
# # #
--
Dana Spiegel
Executive Director
NYCwireless
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.NYCwireless.net
+1 917 402 0422
Read the Wireless Community blog: http://www.wirelesscommunity.info
--
NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/
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