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NY BROADBAND ADVISORY COMMITTEE HEARING THIS FRIDAY, MARCH 30 IN THE BRONX

This is a special notice. Please pass it on to anyone in NYC.

Hello All,

This is just a quick reminder. Hope to see you there!

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Sponsored by the Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer (CD 6 – Manhattan), the Office of the Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, Bronx Community College and the South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SoBRO), the New York City Broadband Advisory Committee will hold its first public hearing on Friday, March 30, from 10 am to Noon, in the Gould Memorial Library Auditorium, Bronx Community College, University Avenue at W. 181st Street.

For detailed directions via subway and by car and a full list of Committee members (along with their bios), go to the unofficial website of the NYC Broadband Advisory Committee:

* http://nycbroadband.blogspot.com

Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion Jr. and Bronx Community College President Carolyn Williams will all make opening remarks. The Committee will then hear testimony from members of the general public, including concerned citizens and senior citizens from Bronx senior centers. After the official testimony period, anyone from the audience is invited -- and encouraged -- to speak.

The next public hearing is tentatively scheduled for mid-May in downtown Brooklyn.

If you cannot make it to the hearing on March 30, we still want to hear from you! You can comment about the issue of broadband in New York City by going to the Advisory Committee's blog (see above). Comments will then be posted on the Committee's blog for public consumption. Or you can mail any questions or comments to Colleen Pagter, Policy Analyst for the Committee on Technology in Government, New York City Council, 250 Broadway, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10007.

Forwarding and posting information about the March 30th event and the Broadband Advisory Committee is strongly encouraged!

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Our friend, Craig Newmark, was nice enough to post something about the Bronx hearing on his own blog:
http://cnewmark.com

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Informationweek did a quick story on Friday's hearing last week.

New Yorkers Want To Stay On Right Side Of Digital Divide

* http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=198100613&subSection=All+Stories

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From Bob Atkinson of Columbia's CITI ...

Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI) & New York Telecommunications Reliability Advisory Council (NYTRAC) Present:
Telecommunications Reliability in the Information Capital of the World
May 17, 2007
Columbia University, New York

New York City depends on its telecommunications infrastructure. High quality, high speed and highly reliable telecommunications services are the lifeblood of the financial services, media, advertising and software industries. The City's government has become information-centric, using telecommunications to deliver critical municipal services to citizens. Thousands of New Yorkers work for web-based businesses, delivering services to clients around the world, and thousands more telecommute regularly.

Is New York's telecommunications infrastructure up to the challenge - is it reliable enough to support an information-dependent economy and society? Could it be more reliable? Are users willing to pay for an ultra-reliable infrastructure? Could network operators provide such a network, and what would it cost? What can (and should) government do to help? These questions are not just relevant to New York. As the United States becomes increasingly dependent on reliable telecommunications, the experience and lessons learned in New York will be applicable across the country.

CITI and NYTRAC are organizing a full-day conference at Columbia University to examine these and other questions. Expert representatives of major users, suppliers of telecom services and all levels of government will ask and answer the critical questions surrounding telecommunications reliability in New York.

Additional details will be posted on the CITI and NYTRAC websites, or for more information, please contact John Heywood , CITI's Assistant Director, by email or at 212-854-4222.

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Wi-Fi Hotspot Survey

Thank you to everyone that has taken the time to fill out the WiFi Hotspot Survey that is being conducted by Laura Forlano, a graduate student in Communications at Columbia University. With your help, Laura has received nearly 500 responses and has decided to extend the survey until the end of April. In addition, groups around the world in cities including Montreal, Budapest and Berlin have expressed interest in running the survey in their communities. If you have not yet responded to the survey, you can take it at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=735302651119. The survey takes about ten minutes to complete. Participants will be entered into a drawing for an iPod or a $300 donation to a charity of your choice. If you have questions about the survey, please contact Laura Forlano at wirelessinternetsurvey@yahoo.com.

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About the New York City Council's Committee on Technology in Government

The primary goals of the Committee on Technology in Government are: (1) to expand digital equality by increasing access to broadband in underserved communities in New York City (2) to increase the strategic use of technology in government, thereby increasing efficiency in government and enhancing the quality of public services and (3) to promote the openness and transparency of government by making sure that public information is accessible to every New York City resident. Through its ability to hold oversight hearings over City agencies and to introduce and hear legislation, the Committee on Technology in Government works to achieve its goals in partnership with the private, public and nonprofit sectors. More information about the Committee and the Chair of the Committee, Council Member Gale A. Brewer, can be found at the following link:

* http://nyccouncil.info/issues/committee.cfm?committee_id=106<sbdkey=5121

All Committee briefing papers from the current session (beginning in January 2004) are also available through this link. If you know of people who would be interested in the Committee on Technology in Government's activities, please feel free to forward this e-mail to them. If you know of anyone who would like to receive these e-mails, just have them e-mail me. I will put them on the list. Finally, feel free to post this information on any listserve you may belong to or on any website you are affiliated with. If you do not want to receive these e-mails anymore, please e-mail me, and I will take you off the list immediately.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at one of our hearings!

Regards,
Bruce Lai

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Bruce Lai
Chief of Staff
Office of Council Member Gale A. Brewer
New York City Council
250 Broadway, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10007
E-mail: bruce.lai@council.nyc.ny.us
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PLEASE NOTE THE NEW PHONE NUMBERS
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City Hall: 212.788.6975
Cell: 347.563.1295
Blackberry: bruce.lai@council.nyc.gov
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District Office: 212.873.0282
Fax: 212.513.7717