A pdf of this press release can be found here.
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jessica Del Fiacco
jessica@nextcenturycities.org
Next Century Cities Launches Resource to Help Communities Become Broadband Ready
New toolkit outlines action steps for cities seeking to improve connectivity
Washington, D.C. – Today, January 16, 2019, Next Century Cities launched Becoming Broadband Ready: A Toolkit for Communities. This new resource is a guide for communities that are seeking solutions to connect residents to broadband. The launch event took place at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. from 1:00 – 3:00pm ET.
A panel of community leaders, including Dr. Robert Wack, City Council President, Westminster, Maryland; Don Patten, General Manager, MINET; and McClain Bryant Macklin, former Director of Policy, Office of Mayor Sly James, Kansas City, Missouri, discussed their work to improve connectivity for their constituents and the potential of the toolkit to help similar efforts in other communities.
Across the country, mayors and community leaders are looking for solutions to connect residents to fast, affordable, and reliable internet access. Becoming Broadband Ready was developed with input from Next Century Cities’ member communities and features best practices and strategies from a diverse array of successful projects.
The toolkit acts as a comprehensive first-stop resource for community leaders by outlining the most important considerations and action steps for communities beginning broadband expansion projects. These “building blocks” for a successful project are broken down into clear, concise sections that are presented in chronological order, with the most fundamental ingredients first and more nuanced considerations later. Next Century Cities will continually update this resource to address evolving technology and new challenges that may arise.
View Becoming Broadband Ready in full here:
https://nextcenturycities.org/becoming-broadband-ready/
Watch a recording of the launch event here:
https://livestream.com/internetsociety/broadbandready
If you are interested in learning more about Becoming Broadband Ready from Deb Socia, Executive Director of Next Century Cities, please contact Jessica Del Fiacco at jessica@nextcenturycities.org to set up an interview.
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Next Century Cities is a non-profit membership organization of over 190 communities, founded to support communities and their elected leaders, including mayors and other officials, as they seek to ensure that all have access to fast, affordable, and reliable internet access. Next Century Cities celebrates broadband successes in communities, demonstrates their value, and helps other cities to realize the full power of truly high-speed, affordable, and accessible broadband. For more information, visit www.nextcenturycities.org.