Public Forum

On March 10, the Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission conducted a public forum for the "Fiber for Communities" project.

The Commission is an advisory body to the Austin City Council. Its areas of focus include community media (especially access television) and community technology (especially digital divide/digital opportunity initiatives). Its members are volunteers, primarily employed in the technology, non-profit, or education sectors.

The goal of the public forum was to assess community support for the project, and obtain feedback to incorporate into the RFI response. City of Austin staff presented an overview of the "Fiber for Communities" project. Then, there were two panels of distinguished experts from the community. Finally, general citizens were invited to present their feedback on the project.

The invited panelists included:

• Rondella Hawkins, Manager, Telecommunications and Regulatory Affairs, City of Austin.
• Chip Rosenthal, Co-Founder, Big Gig Austin Initiative
• Dave Porter, Senior Vice President, Austin Chamber of Commerce
• Joe Faulk, Division Manager, Library Information Services, Austin Public Library
• Linda Litowsky, Executive Director, channelAustin
• Tamara Hudgins, Executive Director, Girlstart
• Dan Stanzione, Deputy Director, Texas Advanced Computing Center, The University of Texas at Austin
• Ed Henigin, Chief Technical Officer, Data Foundry, Inc.