Big Gig Austin Initiative

The "Big Gig Austin Initiative" is a collaboration of volunteers, created to organize our local community support for the "Fiber for Communities" project. We have worked closely in cooperation with the City of Austin and other area organizations.

The lead sponsors are the 21st Century Project in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, the University of Texas at Austin and the Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission.

Co-Sponsors

Other organizations that have participated in our activities include:

ChannelAustin

Austin Free-Net

Helios Project

Slackerwood

Founders

Gary Chapman

Gary Chapman is a senior lecturer at the LBJ School, which he joined in 1994. He teaches classes and conducts research on Internet policy, telecommunications and technology policy, and how the Internet revolution shapes organizations. He is also associate director of the university's Telecommunications and Information Policy Institute, a campus-wide research program. He has written numerous articles on technology and society for a wide variety of publications, including The New York Times, The New Republic, The Washington Post, Technology Review, Communications of the ACM and many others.

In early 2000, Chapman was named one of the "25 Most Powerful Texans in High Tech" by Texas Monthly. In 1999, The Austin American-Statesman named him one of its "Ten to Watch." Chapman has also served as chairman of the selection committee for the Turing Award, the world's highest award in computer science.

Chip Rosenthal

Chip Rosenthal has been developing systems and tools based on open source software and open network protocols for over 20 years. He is the owner of Unicom Systems Development, a provider of technology consulting and contract development services.

Chip is a recognized leader of the community technology movement in Texas. He is a founder of the longest-running free Internet training program in Texas. He helped develop the award-winning Austin Bloggers web site. In 2005, he helped create SaveMuniWireless.Org, which defeated legislation to ban community wireless networks in Texas. He currently chairs the Austin Community Technology and Telecommunications Commission, which advises the Austin City Council on technology matters.