We often highlight how broadband is environmentally friendly by enabling the smart grid and allowing commuters to travel less thanks to telecommuting. Now AT&T, in collaboration with the Carbon Disclosure Project, has joined the chorus by releasing a study showing just how Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is enabling products and services such as video conferencing and telepresence for businesses all around the globe.

The report, titled “The Telepresence Revolution”, looks into how these products and services are reducing carbon emissions, providing energy-efficient alternatives to business travel, and reducing costs. A few of the interesting finding are below. You may also be interested in a recent NextGenWeb interview with Beth Shiroishi of AT&T discussing the study.

· At an economy-wide view, by 2020 US and UK businesses with annual revenues of more than $1 billion can cut nearly 5.5 million CO2 emissions as a result of deploying almost 10,000 telepresence units. These reductions are equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from over one million passenger vehicles.

· US firms can reduce CO2 by 112,000 tonnes in 2010 to 963,000 tonnes in 2020. A total of almost 4.6 million tonnes in cumulative CO2 cuts.

· For US firms, net financial benefits from telepresence increase from $315 million in 2010 to over $3.5 billion in 2020. A total of over $15 billion in ten years.

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Dialogue on Diversity is a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating creative conversations among men and women of diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As part of this mission, the organization often hosts conferences and symposia around entrepreneurial advancement, and the skills and policy policies that will facilitate that advancement. Today, the Dialogue on Diversity gathered leaders on IT, business productivity, marketing, and supply chains, to share their expertise on Capitol Hill. AT&T and Verizon were among the sponsors of the event, which both inspired and informed.

Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) delivered the Congressional Overview for the conference. The Congressman urged for ensuring that government contracting opportunities reach women and minority owned businesses in order to help the digital divide and avoid a green divide. “Let’s not look at diversity as something we have to do, but change our thoughts philosophically, and look at diversity as an integral part of rebuilding our economy.”

Link Hoewing, Vice President of Internet Technology and Policy for Verizon Communications, spoke about the role of broadband in the economy, jobs, and small businesses. Hoewing echoed the sentiments of both Rep. Grijalva and fellow panelist Ana Harvey, Assistant Administrator of the Women’s Business Owner of U.S. Small Business Administration, on the growing importance of technology globally. He added that continued investment in broadband networks can help power the economic recovery and that addressing challenges to broadband adoption, like digital literacy and computer ownership, will help to bridge the digital divide. Hoewing is extremely optimistic about tapping even further into the power of broadband. Currently broadband is primarily powering communication. But in the future, broadband will be vital to our health, education, and so much more.

You can watch Hoewing’s speech in its entirety below.

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Many people have said that if Thomas Edison were alive today and looked at our electricity grid, he would recognize it. But finally, some 100 years after Edison fired up the first commercial power grid, the revolution is beginning– thanks to broadband.

A recent briefing on Capitol Hill hosted by the Clean Economy Network and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) touched on how broadband is enabling consumer energy tools and the smart grid. Smart grids are being developed across the country, and they will change the amount of control that consumers have over their energy consumption and monthly bills like never before. Presenters at the briefing focused their comments on how broadband providers and utility companies can work together to ensure that smart grids become commonplace.

Following the event, NextGenWeb caught up with Mike Brander, Vice President of Sales for Utility and Industrial at Verizon Wireless, and Tim Greeff, Political Director if the Clean Economy Network, to further discuss the role broadband is playing in enabling the smart grid.

Click below to view interviews as well as complete archived footage of the briefing.

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Last Friday morning, representatives from industry, government, and the disability community, gathered in our nation’s Capitol building in Washington, DC, for Apps4Access!  In honor of the 20^th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and with support from AT&T, the Committee on Disability Power & Pride hosted a demonstration expo and panel discussion of how innovative technologies are improving accessibility.

So why are “apps” so important to the disability community?  Paul Schroeder of the American Foundation for the Blind explained that the entire world is talking about apps and people with disabilities also want to participate in this revolution.  Furthermore, these apps are often incredibly useful.  Panelists from organizations like American Association of People with Disabilities, Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and Alzheimer’s Association, added that apps are being used for things like speech to text, calendar reminders, visual communication, and so much more.  These apps benefit not only the consumers themselves, but also families, businesses, and others, seeking to improve interaction and communication with the disability community.

NextGenWeb will be posting footage of the panel in its entirety, but in the meanwhile, check out these interviews with leaders in the world of accessibility innovation, including a demo of the latest in Braille technology.

Karen Peltz Strauss – Deputy Chief of the Consumer Information Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

Anita Aaron of the World Institute on Disability (WID) and Susan Mazrui of AT&T

Demo of the Alva Braille Controller from President and Founder of Flying Blind, LLC, Larry Lewis Jr.

Brian Fontes, PhD, the Chief Executive Officer for the National Emergency Number Association

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Steve Oldham’s piece in the Sacramento Bee from Sunday revisits some of the broadband industry’s great accomplishments. Oldham writes, “Broadband Internet in the United States has been and continues to be a tremendous success story, producing access to people and information, jobs, economic growth and vast social benefits.”

• 90% of homes in the US have 2 broadband Internet providers to choose from.
• 95% of the U.S. population has access to wired broadband, supporting download speeds of 4 Mbps or more.
• 91% of Americans are happy with their broadband service, as a recent FCC report shows.

While there still remains some room for growth, it’s impossible to argue with 90-percentile statistics that show the strong movement of broadband Internet throughout the U.S. As Oldham points out, there is no need to “place inflexible growth-inhibiting regulations” on a “thriving marketplace.”

Steve Oldham is president and CEO of SureWest Communications and chairman of US Telecom Association.

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Most agree there is still more to be done to ensure all Americans have access to Broadband Internet. But forcing unneeded regulations on the Internet community is not the way to accomplish that goal. According to Manny Diaz, former mayor of Miami and current vice chairman of the Alliance for Digital Equality (ADE), “those most affected by these proposed regulations would be low-income communities that desperately need jobs and affordable Internet.”

Diaz believes broadband Internet is the key to future success in our great country. Access to such an amazing technological tool can help produce new jobs and economic opportunities to all communities, particularly those underserved. As the private sector continues to pour dollars into new and innovative broadband technology, the last thing the FCC needs to do is enforce unnecessary regulations to stifle this growth.

To read more, check out Manny Diaz’s opinion piece in the Miami Herald.

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One of the top themes of the National Rural Education Technology Summit yesterday was definitely the virtualization of education.  Convened by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough, government leaders such as FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra, and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Kathleen Merrigan spoke to more than 100 rural educators attending the Summit.  Discussion ranged from obstacles of teachers to the opportunities of broadband, with several institutional speakers sharing success stories in between, two of which are highlighted below:

PBS -

Rob Lippincott, Senior Vice President of Education at PBS, delivered a speech noting the increasing resources his organization is investing in Internet tools.  “Teachers value digital media,” he proclaimed with the statistic that 76% of teachers use digital media regularly.  He finds that teachers are increasingly using media as a learning accelerator and that kids learn better with interactive engagement.

Florida Virtual School –

Julie Young, President & CEO of the Florida Virtual School, an accredited, public, online e-learning school serving students in grades K-12 all over the world.  Young serves millions of students, targeting rural, urban, and home-schooled students in particular.  Young countered the myth that virtual education is isolating, noting that the experience is very high touch for both students and teachers.  Watch my interview with Young below and click here for a recent guest posting from Young on NextGenWeb.

The event closed with words from Federal CTO Aneesh Chopra about the abundance of support from the White House in embracing technology for better government efficiency and transparency, including for education.  You can watch Chopra’s speech below:

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What is the relationship between jobs, innovation, and regulatory policy? According to a recent memo released by Michael Mandel of the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) titled, “The Coming Communications Boom? Jobs, Innovation and Countercyclical Regulatory Policy”, they are integrally connected.

With America attempting to pull itself out of the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, and with the national unemployment rate currently hovering just below 10%, one industry is stepping up to the plate and creating new American jobs – the communications industry. This memo released by PPI states, “Internet companies, along with firms engaged in wireless telecom and computer systems design, seem to be emerging as ‘job leaders’ in the next economic expansion.”

But what role will regulatory policy play in continuing this “job awakening” that we have seen in the communications industry? The answer depends on what types of regulatory policies are adopted moving forward. This memo by PPI calls for “countercyclical regulatory policy” to be applied to the telecommunications industry. Traditionally, this type of policy has been reserved for the financial industry. But Mandel argues that, “Countercyclical regulatory policy could bring enormous benefits. Investments would pour into the communications sector, and hiring would step up, as companies try to take advantage of the permissive regulatory period to build out their businesses.”

Read more of Mandel’s case here.

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As many industry leaders noted in their panel at the Minority Media & Telecom Council conference the day prior, the Internet is powering extraordinary advancement opportunities that minorities are encouraged to embrace.  MMTC gathered several thought leaders who have grown media businesses, along with those who advise and fund businesses, to discuss the best ways to create, finance, and build a startup company in today’s broadband world.

One of the panelists who offered key advice was Juan Pablo Giometti, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Entrepreneurs’ Organization (NHEO).  Watch the video below to learn how Giometti is working to foster the next generation of Hispanic entrepreneurs and how he sees broadband as an affordable way to start a company.

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The Minority Media & Telecom Council conference is not only about education and advocacy, but also an opportunity to honor leaders who promote diversity in the field of technology.

NextGenWeb congratulates:

• Cynthia Marshall, President of AT&T North Carolina, for her Extraordinary Service Award.
• Angela Benton, Publisher of BlackWeb20, for her induction into the MMTC Hall of Fame.
• Rey Ramsey, CEO of TechNet and Chairman of One Economy, for his induction into the MMTC Hall of Fame.
• Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) for the Everett C. Parker Lifetime Achievement Award.

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