What role does broadband play in disaster response and recovery? An important and versatile one, according to a panel of experts who spoke today at the Brookings Institute. The panel, titled “Telehealth and Mobile Communications: The New Frontier in Modern Emergency Preparedness,” featured Dr. Alexander Vo, Executive Director of the AT&T Center for Telehealth Research and Policy at the University of Texas at Galveston, Marion Orr, Director of the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions at Brown University, and Joe Becker, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services at the American Red Cross.

Becker discussed the results of a recent survey that aimed to determine the likelihood of people to evacuate when faced with the prospect of a looming natural disaster. He also talked about how social media is dramatically changing the way leaders in the emergency response sector are doing business, citing the American Red Cross specifically. Becker also touched on the importance of leveraging technologies that people use in their every day life and making them part of the disaster response equation.

Dr. Alexander Vo discussed a recent study released by the University of Texas Medical Branch titled, “UTMB Telemedicine Disaster Response and Recovery: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Ike.” The study examines the role of broadband in delivering telemedicine applications, especially in the event of a natural disaster or major emergency. Vo stressed the importance of telemedicine networks partnering with state and local governments as well as commercial broadband providers in order to ensure that the information is delivered reliably. Dr. Vo made what is sure to be a splash for those who get caught up in the “rankings” game. When asked what country is setting the example in telemedicine programs, Dr. Vo answered the United States in both application and practice, with a major contributing factor being broadband infrastructure availability.

Click below to watch more from Dr. Vo in his exclusive interview with NextGenWeb.

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On April 16, the Free State Foundation hosted an event titled, “The FCC’s ‘Future of Media’ Inquiry: What Is the FCC Doing – And Why?” Click below to watch archived footage of the event.

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On Thursday, April 15, NextGenWeb attended a reception at AT&T’s Innovation Center hosted by the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators. The reception kicked off the first meeting of the Broadband en Accion Task Force. During the reception, NGW caught up with State Senator (IL) and President of NHCSL Iris Martinez to discuss the impact of broadband on the Hispanic community. Click below to watch the interview.

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On Tuesday, April 12, the Mabuhay Alliance hosted a summit in Los Angeles titled, “Minorities Leading the Broadband Revolution.” Discussions focused on how minority communities are harnessing the power of broadband and how broadband can impact those communities. The panel featured Nancy Ryan of the California Public Utilities Commission, Elva Lima, Vice President of Strategic Programs at Verizon, Chris Boyer, Assistant Vice President of Public Policy at AT&T, and Inez Gonzalez, Executive Vice President of the National Hispanic Media Coalition.

Two key themes presented themselves during the panel discussion – investment and digital literacy. Elva Lima talked about how private investment in broadband infrastructure is helping minority communities by giving them affordable access to broadband. She also stressed the importance of partnerships between broadband providers and local organizations to ensure that the community understands the value of broadband. This is especially significant in that recent studies show “relevance” as a primary barrier to adoption.

When asked what the power of broadband meant to him, Chris Boyer stated that he sees broadband in three basic terms. First, broadband is an enabler. Broadband allows for online applications that benefit almost every industry, including healthcare, the environment, public safety, education, and the economy. Second, broadband is a necessary tool that changes the way we go about our daily business. And third, broadband means investment. In California alone, AT&T invested over $7 billion in broadband infrastructure between 2007-2009. This level of investment not only means more people with access to broadband, but also job creation and growth. See more below in our interview following the event with Boyer.

Inez Gonzalez focused on the transformative power of broadband for minority communities, including giving them access to more jobs and financial aid. While Gonzalez cites price as another barrier to adoption, as we mentioned earlier price rarely makes it to the top of the page on the reasons why the non-adopters choose not to sign-up for high-speed Internet service. One of those reasons, digital literacy, is something Gonzalez elaborates on in our interview below, to include the importance of everyone in the community playing a role in helping people understand the life-enhancing benefits of broadband.

Stay tuned for future coverage of the Mabuhay Alliance Summits. The next one will take place in Chicago, IL on May 22, 2010.

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On Thursday, April 8 the Media Institute hosted their April installment of the Communications Forum. Federal Communications Commission Chief of Staff Edward Lazarus delivered the keynote address. Click below to watch archived footage of the event.

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce gathered top economists and business leaders this week to discuss how America will compete in today’s global economy. While discussion ranged from economic theory (what is productivity and how do we define it) to corporate tax policy, the part we found most interesting dealt with government regulation in the private sector.

Verizon Executive Vice President Tom Tauke led this discussion, citing three things that he says are crucial for U.S. competitiveness and innovation: people, trade and capital. The attraction of capital is tied to regulation, he said, with heavy regulation the equivalent of a heavy tax—it will deter investment and stifle innovation. Asked about regulation specifically in the telecom sector, Tauke explained that the Internet marketplace has had such robust growth and private sector investment because of de-regulation during the Clinton Administration. The problem now, he said, is that some people want to apply an old, monopoly-style regulatory environment to a multiple-player, thoroughly modern industry. Although Tauke argued intervention is not needed at all, he also said Verizon is a good player who will stand by the rule of law, he just hopes that rule of law makes sense. If we are going to regulate the Internet, he warned, the rules should at least be as modern as the industry, and are best decided by Congress, as he outlined in a speech at NDN last week.

As members of Congress continue to mull over the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, the role of regulator and enforcer, and who should play it, will no doubt continue to be a topic of great discussion. Be sure to follow that debate right here on NextGenWeb, and click below to watch archived footage of Tauke’s remarks.

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Next Gen Web joined some of Washington’s heaviest hitters yesterday at an Innovation and Jobs Roundtable hosted by the Democratic Leadership Council. The panelists, ranging from high-level Obama Administration officials to private-sector business leaders, all made one thing clear: high-speed broadband deployment is crucial to creating new jobs and jumpstarting the economy.

DLC Chairman Harold Ford Jr. opened the event, saying that innovation will be the driver of new jobs. He introduced the first panelist, US Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, who expanded on this message. Secretary Locke said he has a goal to make the entire economy more innovative, citing specific proposals to create more “clusters of innovation” like Silicon Valley or the Raleigh Research Triangle, should the FY ’11 budget pass. But to accomplish this, he stressed the importance of robust, high-speed Internet across the country.

Getting into details, Secretary Locke explained that about $4.5 Billion of the nearly $7.2 Billion allocated for broadband expansion in the FY ’11 federal budget will be distributed by the Commerce Department. The Dept. will channel this money first towards underserved and un-served communities by building out high speed infrastructure. Only then, he said, will the private sector be able to connect high-speed broadband with users, a process he called building the middle-mile of high speed internet.

Small Business Administration (SBA) head Karen Mills echoed the Secretary, citing SBA goals to increase innovation. Infrastructure and innovation are the foundations for helping small business, she said.

US. Representative Betsy Markey (D-CO) spoke to the role innovation plays in stimulating local economies, saying high-speed broadband access is critical to “unleash the talent of rural America.”

AT&T Vice President Xavier Matthews closed the program, repeating the mantra “invest and innovate.” Referencing the Internet Ecosystem, Matthews explained that investment by the private Information and Technology sector creates jobs not only within the industry, but also creates new industries (with new jobs to offer) and allows small businesses to reinvent themselves. Shifting the focus to long term investment in broadband is vital to economic and job growth opportunities, Matthews said.

Public and private sector leaders agreed yesterday that innovation is the key factor to job growth, and high-speed broadband is necessary for innovation. A DLC report on display yesterday, “Where Jobs Come From: The Role of Innovation, Investment, and Infrastrucutre in Economic and Job Growth,” is worth reading for more insight on the subject.

Watch interviews with AT&T Vice President Xavier Matthews and DLC CEO Bruce Reed.

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On Tuesday, March 23, National Journal LIVE hosted an event titled “Inside the Issue: Telecom.” Click below to watch archived footage from NextGenWeb’s live stream of the event.

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On the heels of the release of the FCC’s National Broadband Plan, the Health IT Now Coalition sponsored a panel discussion yesterday between experts on broadband, healthcare and the economy, featuring FCC Digital Healthcare Director Dr. Mohit Kaushal. All panelists agreed that the FCC’s plan is a step in the right direction towards utilizing broadband to better patient care in the US.

Dr. Kaushal led with a presentation sharing the FCC’s vision and goals for using broadband in the health sphere. Calling broadband a platform for innovation and information exchange, Kaushal estimated that broadband could save some $700 Billion in health care spending over the next 15 years. He cited broadband as a way to improve utilization of health data, allowing more efficient sharing of records between hospitals and ensuring that patients have access to their most recent data.

Regarding the Rural Health Care Program, the FCC recommendations call for the expansion of eligibility for participating programs to include certain private and for-profit groups, which was met with support by the panelists. Hank Fanberg, the technology manager at CHRISTUS Health, said that was a major sticking point for him in supporting the FCC’s plan because CHRISTUS operates largely in Texas, where quality health care is often limited in rural areas.

Jim Bialick, the Health IT coordinator for Genetic Alliance, agreed with Fanberg, but also warned that broadband infrastructure needs to be built up in conjunction with reform. He said there’s a huge gap in the ability to send health data, especially in rural areas, where brand new technology is relying on old infrastructure.

John Santelli of United Health Care touched on the “Green” aspect of Health IT, pointing out that broadband could transform health care into a paperless industry, with patients receiving automated and real-time results.

Rounding out the panel was Karen Rheuban, practicing physician and President of the American Telemedicine Association. Like her co-panelists, Rheuban applauded the FCC’s efforts, especially where it improves rural health care, but issued one final caveat to the group: beware of government regulations that unintentionally stifle innovation.

Listening to this panel of experts, there’s no doubt that broadband will play a fundamental and critical role in improving the health care economy in the US.

Click below to watch archived footage from the event.

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On Saturday, March 6 NextGenWeb live streamed the NaCo Technology Summit. Click below to watch archived footage of the summit.

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