National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors

• Home
• About Us
• Policy / Advocacy
• Membership
• Conferences & Events
• Resources
• Chapters
• Awards
• Members Only

What are the NATOA Community Broadband Awards?

In recognition of the broadening role of government in technology, NATOA proudly honors outstanding individuals and projects that seek to improve government and public options in broadband technology. This exceptional awards program was initiated to recognize and highlight some of the many extraordinary efforts going on at the local level to bring the benefits of technology to American communities. Throughout the United States, numerous exceptional leaders in government, business, and the community are serving as champions of local interests and needs in broadband and technology. NATOA’s Community Broadband Awards annually recognize these efforts and achievements. The Award recipients are highlighted on NATOA’s website and in the NATOA Journal.

How do I recommend my community for a Community Broadband Award?

The Community Broadband Awards are presented by the NATOA Board of Directors, based on recommendations from and working with NATOA’s Community Broadband Committee. You can contact the Co-Chairs of the Community Broadband Committee, Joanne Hovis and Tony Perez to discuss your communities’ unique project.

When are recommendations for Awards due?

Your recommendations are welcome at any time. However, the awards are only presented annually in conjunction with the NATOA Annual Conference. Only those recommendations received by June can be given proper consideration for presentation at the conference. The 2008 Community Broadband Awards will be awarded at the NATOA Annual Conference which will be held September 18 – 21, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Who Were the Recipients in 2007?

2007 Community Broadband Projects of the Year
In 2007, NATOA recognized two of the most exemplary among many extraordinary projects. First, in the area of wireless communications, NATOA presented a 2007 Award for Community Broadband Project of the Year to PhiladelphiaWireless and the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for setting off a wave of community wireless projects and leading the way for other communities. The award was accepted by Michael Athay on behalf of the City.

And second, in the area of wired communications, NATOA presented an Award for 2007 Community Broadband Project of the Year to the Pulaski Electric System Fiber-to-the-Home Network and to the City of Pulaski, Tennessee, for planning and building a path-breaking, fiber-to-the-premises network to secure the economic future of the community and residents of Pulaski. The award was accepted by Ron Holcomb, President and CEO of Pulaski Electric.

2007 Community Network of the Year
Today, around the country, Institutional Networks “I-Nets” and other government broadband networks serve countless communities by providing connectivity among schools, libraries, government buildings, criminal justice locations, public health facilities, fire stations, police stations, and mobile first-responder vehicles.

In one impressive example of such a project, 19 jurisdictions in three states surrounding the Nation’s capital have worked together to interconnect their fiber networks for emergency and other purposes. The National Capital Region Interoperability Program I-Nets Project is a post-9/11 partnership among 19 local governments, three states, and the Federal Department of Homeland Security to use fiber optics to enhance public safety. In Portland, NATOA proudly presented the Award for 2007 Community Network of the Year to the National Capital Region Interoperability Program I-Nets Project, for innovative use of community Institutional Networks to protect public safety and promote emergency communications. The award was accepted by the Hon. Jane Lawton of the Maryland State Legislature, on behalf of the National Capital Region.

2007 Community Broadband Organization of the Year
The Community Broadband Awards seek to recognize the importance of local efforts and initiatives in serving community — and national — interests. Numerous other organizations and companies are engaged in similar and complementary efforts to demonstrate the importance of communications infrastructure to our future. One exemplary example is an ongoing effort by the Clinton Global Initiative and Cisco Connected Urban Development to partner with local communities, San Francisco, Seoul, and Amsterdam, to demonstrate through pilot projects the potential of fiber-to-the-premises networking to reduce the need for travel and thereby reduce CO2 emissions. NATOA proudly presented the 2007 Award for Community Broadband Organization of the Year to the Clinton Global Initiative and Cisco Connected Urban Development, for their joint initiatives to demonstrate the efficacy of community fiber networking in reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The award was accepted by Bas Boorsma and Carolyn Purcell of Cisco.

2007 Community Broadband Visionary of the Year
What drives many Community Broadband initiatives is the need to fill a gap left by an absence of a Federal broadband strategy. The lack of a coordinated US policy is even more troubling in an era when our competitor nations in Europe and, particularly, Asia, have robust and aggressive national policies to build next generation, high-speed networks. By virtually any account, the United States has lost to other nations our competitive advantage in broadband deployment. Though many have noted our competitive decline, one person in particular has championed the need for a national strategy to reverse that decline. It is much to the credit of our next Award recipient that the issue of the need for a national broadband strategy has begun to reach the ears of policymakers and the public. In Portland, NATOA presented the 2007 Award for Community Broadband Visionary of the Year to our very own Jim Baller, for nearly single-handedly putting on the map the issue of the need for a national broadband strategy.

2007 Community Broadband Hero of the Year
Finally, every project needs a champion, and sometimes an entire community needs one. The final 2007 Community Broadband Award was awarded to an individual who has championed local prerogatives in communications; who has worked to support and protect local initiatives within a broader national context in the interests of promoting the interests of the national as a whole; and who has proven himself a great champion of consumers, local communities, and the public interest. NATOA was pleased to present the Award for Community Broadband Hero of the Year to Commissioner Jon Leibowitz of the Federal Trade Commission, for visionary and resolute support of localism and local prerogatives in community broadband.