Digital City EXPO Is Rising to Phoenix

The mythical Phoenix flies in the face of the status quo. When the bird grows old and useless, it ignites its nest and a new bird arises, reborn and rejuvenated. How apropos, then, for the Digital City EXPO to gather a nest of broadband industry leaders in the city that bears that fantastic bird’s name to demonstrate how communities can shirk the status quo by deploying high speed voice, data and video services to spark economic growth and set ablaze citizen enthusiasm.

That's right, gentle readers, the 2008 Digital City EXPO will fly into the Radisson Fort McDowell Resort in Phoenix, Jan. 22-24, to host three days of pre-conference activities, educational workshops and sessions and an exposition all in the name of community broadband design and deployment. The conference caters specifically to municipal leaders, IT professionals, university officials, healthcare advocates and any community representatives interested in creating a network to deliver high speed and high bandwidth communications to their population.
 
After three straight years of being hosted in the Washington, D.C., area, the Digital City EXPO packed up and headed west for greener fields. The Southwest presents a rich environment for broadband deployment, illustrated by three sessions that will focus specifically on regional broadband deployments. Lester Godsey from Queen Creek, Ariz., will speak about deploying broadband in a rural community. Representatives from Design Nine will talk about the 1st Mile New Mexico project. And, Jack Conie of Ca-botics has recently worked on projects in Scottsdale, Ariz., and Albuquerque, N.M., where his company is deploying fiber through sewer lines. (You can read more about Ca-botics on page 32 of the current issue of Last Mile.) In addition, members of the Arizona Telecommunications and Information Council (ATIC) will be on hand to offer their experiences in broadband.

The annual event offers attendees the opportunity to learn how their community can build a reliable broadband network, keep it maintained and develop content, but it also offers plenty of time to network with colleagues and broadband professionals.

Don’t forget about this spotlight moment: the announcement of the 2008 Last Mile Smart Community Award, which will be presented during the networking reception Wednesday evening. The Smart Community Award is given to two municipalities each year for outstanding commitment to broadband deployment, such as providing ubiquitous access to services, spurring economic development and enhancing public safety.
The Smart Community Award is given to a municipality with a population of more than 200,000 and to another with a population of less than 200,000. Cleveland and Lafayette, La., won the awards in 2007. (Check out the stories behind the 2007 Smart Community Award winners in our archives.)

The Digital City EXPO is produced by Benjamin Media Inc., the publisher of Last Mile. For updates and more information or to register online, visit www.digitalcityexpo.com.

And last but certainly not least, I, Brad Kramer, will also be lurking about. I hope to see you there.