Meeting 21st Century Municipal Internet Access Needs
Perspectives from Boston City Hall and Brookline on City and Regional Infrastructure Planning
At this free public event, Jascha Franklin-Hodge, Boston's CIO, will describe the city's ongoing efforts at fostering private sector competition in providing high-speed wired and wireless Internet access. And Kevin Stokes, CIO of Brookline, will discuss the opportunities and challenges in trying to work across institutional and state agency boundaries to obtain fiber-optic network access to boost local bandwidth and reduce costs. Municipal and state officials are invited to attend and then participate in a discussion about best practices and opportunities for collaboration. The event will conclude with an audience Q&A and bag lunch.
This event is hosted by Responsive Communities, a project of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.
10:00-10:05: Introductory remarks: Waide Warner and David Talbot, Responsive Communities, Berkman Klein Center
10:05-10:20: Boston's strategy: Jascha Franklin–Hodge, City of Boston
10:20-10:35: Efforts at inter-agency collaboration: Kevin Stokes, Town of Brookline
10:35-11:15: Open discussion between speakers and invited leaders from municipalities and state agencies and authorities
11:15-11:30: Audience Q&A
11:30-12:30: Bag lunch and networking
About the Speakers
As Boston’s CIO, Jascha Franklin-Hodge works to enhance online service delivery, empower city employees with effective digital tools, and improve access to technology and Internet access service across all Boston neighborhoods. His efforts in Boston include mapping 175 miles of existing city-owned conduit to decrease costs of network deployments, streamlining processes and permitting associated with investment in broadband infrastructure, and ensuring that city infrastructure projects accommodate future network construction. Today five wired and wireless broadband providers serve residents in the city. Franklin-Hodge is now beginning to examine how to prepare for next-generation wireless deployments.
Kevin Stokes has served as CIO for the Town of Brookline and its public schools for 12 years. With municipal and school bandwidth needs rising sharply, Stokes wants wider access to fiber-optic networks and the ability to directly reach wholesale bandwidth available in Boston. Brookline sits near locations with MBTA and Mass DOT fiber optic lines, as well as hospitals and universities with fiber-optic networks. Stokes, like other municipal CIOs, would like to identify decision-makers and negotiate agreements with public and nonprofit network owners.