Video: Broadband Improvements…Coming To Your Town Soon?

 The current moment offers an unprecedented opportunity for communities and their media partners to improve broadband conditions locally – both because of new federal funding opportunities and because of interest by private ISPs in partnerships with localities. The experts on this panel will discuss the funding streams available to New Jersey communities and how public-private collaboration in broadband can enable better broadband services and higher adoption rates.

Serial entrepreneur Robert Boyle is the CEO and founder of Planet Networks, a leading provider of next-generation fiber optic Internet, cloud, security, communications, and network services. Boyle is an internationally recognized expert, entrepreneur, and speaker. He has more than 25 years of experience building Internet infrastructure, software, and services businesses, including extensive experience delivering revenue growth and scaling both small and large organizations. Strategic acquisitions have always been part of his growth strategy with over 18 successful M&A transactions completed so far under his leadership. His entrepreneurial background and ability to commercialize nascent technologies has enabled him to drive innovation throughout his career by identifying emerging market trends and correlating them with customer feedback resulting in rapid growth. Service to the community has also been part of the culture of all companies he has started and led with significant involvement in helping solve problems and provide relief to others in social, educational, and civic areas. His prior roles at Tellurian Networks, Perot Systems, and Dell, a $60 billion hardware and services company, include product and services design and architecture, business strategy and direction, and leading the physician services business unit as its CEO. Prior to joining Dell, Boyle started Tellurian Networks in 1994 as the founder and CEO. Tellurian Networks, a highly-regarded and pioneering ISP based in northern New Jersey and New York City was one of the first ISPs in the world to offer what were, at the time, the newest Internet technologies available: corporate Internet email, 56k dialup, ISDN, managed firewalls, “cloud” services, DSL, high density colocation, wireless Internet, Software as a Service, and high speed FTTP/FTTH Internet access – all of these services were available prior to the year 2000. The rapid adoption and integration of new technologies combined with the breadth and depth of expertise on the Tellurian Networks team helped them to become the leading provider of managed services to the ambulatory medical industry. Tellurian’s medical hosting business was acquired by Dell Perot Systems in October of 2008 and Tellurian Networks eventually became Planet Networks. Planet Networks is building a next-generation high speed fiber Internet network to connect homes and businesses throughout northwestern New Jersey and beyond. Boyle has been quoted or featured in many major publications, media outlets, conferences, and television programs. Boyle has helped to start, invested in, and advised many other startups in the information security, software, and IT services space with several successful exits. Robert lives in Denville, NJ with his wife and daughter. In his free time, he likes to spend time with his family, read, travel, cook, build things, ride motorcycles, and fly airplanes.

Joanne Hovis is a nationally recognized authority on broadband markets and on the evolving role of public–private partnerships in the provision of communications services to the public. For more than 20 years, she has directed CTC’s consulting services related to strategic planning, market analysis, business modeling, grant funding, and financial analysis for localities, states, and tribal governments throughout the country. Joanne leads the CTC teams that advise the states of Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, and New Mexico; the cities of Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle; and the statewide broadband networks in Colorado, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. She also leads CTC’s advisory work regarding federal broadband funding programs. Joanne has testified before Congress on rural broadband, broadband public‐private partnerships, and the digital divide, and has provided expert presentations to the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities, and other national organizations. Joanne is also CEO of the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) and a member of the boards of directors of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Consumer Reports, and the Fiber Broadband Association. She is a former president of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA).