MOUNTAIN CONNECT COMING NEXT WEEK TO VAIL TO EXAMINE COMMUNITY STATE OF BROADBAND FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, SAFETY, AND INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS

News Release

Agenda of Eighth Annual Conference Includes National Leadership as well as Colorado’s Lieutenant Governor Examining Creative Community Broadband Solutions  

Vail, Colorado – Today Mountain Connect, the West’s leading conference announced that more than 500 industry professionals and community leaders will gather next week to examine the current-state of broadband in our communities and how it can be improved and better utilized.  The conference is dedicated to accelerating smart city and municipal broadband efforts to promote innovation and drive economic growth. This year’s conference is once again at Vail’s Hotel Talisa Center on June 11-14. This year’s conference, with the theme of Moving Beyond Risk to Compete in the New Economy, offers four distinct tracks for attendees, including:

  1. All Things Wireless
  2. Community Development
  3. Broadband and Public Safety
  4. Smart Cities

Found online at www.mountainconnect.org, the agenda features sessions and topics not covered anywhere else, including:

  • Next Generation Solutions for Governments
  • Colorado Lt. Governor, Donna Lynne, Opening Remarks
  • Business Perspectives from a 15-year Major League Baseball Veteran (Todd Stottlemyre)
  • Try It, You’ll Like It! Fiber in Electric Conduit and Eugene, Oregon’s Public/Private Partnership: Ensuring Competition and Choice for High Bandwidth Connectivity
  • The Opportunities and Risks of Managing a Ubiquitous Broadband Future
  • States that are Making a Profound Difference and their Lessons Learned
  • Exploring Benefits of Progressive Action – The Communities

Luminaries speaking at the conference include:

  • Donna Lynne, Colorado Lieutenant Governor
  • Todd Stottlemyre, 3-time World Series Pitcher
  • Phil Weiser, Professor, University of Colorado Law School and Silicon Flatirons, Executive Director & Founder
  • Brian Shepherd, COO, Colorado Broadband Office
  • Ed Mills, Public Safety Broadband Engagement & Technology Innovation Manager, Colorado Governor’s Office of Information Technology
  • Deb Socia, Executive Director, Next Century Cities
  • Christopher Mitchell, Director, Community Broadband Networks Initiative, Institute for Local-Self Reliance
  • US Senator, Colorado Senator Cory Gardner (Video message)

“This year Mountain Connect is taking an active role in helping advance communities’ broadband aspirations,” explains co-conference organizer Jeff Gavlinski. “We’ve seen a lot of innovative broadband solutions this past year and we’re looking forward to stories being shared.  It’s our goal to help communities find creative solutions to serve their communities with robust broadband services.”

Follow highlights on THE Mountain Connect Twitter Feed.  Keynotes will be live broadcast via Periscope. If there are additional sessions you would like to view remotely, please contact:

Doug Adams on behalf of Mountain Connect
The Think Agency
720.412.7876
doug@thethinkagency.com