NGN Hosts Inaugural Georgia Gigabit Communities Summit

Summit to Highlight Economic Advantages of Communities with Gigabit Infrastructure and Suggest Best Practices for Marketing Gigabit Capabilities

Clarkesville, GA – September 21, 2016 – NGN, a member-owned cooperative operating over 1,600 miles of fiber-optic infrastructure in Georgia, announces that it will host the first Georgia Gigabit Communities Summit to help communities that have gigabit capacity market their infrastructure assets and further develop their potential as Gigabit Communities. The September 28^th summit will feature a distinguished lineup of speakers who will share real-world broadband success stories and lessons learned from their own communities. Leaders and stakeholders from counties that currently have gigabit capacity through the NGN network are encouraged to attend.

During the event, National and State industry leaders will discuss tools and tips to drive economic development, as well as present strategies to fund continued broadband growth so that all citizens can benefit from high-speed Internet access. Speakers include:

• Georgia State Senator Steve Gooch, Co-Chair of the Senate Broadband Study Committee
• Jonathan Chambers, Partner at Conexon, LLC, a firm established to work with electric coops to build fiber to the home (FTTH) networks throughout rural America
• Joey Durel, Former Mayor of LaFayette, LA, the 1^st municipal FTTH system to serve an entire community in Louisiana
• Deb Socia, Next Century Cities, an organization committed to helping communities recognize the importance of leveraging their gigabit level Internet
• Tim Moyer, NTIA – Broadband USA, a federal program developed to provide assistance to communities that want to expand their broadband capacity and promote broadband adoption
• Bailey White, Civitium, Co-Creator of CrowdFiber, a web-based crowdfunding application for broadband

Gigabit connectivity has been available within the region since the creation of the NGN network in 2012. NGN initially offered gigabit connectivity to school systems, but has since expanded its connectivity offerings to a variety of industries.

“Broadband that delivers speeds measured in gigabits, not megabits, is a truly future-proof economic catalyst that answers speed requirements for technologies that have yet to be invented. Gigabit Communities have the broadband infrastructure to support and attract these innovative tech companies, which represent one of the leading industries driving the U.S. economy and job growth,” states Paul Belk, President & CEO of NGN. “NGN is holding the Summit to serve as a springboard for discussion on best practices for promoting our Georgia communities’ gigabit connections to technology-reliant companies, ultimately spurring economic growth within the region.”

Georgia Gigabit Communities Summit Details:

WHEN: September 28, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

WHERE: Habersham Electric Membership Corporation, 6135 State Highway 115, Clarkesville, GA, 30523

REGISTRATION: The event is open to state, local and federal officials, as well as leaders and other stakeholders from counties that have gigabit broadband capacity through the NGN network. Visit here to register.

Sponsors for the event include the Development Authority of Dawson County, gold sponsor, and White County Community Development and the Development Authority of Rabun County, bronze sponsors. For information on sponsorship opportunities, email info@ngn.coop.

For more information on NGN, please visit www.ngn.coop or call 706.754.5323.