Aviemore venue for broadband conference

Aviemore has been chosen as the venue for the third annual Access to Broadband Campaign (abcampaign.org.uk) conference.

Sponsored by HIE, Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Executive, the two day conference - aimed at small to medium sized enterprises and community groups - takes place on November 2 and 3.

The conference will be opened by Jim Wallace, Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning. Over the two days the conference will examine a wide range of broadband issues including:

• how rural areas can be enhanced by broadband
• broadband in education
• flexible working
• business innovation through broadband
• and developing community networks

The conference has a number of world-class keynote speakers lined up. Among them is David Isenberg of independent telecom analysis firm, isen.com. Isenberg spent 12 years at AT&T Bell Labs and is best known for his 1997 essay, "The Rise of the Stupid Network".  He left AT&T in 1998 to found isen.com and to publish The SMART Letter, an open-minded commentary on the communications revolution and its enemies.

Also confirmed is leading futurologist Peter Cochrane who will share his technology and social visions for 2010. Cochrane was Head of BT Research from 1993-99, in 1999 he was appointed Chief Technologist. In November 2000, he retired from BT to join his own start-up company - ConceptLabs - which he founded with a group out of Apple Computers in 1998 at Campbell CA, in Silicon Valley.

Another impressive catch for the speaker’s podium is Stefan Agamanolis, of Media Lab Europe. As principal research scientist at Media Lab Europe, the European research partner of the MIT Media Laboratory, he directs the Human Connectedness group, which explores the future of human relationships as mediated by technology.

Comments the Access to Broadband Campaign: “The conference will provide a great networking opportunity; additionally the workshops and speakers will help to demystify a lot of broadband mythology. So if your community has been ignored in the commercial roll-out by BT, then the conference is a great place to look for contacts on building a community lead project, or investigating the options open to your small business. Additionally ABC does more than just help people connected to broadband, a lot of the work is aimed at empowering communities, showing how broadband can change a community.”