When cities and counties decide to invest in broadband networks, they face the same business-case challenge as private-sector carriers.  The city or county has usually arrived at this point precisely because the private sector does not see an attractive case for investment, so how is government going to do what business cannot?  Government's advantage as a network builder is not anti-competitive behavior: it is that government and the community gain economic benefits from the network that a private-sector company cannot tap.  Watch this Broadband Agendas webinar from ICF to learn the difference between the business case and the economic case for broadband, and how communities turn it to their advantage.

Speakers Include:

Michael Curri	Paul Leedham	Ysni Semsedini	Jim Stifler

Michael Curri leads a team of experienced specialists to help clients create measurable economic impacts and jobs created by using digital infrastructure as a platform for innovation and community vitality. SNG, which he founded, is recognized as an industry leader in the econometrics of digital infrastructure. He and his team have developed a unique set of tools to assess the economic and community benefits from improving connectivity and access to online services, as well as programs to drive the use of online business applications.

Curri’s approach is based on his experience that for broadband to be effective and transformational, it is critical to personalize the value of broadband to individuals and ensure businesses and households have the tools they need to use connectivity as a platform for new opportunities and growth. With a vision to revitalize communities and regions to more effectively participate in today’s economy, Curri has consulted and led on projects across North America, Europe, the Caribbean and Asia. He has a Master’s in economics from the University of Waterloo, Canada and he regularly presents at national broadband and smart city conferences in North America and Europe.

Originally from Rochdale, England, Paul Leedham currently serves as the City of Hudson’s first Chief Innovation Officer/Director of IT, where he is responsible for network operations, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital communications.  Since 2014, Leedham has been deeply involved with bringing municipal broadband services to the businesses of Hudson and currently serves in an advisory capacity for the City’s Velocity Broadband program.  With previous work as an independent consultant and for the County of Summit GIS Department, Leedham boasts more than 20 years of experience with current initiatives that include:  IoT Smart Lighting, deploying a City-wide Document Management System, Wireless Fire Detection and exploring various Virtual Dispatch and Intelligent Traffic Management/Parking solutions.

Ysni Semsedini is the CEO of Festival Hydro Inc and Rhyzome Networks. Festival Hydro Inc is a local electrical distribution company owned by the City of Stratford that services 20,000 customers in the municipalities of Stratford, St.Marys, Seaforth, Hensall, Zurich, Dashwood and Brussels. Rhyzome Networks is the City of Stratford owned Internet Service Provider company which has Dark fibre, lit fibre and ubiquitous city wide wi-fi assets. Ysni received a B.ESc degree in Electrical Engineering and M.ESc degree in Power Systems from Western University and a Masters in Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. Ysni is a registered P.Eng with the Professional Engineers of Ontario and has worked in industry for almost 13 years.

As a 25-year resident of Hudson, Jim Stifler has chosen to perform his encore career as the City of Hudson’s Chief Economic Officer. After a successful 33-year career as a Wall Street executive, Jim is able to showcase his extensive private sector experiences and use his strong ties in the community to move the City forward. In addition to attraction and retention, Jim provides strategic oversight to Hudson’s rapidly growing, city - owned, fiber-optic broadband business. Jim’s most gratifying work as Chief Economic Officer has been in conjunction with Hudson’s Chief Innovation Officer by leading the charge to become an Intelligent Community, and to expand and capitalize on the innovation bias Hudson is blessed to have. It was a tremendous boost to be named to the ICF’s Smart21 Intelligent Communities for 2018. To compliment all of these efforts Jim works with innovative start-ups and scale-ups that have qualified for mentoring support at JumpStart Inc. JumpStart is a public /private business acceleration program in Northeast Ohio, that is now 2 decades strong.