The Honorable Michael K. Powell & Former U.S. Representative

Harold E. Ford Jr. Named Honorary Co-Chairs Of Broadband for America

Coalition Working To Bring Broadband Internet To Everyone Continues To Grow

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Honorable Michael K. Powell and former U.S. Representative Harold E. Ford Jr. were named honorary co-chairs of Broadband for America (BfA), a coalition of more than 120 member companies and organizations that share the goal of bringing broadband Internet access to every home and business in the nation. 

Powell, a former commissioner and chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has played a significant part in defining and understanding the role broadband Internet plays in every segment of our society. 

“As our country prepares a national broadband plan to bring high-speed Internet to every American, it is critical government and the private sector work together. In today’s economy, having access to broadband Internet is critical to growing our economy,” said Powell. 

Ford, a former five-term Member of Congress from the state of Tennessee who served on the House Budget, Financial Services, and Education and the Workforce Committees brings a decade of experience on legislative action.

“Even in these tough economic times, broadband provides businesses the latest tools to compete and grow. Our future is at stake here and we need to work together to bring the Internet to everyone,” said Ford.

About Broadband for America:

BfA represents a historic coming together of Internet service providers (ISPs), backbone providers, content providers, consumer groups, commercial groups, end-user organizations, and associations, all sharing the view that America should make broadband access to the Internet available to everyone. Together these organizations represent the hundreds of millions of Americans who are literally connected through broadband. BfA encourages continued private sector investment and competition to make broadband faster, smarter, safer, and ever more valuable to users. The need to expand broadband Internet to all of the nation’s homes and businesses and to get all Americans connected is crucial to America’s economic success.

BfA Honorary Co-Chair Bios:

To learn more about the Honorable Michael K. Powell, click here.

Michael K. Powell – Powell was nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to a seat on the Federal Communications Commission in 1997. He was designated chairman of the Commission by President Bush in 2001, and served until 2005.

As chairman, Mr. Powell set out to bring FCC regulations into the 21st Century and to recognize the move of voice, video, and data technologies away from limited analog platforms to powerful digital applications that bring more value to the public. He focused on initiatives that encourage market-driven solutions to promote consumer interests. He supported new methods of deploying advanced services through the use of new alternatives such as power lines, unlicensed wireless devices and other technologies that would expand affordable broadband options to all Americans regardless of their geographic location. From campaigning for the right to keep your phone number when switching wireless carriers to fighting to allow the choice of avoiding telemarketing calls with a Do-Not-Call list, Mr. Powell put consumers on the forefront in this exciting and dynamic marketplace.

In addition to his normal duties, Chairman Powell served as the FCC’s Defense Commissioner and was responsible for overseeing all National Security Emergency Preparedness functions for the Commission.

Chairman Powell previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Antitrust Division in the Department of Justice. In that capacity, he advised the Assistant Attorney General on substantive antitrust matters, including policy development, criminal and civil investigations and mergers. Before joining the Antitrust Division, Mr. Powell was an associate in the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers LLP, and prior to joining the firm clerked for the Honorable Harry T. Edwards, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Before starting his legal career, Mr. Powell served as a policy advisor on Japanese affairs to the Secretary of Defense. In addition, his experience includes military service as an armored cavalry officer in the United States Army. While on duty, Mr. Powell was seriously injured in a training accident and—after spending a year in the hospital—was retired from service.

Mr. Powell graduated in 1985 from the College of William and Mary with a degree in Government. He earned his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

Mr. Powell recently served as the Rector of the Board of Visitors of the College of William and Mary. He is on the America’s Promise board and is co-chairing a national campaign to attack the high school drop out crisis. Mr. Powell also serves as a trustee of both the Aspen Institute and the Rand Corporation and sits on the boards of Cisco Systems and AOL and EDMC.

Mr. Powell currently is a Senior Advisor with Providence Equity Partners.

To learn more about former U.S. Representative Harold Ford, click here.

Harold E. Ford, Jr. – Currently the chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council, Ford spent a decade as a member of the United States House of Representatives and was a 2006 Senate candidate. Described by President Clinton as "the walking, living embodiment of where America ought to go in the 21^st century," U. S. Representative Harold Ford, Jr. (D-Tenn.) has distinguished himself as a charismatic, results-oriented politician with fresh ideas and a pragmatic approach.

Elected in 1996 to Tennessee's 9^th congressional district, Ford was re-elected four times by an average of 80 percent of the vote. He built a reputation on Capitol Hill as a consensus builder while serving on the House Budget Committee, the House Committee on Financial Services and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Known to his colleagues as a fiscal watchdog conservative, Ford played an active role as a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate and fiscally conservative Democrats seeking middle-ground, bipartisan answers to the current challenges facing our country. As a pro-business Democrat, Ford believed then and now that solving problems should always overshadow bitter partisanship.

In 2006, Ford lost a close and controversial U.S. Senate race in Tennessee.  Since then, he has moved to New York City, married Emily Frances Ford, and now works as a Vice Chairman at Bank of America and as a Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. In addition, Ford serves on the Pentagon’s Transformation Advisory Board, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and is an overseer at the International Rescue Committee. 

Ford graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 1996 and earned a bachelors degree in American history from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992.

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