California Broadband Task Force

As part of Executive Order S-23-06, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger created a 21-member California Broadband Task Force composed of public and private stakeholders with the expertise to advice policymakers on a framework for making California a global leader in the telecommunications revolution.  The Task Force was responsible for delivering two reports. The first report is available online and describes administrative actions that state government can immediately act upon to increase broadband availability and adoption in California. 

The second report contains a comprehensive assessment of the state of broadband in California. It includes detailed maps of wireline and wireless availability, analysis of adoption, a pricing survey, and recommendations so that California can take advantage of opportunities for and eliminate any related barriers broadband access and adoption.

Working Groups
To help develop recommendations, the Task Force created working groups, which included both Task Force members and a diversity of subject matter experts from non-profit organizations, private industry, local and state government, and foundations.  Each working group focused on one of six areas:

• Build-Out
• Community Development
• Economic Development
• Education
• Emerging Technology & New Applications
• Healthcare

View the membership of the working groups here: California Broadband Task Force Working Groups

California Broadband Task Force Members

• Secretary Dale Bonner (Co-Chair)
  California Business, Transportation & Housing Agency
• Charlie Giancarlo (Co-Chair)
  Senior Vice President / Chief Development Officer, Cisco
  President, Cisco-Linksys
• Ellis Berns
  Economic Development Manager, City of Mountain View
• Commissioner Rachelle Chong
  California Public Utilities Commission
• Bill Geppert
  Vice President & General Manger, Cox Communications - San Diego
  Chair, Cable & Telecommunications Association
• Paul Hernandez
  Director of Community Development, Metro Area Advisory Committee Project
• Bill Huber
  President of Network Services, AT&T West
• Senator Christine Kehoe
  California State
  Chair, Senate Energy, Utilities & Communications Committee
• Wendy Lazarus
  Founder & Co-President, Children's Partnership
• Assemblymember Lloyd Levine
  California State Assembly
  Chair, Assembly Utilities & Commerce Committee
• Bryan Martin
  Chief Executive Officer, 8x8, Inc.
• Timothy McCallion
  President, Verizon West-Region
• Milo Medin
  Founder, Chairman, & Chief Technology Officer, M2Z Networks
• Sunne Wright McPeak
  President & Chief Executive Officer, California Emerging Technology Fund
• Peter Pardee
  Vice President, Hughes Network System
• Peter Pennekamp
  Executive Director, Humboldt Area Foundation
• Debra Richardson
  Dean, Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine
• Rollin Richmond
  President, Humboldt State University
• Larry Smarr
  Founding Director, California Institute for Telecommunications & Information Technology
• Jon Taplin
  Professor of Communication, University of Southern California
• Emy Tseng
  Project Manager of TechConnect, Department of Telecommunications & Information Services, City & County of San Francisco

For information about the California Broadband Task Force, please contact:

• Anne Neville
  Manager, California Broadband Initiative
  California Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency
  (916) 323-5480
  aneville@bth.ca.gov