The Knowledge Group
The Knowledge Group

The Global Knowledge Congress Has Scheduled a Teleconference in July 25, 2006 on the Network Neutrality Debate & Its Impact on Technology Providers

New York, NY, July 01, 2006 --(PR.com)-- The Global Knowledge Congress, the leading producer of regulatory focused teleconferences has announced today that it has scheduled a teleconference on Network Neutrality Debate and Its Impact On Technology on July 25, 2006 at 11:00 AM (EDT). For details about this event, please visit: http://knowledgecongress.org

Network Neutrality is the concept that everyone should have unobstructed access to the Internet. Some Internet providers want to block access to certain high traffic users such as VoIP customers claiming that they bog down the rest of the network. A bill is currently on the table that would give the FCC the ability to fine network operators up to $500,000 for blocking or degrading access to high volume users. The bill is set to go to a full committee vote at the end of this month. The Global Knowledge Congress has assembled a team of experts, to help analyze these changes and their impact on the companies servicing this industry. These experts will present their findings, which include a "best practice" panel, at a comprehensive two-hour teleconference scheduled for July 25, 2006.

Among the distinguished experts and panelists are Kathleen Q. Abernathy, Former FCC Chairman and Partner at top law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, Mark Cooper, Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America and Christopher Wolf, Partner of one of the nation’s largest law firms Proskauer Rose. MSNBC calls Proskauer litigator Christopher Wolf "a pioneer in Internet law."

For updated list of complete panelists, please visit www.knowledgecongress.org

About Kathleen Q. Abernathy (Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP)

Kathleen Q. Abernathy advises clients on a wide variety of policy and regulatory issues related to the telecommunications and media fields. She represents clients at both the federal and state levels as well as before various international and foreign regulatory agencies. In addition, she consults with foreign governments regarding privatization efforts.

Immediately prior to joining Akin Gump, Ms. Abernathy served as a Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate to a four-year term in 2001, she was responsible for representing the public interest in each of the policy areas under the FCC’s jurisdiction, including wireless; domestic and international telecommunications; satellite; broadcast; cable; communications equipment manufacturers; and broadband, IP and other advanced communications technologies. She was intimately involved in developing and implementing domestic policy in each of these fields. In addition, Ms. Abernathy chaired the Federal-State Joint Board on Universal Service and participated in numerous international bilateral and multilateral negotiations, including the 2002 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Plenipotentiary Conference and the 2003 ITU World Radiocommunications Conference. She was appointed by the ITU to chair the 2004 ITU Global Symposium for Regulators.

Before joining the FCC as a commissioner, Ms. Abernathy served as vice president, public policy at BroadBand Office Communications, as vice president, regulatory affairs at US West and as vice president, federal regulatory at AirTouch Communications (a predecessor company to Cingular Wireless). Earlier in her career, she served as a legal advisor to two FCC commissioners and as a special assistant to the agency’s general counsel.

Ms. Abernathy received her B.A. magna cum laude from Marquette University in 1982 and her J.D. from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law in 1983. She is a member of the District of Columbia Bar and the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Ms. Abernathy has been honored by several organizations for her professional achievements. She received the President’s Medal in 2005 from the Catholic University of America, the Forerunner Accolade in 2002 from Women in Cable and Telecommunications for her commitment to encouraging, developing and promoting women in the industry, and the Milestone Award in 2001 from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law for her exemplary service to the law school and outstanding achievement in the field of communications law. In addition, she was named one of the most powerful women in television by Electronic Media magazine (October 2002).

For more information about Ms. Abernathy and her firm, please visit: http://www.akingump.com

About Mark Cooper (Consumer Federation of America)

Dr. Mark Cooper holds a Ph.D. from Yale University and is a former Yale University and Fulbright Fellow. He is Director of Research at the Consumer Federation of America where he has responsibility for analysis and advocacy in the areas of telecommunications, media, digital rights, economic and energy policy. He has provided expert testimony in over 250 cases for public interest clients including Attorneys General, People’s Counsels, and citizen interveners before state and federal agencies, courts and legislators in almost four dozen jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada. He is the author of Media Ownership and Democracy in the Digital Information Age (Center for Internet & Society, Stanford University, 2003), Cable Mergers and Monopolies (Electronic download) (Economic Policy institute, 2002, paper), The Transformation of Egypt (Johns Hopkins, 1982), and Equity and Energy (Westview, 1983).

For more information about Mark Cooper, please visit: http://www.consumerfed.org

About Christopher Wolf (Proskauer Rose LLP)

MSNBC calls Proskauer litigator Christopher Wolf "a pioneer in Internet law." And, indeed, Chris was involved in the earliest matters involving the Internet, helping to make new law for new technologies. He was trial counsel for the old MCI in a three-month-long jury trial involving a failed joint venture for Internet-related equipment, where MCI won a complete victory. He represented The Washington Post in a high profile challenge to reporters' use of the Internet, winning summary judgment. He represented the recording industry in the first successful lawsuits against online piracy. And he was among the first lawyers to litigate domain name disputes, jurisdictional issues, and the limits to online and e-mail marketing. A more recent case involved a trademark law challenge to the use of Google "adwords" for marketing purposes.

As the Internet matured, and the privacy of personal data became an issue, Chris also was among the first to be involved in the new field of electronic privacy law. He now is regarded as one of the country's leading practitioners in the newly emerged field of privacy and data security law. Conversant in international, federal and state regulation, Chris has designed and conducted legal audits for major businesses to help ensure their compliance with this increasingly complex area of the law. He also has helped dozens of concerns deal with the applicability of the many security breach notification laws. And he has been involved with some of the largest privacy litigations, including those against the airline industry. Indicative of his standing in this area of law, the Practising Law Institute tapped Chris to be Editor and Lead Author of the 2006 legal treatise on privacy and data security law, to be called "Proskauer on Privacy."

Chris has written and spoken widely on Internet and privacy law, including at Harvard and Stanford Law Schools; as an adjunct professor at Washington & Lee University School of Law; on CLE panels such as PLI Institutes; at the Brookings Institution; at the Second Circuit Judicial Conference; at the Bar Association of the City of New York; and at international conferences in Sweden, France and Israel. Chris also is a regular commentator on NBC, CNN and MSNBC. He is a recipient of the 2005 Burton Award for Excellence in Legal Writing.

Chris is a 1980 magna cum laude, Order of the Coif graduate of the law school at Washington & Lee University, where he served on Law Review and was a Teaching Fellow. He graduated in 1976, cum laude, from Bowdoin College and was a General Course participant at the London School of Economics & Political Science. He clerked for U.S. District Judge Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr. in Washington, DC.

His community leadership includes service as Chair of the Washington, DC Governing Board of the Anti-Defamation League and service on the national ADL Executive Committee; President of the Board of Food & Friends, a social service agency; and longtime membership on the Board of the National Symphony Orchestra. Chris is a member of the Cosmos Club in Washington.

About The Global Knowledge Congress

The Global Knowledge Congress is an organization that produces teleconferences that examine regulatory changes across a variety of industries. “We bring together the world's leading authorities and industry participants through informative two-hour teleconferences to study the impact of changing regulations.” To contact, please visit: http://www.knowledgecongress.org

Contact: Thomas Lapointe, Jr., Executive Director
E-mail: tlapointe@knowledgecongress.org

Therese Lumbao, Director, Member Service
E-mail: tlumbao@knowledgecongress.org

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Contact
The Global Knowledge Congress
Thomas LaPointe, Jr., Executive Director
646-202-9344
www.knowledgecongress.org
Therese Lumbao
Director, Member Services
tlumbao@knowledgecongress.org
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