The Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC) today announced the recipients of CLIC’s 2016 Local Internet Choice Awards. CLIC established its national awards to honor individuals and organizations for their extraordinary contributions to the preservation and protection of local decision-making in critical broadband infrastructure matters. These awardees will be honored during CLIC’s luncheon event on October 18, 2016 in Minneapolis, MN as part of our day-long focus on An Action Plan for Local Internet Choice in 2017 and Beyond.
The 2016 Local Internet Choice Award recipients are:
- Local Internet Choice Local Champion
Dr. Robert Wack, Council President, Westminster, Maryland – For his visionary leadership as a local elected official to build fiber optics throughout Westminster in partnership with the private sector, in a living embodiment of local innovation and local Internet choice.
- Local Internet Choice State Champion Award
Elin Swanson Katz, Consumer Counsel, Office of Consumer Counsel,
State of Connecticut, New Britain, CT – For her singular and exemplary leadership at the state level on behalf of the state of Connecticut’s consumers, businesses, and localities, to accelerate the emergence of advanced communications networks for community and economic development throughout Connecticut.
- Local Internet Choice Private Sector Champions
Elliott Noss, CEO, TING Internet
Derek Slater, Senior Policy Manager, GOOGLE Fiber
To each, for his unparalleled support for local decision making and local Internet choice on behalf of their respective companies.
- Local Internet Choice Legislative Advocacy Award
Colorado Communications and Utility Alliance (CCUA) – For its exemplary conviction, hard work, and skill in defeating state legislation that would have significantly impaired the ability of local Colorado communities to provide or partner for the provision of advanced communications capabilities.
- Local Internet Choice Federal Policy Leadership Award
The Honorable Cory Booker, U.S. Senator, State of New Jersey – For his visionary leadership in the Senate in support of local opportunity, local innovation, and local Internet choice, and for introducing legislation—the Community Broadband Act of 2015—to advance local Internet choice.
The Honorable Anna Eshoo, U.S. Representative, State of California – For her visionary leadership in the House of Representatives in support of local opportunity, local innovation, and local Internet choice, and for recently introducing legislation—the Community Broadband Act of 2016—to restore community authority in broadband decision-making across the county.
The Honorable Edward J. Markey, U.S. Senator, State of Massachusetts – For his decades of leadership in both the House and Senate in support of local opportunity, local innovation, and local Internet choice, and for both introducing legislation in pursuit of local Internet choice and blocking legislation that would impair it.
- National Leadership Award
Chattanooga EPB – For its extraordinary leadership in bringing advanced communications services and capabilities to the businesses, institutions, and residents to its community, for seeking to make such services and capabilities available in neighboring communities, and for advancing local Internet choice throughout Tennessee and beyond by courageously and successfully petitioning of the FCC to preempt the anti-competitive provisions of Tennessee’s communications laws.
City of Wilson – For its extraordinary leadership in bringing advanced communications services and capabilities to the businesses, institutions, and residents of its community, for making such services and capabilities available to neighboring communities, and for advancing local Internet choice throughout North Carolina and beyond by courageously and successfully petitioning of the FCC to preempt the anti-competitive provisions of North Carolina’s communications laws.