FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  August 28, 2007
CONTACT:  Bobbie Fisher, Director of Corporate Communications, 757.889.9107

WHRO CEO APPOINTED TO GOVERNOR’S ROUNDTABLE

Committee Will Develop Blueprint for Insuring Statewide Access to Broadband

NORFOLK:  Bert Schmidt, President and Chief Executive Officer of public broadcaster WHRO, has been appointed to Governor Tim Kaine’s Broadband Roundtable Outreach Committee, a group of executives from telecommunications, academia, industry and the public sector that is charged with developing a telecommunications blueprint to advance the Governor’s goal of ensuring broadband access for every Virginia business.

The group, which will be led by former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner and Virginia Secretary of Technology Aneesh Chopera, is scheduled to begin its work this summer, with its final report due by July 2008.

The Roundtable will concentrate its efforts on five areas critical to the delivery of low-cost, last-mile service: Broadband Adoption, Technology, Innovative Applications, Business Models, and Community Outreach.  The Roundtable will coordinate its efforts with those of the Wireless Broadband Telecommunications Subcommittee of the Joint Commission on Technology and Science, co-chaired by Senator William Wampler (R-Bristol), and Delegate Joe May (R-Leesburg).

“Governor Kaine has called broadband access a priority for his administration, and I’m proud to serve on this roundtable,” said Schmidt.  “The initiative will not only serve rural Virginia companies who don't have easy access to low-cost, high-speed Internet service, but will also establish Virginia as a player in the increasingly global economy.”

WHRO is a regional media company that promotes education, culture and citizenship to the citizens of Hampton Roads, Virginia through a variety of services.  Every day, thousands of viewers and listeners tune in to broadcast programming on WHRO's public television and two public radio stations.  Since its founding more than 45 years ago to support education, WHRO has employed creativity and technology to serve its mission to enrich audiences through content that educates, entertains and promotes understanding. Owned by 17 local school divisions, WHRO delivers educational and new media services to 286,000 students and 25,000 educators per month as well.