Presented by
Kenneth Adams
President & CEO
May 20, 2008
Good afternoon.
Members of the Committee, I am Ken Adams, President and CEO of the Business Council of New York State.
The Council is the largest business organization and leading advocate for economic development in New York State. Its membership is comprised of thousands of member companies -- both large and small -- as well as local chambers of commerce and professional and trade associations.
For the New York business community, advanced data and video technology is a critical factor in deciding whether to start up, grow or relocate a business in the state. The video franchise agreement now pending approval before this committee demonstrates that New York City is committed to its business community by fostering a next-generation data, voice and video communications infrastructure along with robust competition.
Probably no organization understands the value of choice and competition better than the Council. Every day, our members are competing for customers and business. Verizon's all-fiber network delivered right to the door is like no other. It will have enough capacity to accommodate all kinds of new two-way video applications – including crystal-clear video conferencing, online employee training, interactive website, home health care reporting and more. It also affords opportunities for businesses to more efficiently extend their customer reach, manage databases and interconnect with offsite business units. These technologies are enormously beneficial to our members and to the small businesses throughout the city.
As a representative of the New York business community, I ask this committee to speedily support Verizon's video franchise agreement.
Thank you