RIT Dean Named to NYS Broadband Council

By Peter Iglinski

Henrietta, NY – A dean at the Rochester Institute of Technology will will be working on the state level to expand broadband Internet access to all New Yorkers.

Jorge Diaz-Herrera is the Dean of the university's College of Computing and Information Sciences. Governor Paterson has appointed Diaz-Herrera to the state's Broadband Development and Deployment Council.

Diaz-Herrera says part of the problem is that it's not known how much of the state is without broadband. But he says it includes some inner cities and rural areas. Diaz-Herrera knows about the problem on a personal level. He lives in West Bloomfield, about 20 miles from downtown Rochester. His own house does not have broadband access. He says it stops about three miles from his home.

Diaz-Herrera says resolving the problem will require the installation of fiber-optic cables, which is not cheap.

He says the issue is very important because our entire economy depends on the Internet.

Diaz-Herrera will specifically serve on the council's Digital Literacy and Adoption Committee.