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Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D. C.  20554
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action.  Release of the full text of a Commission order
constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

  

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT

March 7, 2012
 
Neil Grace, (202) 418-0506
  neil.grace@fcc.gov

FCC CHAIRMAN JULIUS GENACHOWSKI ANNOUNCES PUBLIC-PRIVATE 

INITIATIVE TO HELP DRIVE FCC BROADBAND AGENDA

Appoints Josh Gottheimer as Director, Jordan Usdan as Deputy Director

Washington, D.C. – FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski today announced a new Public-Private Initiative 
to drive collaboration among government and private sector entities, including non-profit organizations, 
on broadband-related national priorities.  This initiative will advance key broadband goals, including 
those outlined in the National Broadband Plan, such as broadband adoption, digital literacy, technology 
and education, cybersecurity, public safety, job creation, and broadband and healthcare.  Chairman 
Genachowski appointed his Senior Counselor, Josh Gottheimer, to lead the initiative for the Commission.  
While Mr. Gottheimer’s primary focus will be on leading this Initiative, he will continue to serve as the 
Chairman’s Senior Counselor.  
Chairman Genachowski said, “For nearly two years, Josh Gottheimer has helped focus private and public 
sector actors on delivering innovative solutions to connect every American with high-speed Internet, drive 
job creation, and empower consumers.  This entrepreneurial approach has delivered major advances in 
areas such as technology and education, broadband adoption, cybersecurity, and public safety.” 
In addition, the Chairman announced that Jordan Usdan will serve as Deputy Director of the Public-
Private Initiative. Mr. Usdan will continue to help coordinate the Commission’s public and private 
partnership efforts on broadband adoption, digital textbooks, cybersecurity, online safety, and broadband 
performance issues.  He joined the Commission in 2009 from Howrey LLP, in Washington, DC, where he 
practiced after receiving his law degree from Georgetown. Previously at the Commission, Mr. Usdan 
served as an Advisor in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and as a Program Manager for the 
National Broadband Taskforce, where he focused on implementation, broadband adoption, international 
policies, and consumer transparency.  He also led the development of the FCC’s fixed and mobile 
broadband speed tests and the Open Internet Apps Challenge.
The initiative builds on the success of the Commission’s efforts to encourage public-private initiatives to 
advance the country’s broadband goals, including Connect to Compete, a broadband adoption program 
with national digital literacy and low-cost broadband offerings; the Digital Textbooks Initiative, between 
the Department of Education, the education technology industry, and nonprofit organizations; the FCC’s 
cybersecurity small business initiative, between government experts and private IT and security 
companies; Jobs4America, an initiative that has committed to bringing more than 100,000 new and 
repatriated call center jobs to the U.S. by 2013; and a joint effort with mobile carriers on a new 
nationwide public safety emergency alerting system.
- FCC -

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