Cisco at the weekend announced that Dr Robert Pepper, Cisco’s vice president of global technology policy, will moderate the ministerial panel at the launch of the Alliance for Affordable Internet, a coalition to lead policy and regulatory reform and spur action to drive down artificially high internet prices in developing countries.
By advocating for open, competitive and innovative broadband markets, A4AI aims to help access prices fall to below 5% of monthly income worldwide, a target set by the UN Broadband Commission.
Reaching this goal can help to connect the two-thirds of the world that is presently not connected to the internet, according to ITU and make universal access a reality.
Dr Pepper, sits on the A4AI advisory council and will moderate a panel discussion with ministerial experts on the topic: What mechanisms are being employed to respond to technological change – how does this impact on regulation and policy?
Cisco is focused on helping businesses and governments drive sustainable growth in Africa by providing network-based technologies that help organizations innovate, drive new business models, increase productivity and create new jobs.
Through its long-term commitment and investment in Africa, Cisco is helping governments, businesses and citizens build an economically sustainable future through the intelligent application of ICT.
“One of the most important steps government and business leaders in Africa can take to encourage social and economic transformation is to focus on delivering universal broadband access. I’m looking forward to a robust discussion on how we can accelerate affordable broadband take-up across the continent, so that Africa can truly benefit from the Internet of Everything”, Dr. Pepper.
Dr. Robert Pepper leads Cisco’s Global Technology Policy team in areas such as broadband, IP-enabled services, wireless, security, privacy and ICT development.
He joined Cisco in 2005 from the FCC where he served as Chief of the Office of Plans and Policy and Chief of Policy Development beginning in 1989 where he focused on telecommunications regulation, spectrum policy, and policies promoting the development of the Internet.
Before joining government, he held faculty appointments at the Universities of Pennsylvania, Iowa and Indiana, and was a research affiliate at Harvard University. He serves on the board of directors of the U.S. Telecommunications Training Institute (USTTI), advisory boards for Columbia University and Michigan State University, and is a Communications Program Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
He is a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Spectrum Management Advisory Committee and the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy.
Pepper received his BA. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.