Gillett will head Massachusetts Broadband Institute

Boston Globe
April 30, 2009
By Chris Reidy, Globe staff

Governor Deval L. Patrick has appointed Sharon E. Gillett (right) as the director of the Massachusetts Broadband Institute, an agency working to bridge the digital divide and deliver the benefits of high-speed Internet service to every community in the Commonwealth by 2011, Patrick's office said.

Previously, Gillett was a principal research associate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology's School of Engineering, specializing in broadband-related public policy. She served as chair of the Broadband Working Group for the industry-sponsored Communications Futures Program at MIT, and she was a member of the Boston Wireless Task Force established by Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, a press release from Patrick's office said.

The press release also noted, "Gillett was tapped two years ago by Governor Patrick to serve as the first commissioner of the newly established Department of Telecommunications and Cable, a statewide regulatory agency that oversees telecommunications and cable television services."

Patrick said in a statement: “Investing in broadband is essential to ensuring that our businesses can compete in the global economy, that our children receive the highest quality education, and that our citizens have access to high quality health care and other vital public safety services. I am confident that Sharon’s leadership and expertise will be a tremendous asset as we accelerate broadband deployment efforts throughout the state.”