Yassini Broadband Knowledge Center Opens Call for Submissions for $200,000 Research Grant Program; Broadband Thought Leaders Bergman, Bowick, Fawaz, Fellows, Hayashi, Hildenbrand, Nair, O'Carroll Named as Advisors

The program, which provides total funding of $200,000 and research support at the Broadband Knowledge Center for four post-graduate projects per year, will award its first grant on September 10, 2008. Submission materials and guidelines are now available at the website of YAS Broadband Ventures (http://www.yas.com). The deadline for initial short-form applications is July 4, 2008.

In conjunction with the submission process, Yassini also announced the formation of an Advisory Board of broadband experts and visionaries that will be actively involved in the evaluation process. The board includes Chris Bowick, CTO, Cox Communications; Marwan Fawaz, CTO, Charter Communications; Dave Fellows, Executive Fellow, Comcast; Mike Hayashi, Executive Vice President, Advanced Engineering, Time Warner Cable; Wilt Hildenbrand, former Executive Vice President and CTO, Cablevision; Balan Nair, CTO of Liberty Global, Inc.; and Dermot O'Carroll, Senior Vice President, Network Engineering and Operations, Rogers Cable; with Nomi Bergman, Executive Vice President of Strategy and Development for Advance Newhouse Communications, serving as an advisor. Fellows will serve as chairman of the advisory board.

The advisory board will review proposals together with an operations team of entrepreneurs and executives including: Paul Nikolich, Chair of IEEE 802; Chris Grobicki, Technical Advisor; Gerry White, CTO, and Dr. Itzhak Gurantz, Founder and CTO of Entropic Communications. Liz Weeks of YAS will oversee the application process.

"When we embarked on this initiative, we recognized the importance of leveraging expertise from the thought leaders who have contributed to broadband's growth over the past 10 years," said Yassini. "Our board and advisory members -- Nomi Bergman, Chris Bowick, Marwan Fawaz, Dave Fellows, Mike Hayashi, Wilt Hildenbrand, Balan Nair and Dermot O'Carroll -- have been among the driving forces in accelerating how broadband can change the way lives are lived and business is conducted. I'm extremely grateful to all of them and to Paul, Chris, Gerry, Itzhak and Liz for the time and energy they have committed to this project."

"An ideal situation for broadband innovation is one in which research can be conducted independent of any corporate or standards agenda," said Fellows. "By combining scholarly research, access to subject matter experts and a true broadband laboratory in a non-partisan environment, we believe we can accelerate time to market for the broadband applications that offer the greatest potential for new jobs and new contributions to humanity."

Upon selection, the individuals or teams involved in the winning submission will embark on a six-week hands-on training session at the Yassini Broadband Knowledge Center to familiarize them with the tools available for their research. The following nine months will include extensive mentoring and collaboration between the visiting students and the members of the Center. At the end of the learning cycle, participants will present their research at an annual Broadband Summit.

The nation's first fully operational broadband-based intelligent building, the Yassini Broadband Knowledge Center is a $10 million, state-of-the-art broadband laboratory located at historic 79 Newbury Street, inBoston. It features a series (50+) of consumer-oriented broadband applications and a hands-on learning environment, tightly focused on targeted and interactive advertising, content, in-home applications and bandwidth expansion. The center leverages IP technology for all broadband communications services, and is envisioned as a nexus for advanced consumer-oriented broadband research, cross industry collaboration and public education on the ability of broadband to positively impact humanity worldwide.

About the Yassini Broadband Knowledge Center

A project of YAS Broadband Ventures, the Yassini Broadband Knowledge Center's ultimate goal is answer humanity's most pressing needs through the technologies that truly connect mankind globally. Through careful analysis of the work of universities, the consumer electronics industry, and entrepreneurs around the globe, the Center's experts match emerging initiatives and technologies to the opportunities of the broadband world. A key focus of the Center's mission of collaboration and cooperation among universities, global professionals and associated YAS experts has been the creation of a Ph.D.- quality research program which awards four $50,000 grants annually. The research projects are specifically tailored to use the best aspects of broadband technology to meet the Yassini family's stated goals of improving the quality of life for mankind, reducing dependence on fossil fuels and contributing to a "greener" environment.

About Rouzbeh Yassini

Yassini founded LANcity, a lead maker of cable modems, in 1991. He sold LANcity to Bay Networks in 1996. From there, he led the development of the CableLabs cable modem specification and interoperability program, known industrially as DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification). Yassini and the YAS team were also contributors to the Comcast RNG program. In 2003, he authored "Planet Broadband," which details his vision of the overall impact of broadband on mankind and society. He was named Man of the Year by CED Magazine in 1999, was honored with the National Cable Television Association's highest award, the Vanguard Award, in 2004, and has received two honorary doctorate degrees in science.

SOURCE Yassini Broadband Knowledge Center

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