Friday, February 10, 2012

Jokes Aplenty At The NXTComm Conference

June 19, 2007

CHICAGO -- The morning session of the NXTComm conference here today was lively and full of humor -- much of it at the expense of the presenters.

Randall Stephenson has been chairman and CEO of AT&T for just more than two weeks now, and he said he has learned a major lesson during that short period of time. "The chairman still has to take out the trash at home and feed the dog," he said. "I learned that the hard way!"

At another point in the conference, Matt Ross, the group chief technology officer at BT, polled attendees about whether they have voice-mail systems on their home telephones, personal mobile phones, work mobile phones and office phones. When nearly 2,000 folks in the audience said yes to all of the above, Ross said, "I suggest counseling."

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, meanwhile, appeared at the show by live video conference and looked quite haggard . The reason he could not make it to the prestigious event in person? His wife is expected to deliver the couple’s second child today in Washington.

Telecom executives here joked that being the dutiful dad, Martin did not want to miss the "latest rollout" in his family.
-- Gene J. Koprowski, for Technology Daily

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Juliana Gruenwald

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Juliana Gruenwald has been covering tech and telecom issues for more than a decade for National Journal, Interactive Week, BNA and Congressional Quarterly. This is her second stint with National Journal. She was recruited by NJ in 1998 to help launch its first tech policy publication, Technology Daily. She left in 2000 to cover international tech and telecom issues for Ziff Davis Media's Interactive Week magazine. She started her career at United Press International as the wire service's first Helen Thomas Intern. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota. A Minneapolis native, she misses the lakes but not the cold.


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Josh Smith covers technology policy as a staff reporter for National Journal. He previously interned at National Journal Daily, a Senate press office, and the Deseret News in Salt Lake City where he covered the state legislature, courts, and crime. In 2009 he graduated with honors from Southern Utah University after managing an award-winning student newspaper as editor-in-chief. Josh has received state, regional and national awards for his political and policy reporting, including first place in CapitolBeat’s 2009 Best of Statehouse Reporting college competition. A native of drop-dead-gorgeous Utah, Josh lives in Virginia with his wife, Amber.