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Baller has spent his career promoting the expansion of broadband at the national scale
Photo of Jim Baller
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2024—The Institute for Local Self-Reliance presented Jim Baller, senior counsel in Keller and Heckman’s telecom law practice, with the Local Self-Reliance Lifetime Achievement Award during the organization’s 50th anniversary celebration on Wednesday.
The Institute for Local Self-Reliance describes itself as a group promoting government policies supporting thriving local economies, and touted its work in helping communities access healthcare, employment and educational opportunities, and other resources as a result of the vigorous development of community broadband networks.
“I am very grateful for this award, which highlights my dedication to informed local broadband choice,” Baller said in a press release from the law firm. “Thank you to the Local Institute of Self-Reliance for this recognition and for emphasizing the positive impact of community-driven broadband initiatives.”
Baller has spent his career fighting obstacles to community broadband initiatives, developing public-private broadband partnerships, providing legal services in support of high-capacity broadband networks, and negotiating attachments to poles, conduits, towers, and other broadband infrastructure.
The U.S. Broadband Coalition, with Baller as the founder and president, promoted the adoption of and provided an outline for a national broadband strategy.
This broadband plan helped inform the framework in the Federal Communication Commission’s eventual National Broadband Plan.