Juarros

0

Jesse Juarros

Assistant General Manager

Information Technology Agency

City of Los Angeles

Jesse Juarros has only been with the city of Los Angeles for eight months, but as the point man for broadband access issues, he’s already had a big impact.

Juarros, the No. 2 man at the Information Technology Agency, was principal architect of a controversial report released in June recommending that the city not order cable companies to open up their networks to Internet service providers and phone companies. That report has become a lightning rod in the debate surrounding cable broadband access.

Juarros, 37, has spent most of his working life tackling public policy issues, from cleaning up the region’s air as a project manager at the South Coast Air Quality Management District to administering the cable franchise for the city of Santa Clarita. It was in the latter post, which he held for seven years until last fall, that Juarros first encountered broadband issues.

“Once I saw that cable would bring not just video but voice and data, I immediately saw the challenge of trying to come up with a policy,” Juarros said.

Santa Clarita, though, is hardly a major battleground for cable broadband access. To get closer to the action, Juarros took the L.A. post. What he didn’t count on was the fact that L.A. has become ground zero in the national debate over broadband access. “I never realized this would be such a hot nationwide issue, with L.A. at the center,” he said.

In the brief time he’s been at the ITA, Juarros has won plaudits from players on both sides as someone who has the ability to sort through the conflicting claims to come up with a clear, coherent position.

“Even though I disagree with the position he’s taken, he’s a straight shooter,” said George Kieffer, an attorney with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, which is representing GTE Internetworking Inc. in the broadband access debate. GTE favors immediate access to cable broadband lines.

For now, Juarros’ main work on broadband access has been completed. The report now gets taken up by the L.A. City Council, which could debate the issue later this year. However, Juarros figures to remain a key player, whether in implementing the city’s policy or in coming up with alternatives.

Howard Fine

No posts to display