ITIF Event: National Broadband Policy

Participant Biography

LARRY IRVING Technology Strategist

Larry Irving, a technology strategist, is the President of the Irving Information Group, a consulting firm providing strategic planning and market development services to international telecommunications and information technology companies. Irving is also the Co-Chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance. Prior to forming the Irving Information Group, in October 1999, Mr. Irving served for almost seven years as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information, where he was a senior advisor to the President, Vice President and Secretary of Commerce and a principal architect of the Clinton-Gore Administration’s telecommunications, Internet and E- Commerce policies and initiatives. For over two decades, Mr. Irving has played a key role in Washington and abroad in policy development affecting the telecommunications and information technology industries, including the cable and satellite television industries, high definition television, the Internet, broadband and wireless technologies.

Mr. Irving is widely credited with coining the term “the digital divide” and informing the American public about the growing problem it represents. He initiated and was the principal author of the landmark Federal survey, Falling Through the Net, which tracked access to telecommunications and information technologies, including telephones, computers and the Internet, across racial, economic, and geographic lines. In recognition of his work to promote policies and develop programs to ensure equitable access to advanced telecommunication and information technologies, Mr. Irving was named one of the fifty most influential persons in the “Year of the Internet" by Newsweek Magazine, which described him as the "Conscience of the Internet".

Experienced in and knowledgeable about a broad range of issues, including privacy, broadband networks, technological convergence, electronic commerce, intellectual property rights, wireless communications, electronic commerce, and safeguarding the integrity of digital networks, Mr. Irving is a compelling speaker (Business 2.0 magazine describes him as “one of the most passionate figures in Washington”; the Times calls him “a man of seemingly endless energy” and “one of the most outgoing and colorful personalities [in the Clinton Administration]”; and Vibe magazine describes him as “near evangelical”.) He has spoken about technology and telecommunications in virtually every state and on every continent except Antartica. He also has lectured or presented at major colleges and universities across America, including Stanford University, , Harvard University, UCLA, the University of Virginia, Columbia University, Florida State University, Howard University and the University of Pennsylvania.

A frequent commenter on technology issues, Mr. Irving has been featured on or appeared on national news programs, including CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, PBS, Fox, National Public Radio and Tech TV. He also has been profiled or featured in articles in The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Morning News, Red Herring, Business Week, The Industry Standard, Business 2.0, Black Enterprise, Electronic Media, Broadcasting and Cable Magazine, Cable World, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Financial Review, Ebony and Newsweek.

Prior to joining the Clinton-Gore Administration, Mr. Irving served ten years on Capitol Hill, most recently as Senior Counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance. He also served as Legislative Director, Counsel and Chief of Staff (acting) to the late Congressman Mickey Leland (D-). During the previous three years, Mr. Irving was associated with the Washington, D.C. law firm of Hogan and Hartson, specializing in communications law, antitrust law, and commercial litigation. Mr. Irving received a B.A. from Northwestern University in 1976 and a J.D. from Stanford University School of Law, where he was President of the Class of 1979.

Mr. Irving currently serves as Chief Strategist for the Privacy Council and is a member of the Boards of Directors of Covad Communications, Worldgate Communications, Aequus Technologies, and Anticipa LLC. He also serves on the Boards of Directors for the Independent Television Service and TrustE, the Advisory Councils for the Law, Science and Technology Program at Stanford Law School, The Annenberg School of the University of Southern and CommerceNet’s Next Generation Internet Project, and the Board of Visitors for the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences of Northwestern University. He is married to Leslie Annett Wiley and resides in Washington, DC.