Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Reed Hundt has joined the board of directors of DSL technology start-up Assia.
Assia, led by CEO and Chairman John Cioffi, develops software tools designed to improve the speed and reach of DSL networks using dynamic spectrum management (DSM).
The company claims more than 60 million lines under contract with top-tier service providers worldwide and is backed by strategic investors, including AT&T, Mingly China Growth Fund, SFR Development, Sandalwood Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Stanford University, Swisscom Ventures, T-Ventures and Telefonica.
Hundt said, “Assia holds the key to improving broadband performance over the most widely installed and cost-effective technology available for Internet access – DSL and Wi-Fi.”
Hundt was FCC chairman from 1993-97 and helped manage the initial implementation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Since leaving the FCC, Hundt has joined the boards of several technology companies, including Intel.
He also serves on the board of directors of the United Negro College Fund and Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority. He is chairman of the Aspen Institute IDEA Project, a forum of technology and communications organizations addressing solutions to problems in the international information and communications technologies sector.
Hundt was an advisor to Barack Obama on technology and communications issues during his 2008 presidential campaign and served on the Obama transition team.