i2Coalition Charters Internet Community Leadership Award At Smarter Internet Forum

This morning, the Internet Infrastructure Coalition presented Ron Yokubaitis, Co-founder of VPN provider GoldenFrog, with the group’s inaugural Internet Community Leadership Award.

Ron Yokubaitis has contributed to the Internet community and the innovation of the Internet for over 20 years. He has founded multiple companies, beginning with Texas.net in 1995 with his wife Carolyn, and later Giganews (the world’s leading Usenet provider), GoldenFrog and DataFoundry. Ron has been one the most vocal supporters of Internet freedom in Texas and the United States since the beginning of his career.

“Ron Yokubaitis is a digital pioneer – an entrepreneur that has been fighting since the birth of the commercial Internet to make sure that it stays free and open.” said i2Coalition co-founder and Executive Director, Christian Dawson. “When i2Coalition was created to speak for the Internet’s infrastructure, we stepped into a field where one bold, strong voice already existed, and that was Ron. I am proud to make him the first recipient of i2Coalition’s award for Internet Community Leadership.”

The award was presented during the opening remarks of the first day of its Smarter Internet Forum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The award will be known as Ron Yokubaitis Internet Community Leadership Award going forward, and will be presented annually to other Internet community leaders at future Smarter Internet Forum events in the years to come.

As part of the i2Coalition’s ongoing partnership with M3AAWG, The Smarter Internet Forum is being held in conjunction with their 37th General Meeting in Philadelphia. The Smarter Internet Forum provides i2Coalition members with access to exclusive panels, in person working group meetings, a happy hour and more! i2Coalition members also have guest members status at all M3AAWG panels and events.