Policymakers

President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Basil Ivanhoe Gooden for Under Secretary of Rural Development in the Department of Agriculture. Gooden currently serves as the Director of State Operations for the Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Rural Development. Appointed to this position in July 2021, he is responsible for providing leadership, support, and supervision to the 47 State Directors in USDA Rural Development.

The Leadership Conference Education Fund launched an unprecedented initiative to create a fair, just, opportunity-rich, and rights-advancing future for all in the face of artificial intelligence with the creation of "The Center for Civil Rights and Technology." The Center will serve as a convener, collaborator, and communicator on policy issues, ideas, and potential innovations that can advance, as well as protect, equity in society. It will be a pioneering hub for the civil rights community and other civil society organizations, academics, researchers, technologists, and the private sector

“Americans need an FCC that is fully equipped to expand access to affordable high-speed internet, protect and strengthen local news broadcasting, and promote spectrum innovation and emerging technologies,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell. “With today’s bipartisan vote confirming Anna Gomez as its fifth commissioner, the FCC has gained an extremely qualified, thoughtful leader who will bring her expertise and consumer-focus to deliver on these priorities.”

The Senate confirmed Anna Gomez to the Federal Communications Commission, breaking the deadlock at the agency that has lasted the entirety of the Biden presidency. The vote in favor was 55-43. Gomez’s confirmation comes after a protracted battle to confirm Biden’s initial pick for the commissioner seat, Gigi Sohn.

As the US sets out to get everyone connected to broadband, it’s about more than just making sure broadband is available everywhere.

There are a large number of wireless and wired telecommunications trade associations; so many that it can be hard to keep track. Fierce Telecom created this list of the most well-known trade groups in the industry.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau (WCB) seeks nominations for the following Board member positions on the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) listed below for a three-year term:

The Federal Communications Commission is seeking nominations for membership on the Technological Advisory Council (TAC). Following consultation with the General Services Administration, the FCC anticipates renewing the charter of the TAC, for a period of two (2) years starting on or about September 7, 2023.

A group of prominent media, tech and research executives have raised nearly $3 million to launch an independent policy research center focused on addressing global internet issues, such as disinformation, algorithmic accountability, and the economic health of the news industry. While the Center for News, Technology & Innovation (CNTI) is not designed to lobby or advocate on behalf of specific policy proposals, it does hope to influence future internet policy toward maintaining an open internet and an independent press.

Permitting has long been the bane of broadband deployments across the country, but a little-known federal council is working to change that.