Evanston, IL – Today, the Benton Foundation officially becomes the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, elevating the institution’s focus of ensuring that the benefits of advanced broadband networks are felt in every corner of the country.

“All Americans should have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. In the Digital Age, open, affordable, robust broadband is essential for enabling all of us to reach for—and achieve—the American Dream,” said Adrianne Furniss, Executive Director. “Our new name squarely reflects our accelerating efforts to advance policies that help ensure broadband opportunities for everyone.” 

The top priorities of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society are:

• Ensuring open, affordable, high-capacity broadband for all people in the U.S. to support a thriving democracy.
• Advancing broadband policy—rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity—that delivers new opportunities and strengthens communities.
• Supporting legal and policy experts who provide long-term planning and practical day-to-day resources to strengthen the public benefits of broadband, protect democratic values, and communicate why it matters.
• Distributing the only free, reliable, and non-partisan daily news digest connecting communications, democracy, and the public interest.
• Connecting stakeholders to frame and promote more inclusive debates around broadband policy.

Furniss writes more about the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society in an article published by Benton today.

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is also thrilled to announce that renowned communications technology policy expert and current Benton Senior Counselor, Andrew Jay Schwartzman, will be joining the Institute after a distinguished tenure at Georgetown Law’s Communications and Technology Law Clinic. In addition to devoting a substantial proportion of his time to Benton’s projects, he will also continue to teach at Johns Hopkins University.

“Supporting those that fight to preserve and strengthen the public benefits of America’s communications environment is a tenet of the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society. We are delighted that Andy is dedicating more of his time to Benton and the issues that we champion,” said Furniss.

A long-time advocate for inclusion in communications policy, Schwartzman will continue to focus on core broadband deployment and adoption issues including maintaining 2015’s network neutrality rules and reforming and modernizing the Universal Service Fund Lifeline program which subsidizes the connectivity needs of low-income Americans.

“Expanding broadband deployment helps everyone, not just for those who don’t yet have it," said Schwartzman. "Enabling all Americans to communicate with each other promotes economic growth and, more importantly, the democratic process. Benton’s work is a logical extension of what it has been doing for more than 30 years.”

"Broadband has quickly emerged as the most transformative infrastructure of the century -- delivering opportunities and strengthening communities. As broadband’s capability to transform lives and society has grown, so too has it become the driving mission of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society,” concluded Furniss.

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 About the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

 

Benton, a non-profit, operating foundation, believes that communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities. Our goal is to bring open, affordable, high-capacity broadband to all people in the U.S. to ensure a thriving democracy.

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