Agenda

Sponsor: 

Brookings Institution

Date: 
Tue, 10/31/2023 - 10:00 to 11:00

How much longer will powerful technology companies operate with limited public oversight? Who is making the rules of the digital age? These are the questions central to Brookings’ Visiting Fellow Tom Wheeler’s new book, “Techlash: Who Makes the Rules in the Digital Gilded Age?“ In “Techlash,” Wheeler compares the present digital age to the last great technology—driven era—the Gilded Age, drawing comparisons between the two that offer solutions to help us navigate the current digital era. 



Will BEAD Networks Offer Affordable Service?

The Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program—established by Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—gives priority to projects that will result in broadband internet access service being offered in areas where service wasn't available before. Given that federal funds will provide 75 percent of the costs to deploy these networks, the chances that competing networks will be built at any time in the foreseeable future are very slim.

NTIA's Model Low-Cost Broadband Service Option

In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress requires Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program subgrantees (the entities that will build and maintain the new broadband networks) to offer "at least one low-cost broadband service option for eligible subscribers." Congress tasked the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which oversees the BEAD Program, to define who the eligible subscribers are—and left it to states, territories, and the District of Columbia (known as "Eligible Entities") to define what low-cost broadband service options a

Finally, some rules for the internet

Net neutrality has become the Washington equivalent of a Hollywood franchise: As if the sequel to the sequel weren’t enough, another installment of the debate over rules for the internet’s roads arrived this month. This time, however, there’s a plot twist. What, exactly, net neutrality rules look like matters less than that there are meaningful rules for broadband more generally.

Sponsor: 

Brookings

Date: 
Tue, 11/14/2023 - 14:00 to 15:30

Brookings Senior Fellow Mark MacCarthy’s new publication, “Regulating Digital Industries: How Public Oversight Can Encourage Competition, Protect Privacy, and Ensure Free Speechis the first book to address the tech backlash within a coherent policy framework.



Governor Carney, Delaware Department of Technology and Information, Share Broadband Update, Next Steps

Governor John Carney (D-DE) joined state leaders and representatives of Comcast, Verizon, Mediacom, and the Communication Workers of America (CWA) at the Innovation Technology Exploration Center to celebrate progress on broadband expansion and preview next steps.

Senators Call on Department of Commerce and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to Streamline Broadband Funding for Rural America

We write to urge the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to make the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program more accessible to unconnected regions across the country by considering alternatives to the program’s irrevocable standby Letter of Credit (LOC) requirement. One alternative to the LOC requirement is the use of performance bonds, which are commonly used in construction projects.

Commissioner Starks' Remarks at 2023 HUD ConnectHomeUSA Virtual Summit

Simply put, if a household is receiving federal housing assistance, that household should be connected. We’ve made great progress getting eligible households connected. Through the Federal Communications Commission and Department of Housing and Urban Development’s ongoing partnership, we have made it easier than ever to enroll in the Affordable Connectivity Program. But there is more work to do. Approximately 5 million households receive federal housing assistance and are eligible for ACP.

AARP Urges Congress to Extend Funding for Internet Discounts

AARP urged Congress to support critical funding, included in the President’s domestic supplemental request, for the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Affordable high-speed internet service is especially important for older Americans, many on fixed incomes, who have too often been left behind. The ACP, created by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, has helped more than 21 million households—including 9.3 million age 50 and older—get and stay online.

Biden’s Supplemental War Games

The upside to the House GOP’s 22 days of paralysis is that the election of Speaker Mike Johnson offers a reset.

White House requests $3 Billion to fill rip and replace funding gap

Competitive Carriers Association CEO Tim Donovan said he’s encouraged by the White House’s request to Congress to fill the $3 billion gap in the Federal Communications Commission’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, aka “Rip and Replace.” But it’s critical that the funding gets allocated ASAP, he added. Of course, when legislation actually clears both the House and Senate is anyone’s guess. The Senate Appropriations Committee has a hearing scheduled on Oct 31 to review the administration’s national security supplemental request.

Open Access Networks Poised to Turn up the Heat in the U.S. Broadband Market

The open access fiber network business model consists of a network operator who builds, manages and owns the fiber network and multiple ISPs who sell wholesale access to the network and resell it to residential and business customers. The ISPs are responsible for all the customer acquisition and support costs/activities, while the network operator is responsible for network operations. This type of shared network model is very popular in Europe largely because regulators have mandated it to level the competitive playing field.

Sponsor: 

Network:On, National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), Broadband Breakfast, Comcast

Date: 
Tue, 11/14/2023 - 12:00 to Wed, 11/15/2023 - 13:00

A hybrid event focused on the policies and tools necessary to close the digital adoption gap for good. The Connect20 Summit will explore how digital navigator programs have connected millions of households to the Internet through initiatives such as the Affordable Connectivity Program by breaking down barriers to connectivity including adoption, affordability, and access.

The Connect20 Summit will feature remarks from policymakers, expert panels, collaborative exercises, and opportunities to connect with key partners that are leading the way on digital adoption.



Will Broadband Be Affordable? Highlights from an Expert Panel

On October 2, AEI hosted an expert panel to discuss how price controls might affect broadband affordability and ways to ensure broadband is affordable for all Americans. The panel featured New Street Research’s Jonathan Chaplin, Duke University’s Michelle P.

White House Calls on Congress to Support Critical Domestic Needs

The Administration continues to call on Congress to reach a comprehensive, bipartisan agreement to fund the Government, which is critical for a number of bipartisan priorities – including child care, nutrition assistance, public health, research and development, and national security.

FCC's November 2023 Open Meeting Agenda

Here’s everything we have on deck for our November Open Meeting.

Sponsor: 

Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy

Harvard Kennedy School

 

Date: 
Wed, 11/01/2023 - 16:30 to 18:00

A conversation about the future of information and the ways that government, academia, private companies and civil society can each take a role in preserving and rebuilding trust in our institutions.



FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel's Remarks at 41st Annual Everett C. Parker Lecture

The Parker Lecture matters because Everett Parker matters. He stood for justice and stood up to the FCC when it approved the license of a Jackson, Mississippi television station that was suppressing Black voices. He petitioned the agency to change course and he had something I think is common to all changemakers—tenacity. Because he took that case all the way to the Supreme Court. And he prevailed in a milestone decision that opened the door for an African American to lead WLBT and for more minority voices to be broadcast over the airwaves.

FCC to Vote on Rules to Prevent and Eliminate Digital Discrimination

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Rosenworcel is proposing final rules to prevent discrimination in access to broadband services based on income level, race, ethnicity, color, religion, and national origin. The rules will be voted on by the full Commission at its November 15 Open Commission Meeting. If adopted, they would establish a balanced framework to facilitate equal access to broadband internet service by preventing digital discrimination. Under these rules, the FCC could protect consumers by:

FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Unveils 'Safe Connections' for Domestic Violence Survivors

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced at the National Conference on Domestic Violence that she will be sharing with her colleagues an Order that would help domestic violence survivors access safe and affordable connectivity. The proposed rules would implement key provisions in the Safe Connections Act of 2022 to support survivors of domestic abuse and other related crimes seeking to maintain critical connections with friends, family, and support networks. If adopted at the FCC's November 15, 2023 open meeting, the Order would:

Sponsor: 

Institute for Local Self-Reliance

Date: 
Mon, 10/30/2023 - 14:00

The Business of Broadband webinars will hone in on how Indigenous networks approach the business of broadband, how they can be structured, how they price their services, and how they can strategically plan for their sustainability.



Coalition Letter Opposes Biden Administration Push for Broadband Rate Regulation

We, the undersigned advocates for responsible government, write to express our concern with the Biden Administration’s blatant disregard for Congressional intent in its attempts to impose price controls on broadband Internet access service. These attempts exhibit a pattern of behavior whereby Administration officials say one thing while doing the opposite. In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), Congress spoke its bipartisan will: there shall be no rate regulation of broadband.

BEAD program stirs debate as states navigate high-cost threshold

As states and territories define high-cost thresholds for their Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) proposals, the industry finds itself divided on the best approach. Under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress established a preference for "priority broadband projects" that meet high performance standards, can scale with needs over time, and will enable the deployment of 5G. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has since determined that "end-to-end fiber optic facilities" are the platform most likely to satisfy those requirements.

Brightspeed and Ziply CEOs unpack fiber deployment challenges

USTelecom hosted its annual Broadband Investment Forum, in which internet service providers (ISPs) and policymakers came together to discuss the most poignant issues in the industry. One of the sessions featured Brightspeed CEO Tom Maguire and Ziply Fiber CEO Harold Zeitz, who shared their respective approaches to fiber deployment and how they view the broader competitive landscape. When Brightspeed began operations last fall, its initial goal was to try and hit as many households as possible, said Maguire.