What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks will virtually host his second HBCU Presidents’ Roundtable to discuss what solutions need to be implemented to ensure students, faculty, staff, and surrounding communities of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) get connected to affordable, reliable broadband during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The policies necessary to bridge the digital divide must center the most marginalized, including Black communities who have been disproportionately impacted by the health crisis.
The federal government compiles huge broadband datasets cataloguing broadband availability and subscriptions through the US Census Bureau and Federal Communications Commission, among others. These can be augmented with commercially available speed test data to provide a better insight into broadband access and availability. Gain a fuller understanding of these datasets and how to use data to strengthen your broadband planning efforts.
Speakers:
Congress passed the year-end omnibus legislation that included several broadband and connectivity expansion bills. Join NTIA staff for an overview of the new NTIA grant programs, including the Tribal Broadband Connectivity Grants, Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Grants and the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program.
Key Documents
Memorandum from Chairman Pallone to the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
Witnesses
Mr. Matthew F. Wood
Vice President of Policy and General Counsel
Free Press Action
Dr. Tiffany Anderson
Superintendent
Topeka Public Schools
Christopher M. Shelton
President
Communications Workers of America
Memorandum from Chairman Pallone to the Full Committee
Subtitle A: Budget Reconciliation Legislative Recommendations Relating to Public Health
House Commerce Committee Hopes for E-rate Boost in COVID Bill
On Feb 11, the House Commerce Committee will mark up portions of the pandemic relief package falling within its jurisdiction.
How About an Amnesty Program for Over-Zealous RDOF Winners?
As more and more stakeholders express concern that some Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) winners will not be able to deploy rural broadband meeting the service parameters to which they committed, one stakeholder has an interesting idea for what to do about this. Perhaps an RDOF amnesty program would be appropriate, suggested Jonathan Chambers, a partner with Conexon. It’s not clear why some companies allegedly were allowed to bid gigabit fixed wireless and others weren’t.
In recent years, the concept of trust has pervaded conversations about technology law and policy. Questions have abounded about the collection and use of personal data, the bias of platforms reflected in the posts they do or do not remove, and the relationships between companies and government agencies.
Speakers
Joe Sawasky, President, Merit Networks that "provides networking, security and community services to member organizations that help make our society a better place to learn, discover, work and live – while upholding the principles of an open internet."
This panel discussion will convene leaders from the African American Mayors Association, the Black Economic Alliance, the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice, and U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. The event will be live streamed via WebEx.
Moderator
- Kim Tignor, Executive Director of the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice
Confirmed Panelists