Agenda

From my perch as the head of our Nation’s expert agency on communications, I can’t help but be an optimist about the future of AI. Every day I see how communications networks power our world. I know how their expansion and evolution can change commercial and civic life. I also know the power of those communications networks can grow exponentially when we can use AI to understand how to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of our networks. Because the day is not far off when we will be able to use this technology to help self-configure, self-optimize, and self-heal facilities.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the 2023 August Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 3, 2023:

President Biden's March 2023 National Cybersecurity Strategy lays out a vision for cyberspace. It outlines a path for achieving two significant shifts: the need for more capable actors in cyberspace to bear more of the responsibility for cybersecurity and the need to increase incentives to make investments in long term-resilience. The Implementation Plan is structured by pillar and strategic objective, to align with the National Cybersecurity Strategy, which has the following 5 pillars and strategic objectives:

Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) and Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA) Executive Director Brandon Carson highlighted the Shapiro Administration’s plans to expand broadband access across the Commonwealth using more than $1.16 billion in funding through the federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program and outlined plans to ensure every Pennsylvanian can access the internet. The Commonwealth will receive $1.16 billion to expand broadband infrastructure to communities that currently lack reliable, affordable, high-speed internet access.

It’s becoming clear that we are now deep into a fiber land-grab. By that, I mean that companies that overbuild fiber are moving as quickly as possible into markets to build fiber. The biggest broadband providers have publicly discussed their plans for building a lot of fiber in 2023. I call it a land grab because these providers are all hoping to get to towns and neighborhoods first in order to dissuade anybody else from building fiber there.

Connect Humanity is excited to announce that Connect Humanity and Appalachian Community Capital are partnering to raise a $25 million fund Investing in Digital Equity in Appalachia (IDEA).

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to her colleagues to initiate a proceeding to understand challenges related to distribution and supply in the video market, especially as it relates to independent programming. If adopted, this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking would initiate a new proceeding to seek comment on the current state of the marketplace for diverse and independent programming.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel asked her fellow Commissioners to support a proposal that would take further steps to enhance cybersecurity protections to protect school networks. Chairwoman Rosenworcel shared a plan to create a pilot program to invest in cybersecurity services for eligible K-12 schools and libraries.

The House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology advanced legislation to reauthorize the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and ensure the agency is advancing American leadership in the telecommunications sector. Approved bills include: