Report on past event

Based on today’s presentations, I don’t think there is any question that, on every count, we did the work and delivered for the people of the United States. Working together, we were able to build the largest broadband affordability effort in our Nation’s history. Working together, we launched the first-ever Space Bureau and created a Single Network Future that is going to change communications around the globe. Working together, we built broadband maps that are light years ahead of anything that came before.

The incoming Trump administration should not pause the government’s $42.5 billion effort to end the digital divide, said Brandy Reitter, head of Colorado’s broadband office. There’s been speculation the Trump administration might alter some Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) rules the GOP has been strongly critical of, from its fiber preference to its low-cost service requirement for low-income households served on subsidized infrastructure.

On December 31, 2024, Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel released a note reflecting on the agency's work over the course of 2024. "The end of the year is always a time for reflection," Chairwoman Rosenworcel said. "That’s especially true for me in 2024 as my service at the Federal Communications Commission is coming to a close. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve in this role and a special privilege to be the first woman confirmed to do so." The Chairwoman categorized her time at the FCC into five core values:

Rep Bob Latta (R-OH) said he hoped the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction off spectrum could be restored in a budget reconciliation bill in 2025. Latta chairs the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee, which deals with telecommunications issues. It’s part of the House Commerce Committee, which Rep Latta said is “going to play a large part in” a reconciliation bill. Budget reconciliations allow lawmakers to bypass the Senate’s filibuster and move spending bills with a bare majority.

In my first public remarks on the space economy after becoming Chairwoman, I laid out three priorities for the FCC’s space agenda.

The next four years of telecommunications policy will be unlike anything Wall Street and other stakeholders have ever seen, according to one long-time analyst and former Federal Communications Commission staff member who has seen his share of changes and administrations over the past three decades. “The questions for investors are, what does the President want to have happen, and then how does that get implemented? How do the governors react to that?” said Blair Levin, U.S. Policy and Regulatory Advisor, New Street Research.

US Representative Bob Latta (R-OH) said, "Congratulations to Brendan Carr on being named the next Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission by President-elect Trump. Commissioner Carr has been steadfast in his work at the FCC to help close the digital divide, protect free speech, and safeguard American communications networks from communist Chinese influence. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Commissioner Carr on these initiatives in the House Commerce Committee in the 119th Congress, and I know he will make an excellent Chairman of the FCC."

On Monday, November 11th, to commemorate Veterans Day, the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society released Veterans and Digital Equity: Planning for Success, a collaborative research effort with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Offices of Connected Care and Rural Engagement. We reviewed state digital equity plans to better understand what states' strategies are for connecting Veterans. My coauthors, Dr.

Technology Policy Institute President Scott Wallsten believes that federal broadband programs have mostly thrown key economic principles out the window. “And a persistent digital divide is partly the result of that,” he said. Rather than just focusing on the cost of capital or the cost of laying fiber, he said broadband programs should apply economic concepts to "maximize total net benefits" for consumers and also balance trade-offs between supply, different deployment technologies and what consumers want. For example, he said a consumer could consider moving from 1 Mbps to 10 Mbps “a huge

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Congressman Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) visited Sycamores Pacoima Community Based Services  to learn about the Centers’ collaboration with the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline and highlighted how georouting can improve the ability for people in crisis to receive the local care they need.