December 2021

4 Key Issues for New FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, From Net Neutrality to Digital Divide (Wrap, The)

Submitted by benton on Wed, 12/08/2021 - 09:55

Sponsor:

Universal Service Administrative Company

Date:

Tue, 12/14/2021 - 15:00

Congress recently created the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), a new, long-term $14 billion program that will replace the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program (EBB Program). Households enrolled in the EBB Program as of December 31, 2021 will continue to receive their current monthly benefit during a 60-day transition period that ends March 1, 2022.

USAC will host an introductory webinar to provide an overview of the ACP and the transition from the EBB Program to ACP.

Read more about Affordable Connectivity Program Overview Webinar

Announcement of Proposed Service Areas for NTIA's Broadband Infrastructure Program

The Broadband Infrastructure Program is a $288 million broadband deployment program directed to facilitate partnerships between a state, or one or more political subdivisions of a State, and a provider of fixed broadband service to support broadband infrastructure deployment to areas lacking broadband. In their applications, which are currently undergoing review, applicants indicated their projects' proposed service areas using census blocks. On December 6, NTIA published additional proposed service areas of applications undergoing review for funding through the Broadband Infrastructure Pro

Sponsor:

Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy

Georgetown University

Date:

Wed, 12/15/2021 - 12:00 to 13:00

We will explore a wide range of issues including spectrum policy, intra-agency spectrum coordination processes, and the evolving regulatory environment for tech and telco. Chairman Pai will share his views on how the influx of billions of dollars to close the digital divide can best be put to use, and so much more.

Read more about A Year in Review and A Look Ahead at 2022 with Former FCC Chair Ajit Pai

Broken Promises: Media Mega Mergers and the Case for Antitrust Reform

Shining a light on failed antitrust policy through a review of five mega mergers in the media and telecommunications industry: Comcast and NBCUniversal; AT&T and DirecTV; AT&T and Time Warner; Charter, Time Warner Cable and Bright House; and Disney and Fox. Each case study details the history and aftermath of these mergers, contrasting the companies’ promises of consumer benefits and pro-competitive outcomes with the post-merger realities, including higher prices, reduced choices, and harms to writers.