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  2. November 2023

November 2023

American Association For Public Broadband (AAPB) Statement On Dark Money Attacks On Utopia Fiber And Traverse City Light & Power

Here they go again. Using false and tired arguments, big cable is attacking three community broadband networks that residents and their elected officials chose to build and own. And like it did earlier in 2023 in Bountiful City, Utah, it is hiding behind a surrogate that doesn’t reveal its financial supporters. It is profoundly ironic that the country’s richest media companies are attacking “government-run” networks when they are at the same time bringing in billions of dollars of subsidies from the federal government and seeking billions more in grants from state governments.

Massachusetts becomes fifth state in nation to make prison calls free

Massachusetts will become the fifth state in the nation to make prison and jail calls free. Gov. Maura Healey (D-MA) signed a bill that will go into effect December 1, 2023. The move is a victory for advocates and legislators who have sought to lessen the burden on prisoners communicating for years. In July 2023, the Massachusetts State Legislature passed a state budget that included a requirement for corrections officials to make phone calls free for incarcerated people, but Gov. Healey pushed back to give more time to implement the program.

Sponsor: 

Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy

Date: 
Wed, 12/13/2023 - 12:00

Former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly will review the highlights, and lowlights, of 2023 for the tech and telecommunications sectors in the U.S., share insights on current policy issues dominating Beltway conversations and preview what 2024 might have in store for tech and telecom during an election year.


Sponsor: 

Gigabit Libraries Network

Date: 
Thu, 11/30/2023 - 11:00 to 12:30

Renewed legislation is in motion to address what has long been a consensus on USF: the current model is both unfair and unsustainable.

The Universal Service Fund covers some of the costs of:


Sponsor: 

New America

Date: 
Thu, 11/30/2023 - 12:00 to 13:00

At the heart of the digital economy are practices of pervasive data collection and surveillance carried out by corporations and states. Our data-intensive world is here to stay, but does that come at the cost of our humanity in terms of autonomy, community, dignity, and equality? Even though we all co-create the data fueling the digital economy, we do not share in the value of that data and  are left out of the most pressing conversations around technology, ethics, and policy.


Sponsor: 

Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council, ALLvanza, LGBT Tech, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates

Date: 
Tue, 12/05/2023 - 11:30 to 13:30

A conversation on the vital role of BEAD funding as it pertains to vulnerable communities.


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