Letter

In this letter to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Acting Administrator Evelyn Remaley, ITI called for specific actions to support efforts to close the digital divide and strengthen US broadband infrastructure across all communities:

A coalition of 18 center-right organizations sent a letter to the US Senate opposing the nomination of Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission. "[Sohn's] views on Title II are emblematic of her longstanding tendency to promote policies that over-regulate the industries in the FCC’s jurisdiction," says the letter.

On November 29, Chair of the Minnesota Governor's Task Force on Broadband Teddy Bekele and members of the Task Force sent a letter to Gov Tim Walz (D-MN) urging the state government to expedite the distribution of federal broadband funding. In the letter, Bekele and the Task Force cite American Rescue Plan funds that the state is slated to receive, specifically through the Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund, that would bolster the Minnesota Border-to-Border Broadband Infrastructure grant program.

254 organizations are calling on broadband policymakers to repair the Universal Service Fund (USF) contribution mechanism. The USF is one of our nation’s most important tools for addressing the digital divide, but its outdated funding mechanism puts the program in danger of collapse and inequitably burdens the consumers who most often end up contributing.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel sent letters to 20 senators on November 10, 2021, in response to their letter urging the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the FCC to share existing data to identify communities without high-speed internet access and improve broadband connectivity.

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) sent a letter to Committee Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Subcommittee Chairman Michael Doyle (D-PA) urging them to hold a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing to address the unprecedented influx of funding to the commission. Democrats provided an additional $25 billion to the FCC through their partisan American Rescue Plan and infrastructure packages and want to give the agency more funds in another partisan Reconciliat

The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition wrote a joint letter of support urging the Senate Commerce Committee to quickly conduct hearings and speedily confirm President Biden’s nominees to the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA).

80 civil-rights, media-justice, community-media, workers-rights and consumer-advocacy groups sent a letter urging Senate leadership to swiftly confirm Jessica Rosenworcel as chairwoman and Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, and Alan Davidson as the director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) is leading a coalition of organizations representing the world’s leading aerospace manufacturers, airlines, pilots, and operators in calling for a delay to the deployment of 5G technologies to the C-band until the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System (NAS) is ensured.

Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) wrote a letter to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel urging him to release internal data pertaining to the company's effect on children and teens. Blumenthal requested the following by November 24, 2021: