What's on the agenda for policymakers.
Agenda
The hearing will examine the policy concerns surrounding the use and effectiveness of Emergency Alert Systems including Wireless Emergency Alerts, as well as recent system failures, including but not limited to the mistaken missile alert in Hawaii.
Witnesses:
The State of the Net Conference provides unparalleled opportunities to network and engage on key policy issues.
See agenda
Witnesses
Jonathan Spalter
President and CEO, USTelecom
Brad Gillen
Executive Vice President, CTIA
Matthew Polka
President and CEO, American Cable Association
Nancy White
President and CEO, North Central Telephone Cooperative, Inc.
Agenda
The hearing will focus a path forward for improving broadband infrastructure in rural America. The following legislation will be discussed:
FCC Extends Lifeline Comment Period
The Federal Communications Commission has extended the deadline for public comments in its Lifeline proceeding. Comments now due January 17, 2018; reply comments due February 21, 2018.
“Our national journey from the county poorhouse of the nineteenth century to the digital poorhouse today reveals a remarkably durable debate between those who wish to eliminate and alleviate poverty and those who blame, imprison, and punish the poor.”
Today, automated systems control which neighborhoods get policed, which families obtain needed resources, and who is investigated for fraud. While we all live under this new regime of data analytics, the most invasive and punitive systems are aimed at the poor.
House Minority Leader Pelosi pushes for House vote on preserving net neutrality
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is pushing for a floor vote on a bill that would stop the Federal Communications Commission from repealing network neutrality. “December’s radical FCC vote to dismantle net neutrality has endangered the American entrepreneurship and freedom that are the envy of the world,” Rep Pelosi said. “Congress must act to reverse this destructive FCC ruling that steamrolled over a bipartisan, decades-long consensus and the will of the American people to undermine the fair playing field that is the heart of the internet.”
Twitter, Facebook, YouTube Support Bid to Restore Net Neutrality
Facebook, Twitter, and Google’s YouTube on Jan 17 told lawmakers that they support a legislative effort to restore net neutrality rules wiped out by the Federal Communications Commission in Dec. Executives appearing before the Senate Commerce Committee replied to Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) who asked their position on his resolution to nullify the FCC’s action. YouTube’s Juniper Downs, global head of public policy and government relations, said the platform “will support any effort” to put back in place the rules gutted by the FCC.
What You Need To Know About Repealing The Repeal of Net Neutrality — How The CRA Works.
There is a great deal of excitement, but also a great deal of misunderstanding, about the effort to “repeal the repeal” of network neutrality using the Congressional Review Act (CRA). On the one hand, we have folks who are confused by the enormous progress made so far and think that we are just one vote shy of repealing the repeal. On the other extreme, we have the folks declaring the effort totally doomed and impossible from the start. I discuss the details of a CRA, and why I think we can win this (and even if we don’t, why it still works in our favor overall), below.
Remarks Of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, Eye Of The Storm: Broadcasters' Role In Emergencies At The National Association Of Broadcasters
In recent weeks, we’ve seen broadcasters play a critical role in helping keep the American people safe. The purpose of today’s forum is to make sure broadcasters are best positioned to continue meeting this awesome responsibility. For my part, I’d like to briefly highlight some of the relevant issues we’re working on at the FCC. Those issues include (1) resiliency; (2) alerting; and (3) Next Generation TV.
What's Next for Net Neutrality in Congress and the Courts
[Commentary] With each congressional office getting thousands of calls for Network Neutrality and close to zero supporting Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai — and with Net Neutrality looking like a real issue in the 2018 elections — we’ve got a shot at passing the resolution. If you haven’t yet called your members of Congress, please do it now. And, yes, the president would need to sign this bill. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, so I’ll just say we welcome that fight.