Report on past event

The fiber broadband industry is experiencing a historic moment.

Some of the top proponents of open RAN in the US warned lawmakers that the technology remains in danger of sliding into irrelevance if trends toward fragmentation and proprietary solutions continue. John Baker, senior vice president of Ecosystem Business Development at Mavenir warned that there can be different flavors of open RAN.

In October, the Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Kansas City convened the first-ever Digital Inclusion Research Forum (DIRF), bringing together researchers and practitioners to highlight the latest in digital inclusion research, emerging methodologies, and best practices in the sector. In order to access the broadband funding made available by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), all states have to develop plans for how they will use these funds to build broadband networks and achieve digital equity.

US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo addressed Tribal leaders at the 2023 White House Tribal Nations Summit. Secretary Raimondo reiterated the Department’s commitment to working and coordinating with Tribal Nations to ensure Tribal communities have the needed resources for economic growth.

The US Broadband Summit brought together top leaders from across the country to talk about state efforts related to the Broadband Equity, Access & Deployment (BEAD) program. Three major topics emerged from the summit — both at public sessions as well as the buzz in the hallways.

On December 5, 2023, the City of St. Louis, TechSTL, and the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) hosted the #Connect STL Digital Inclusion Summit. The event kicked off the #ConnectSTL Digital Equity & Inclusion Coalition, which seeks to encourage collaboration and cooperation with technology-driven businesses and community stakeholders interested in helping to bridge the digital divide in St. Louis. Filament lead workshops for the #ConnectSTL Coalition focusing on collaboration and outlining current projects and plans for moving forward with Digital Equity work.

As US states and territories put the final touches on Initial Proposals outlining how they will utilize funding for broadband expansion through the Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, state broadband offices are gearing up for what is expected to be a months-long challenge process ahead, said panelists at the Digital Infrastructure Investment Summit 2023.

Since my last appearance before the House Commerce Committee in May 2023, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has made considerable progress toward the bipartisan initiatives that Congress tasked to NTIA. These include:

Leaders from the Biden Administration said access to high-speed internet will bring opportunity and dignity for residents of rural communities in Wisconsin and across the country. Tom Perez, White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs, and Don Graves, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, visited Dairyland Power Cooperative in La Crosse (WI) on November 30 to talk about federal money for broadband infrastructure. Dairyland is one of the recipients of the Middle Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant, a program created through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a Federal Communications Commission oversight hearing that included testimony from each of the five (yes, there are five now) FCC commissioners. A partisan tone was set by the get-go as the title for the hearing was "Oversight of President Biden's Broadband Takeover." The key questions for the Republican Members of the panel going into the hearing were: