Report on past event

The House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing entitled Empowering and Connecting Communities Through Digital Equity and Internet Adoption.

Current research suggests that low-income people can only afford to pay about $10  monthly for broadband. Anything more competes with other utility bills and the cost of food. Meeting the goal of universal connectivity and providing fixed broadband at about $10 per month requires a multi-pronged strategy - what my Benton colleague Jonathan Sallet calls an “Affordability Agenda.” It includes:

On Wednesday, January 15, the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology held a hearing on diversity in the media market. In announcing the hearing, Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai continues to double down on the claim that net neutrality was a huge boon for American consumers, even if supporting evidence for that claim remains largely nonexistent. Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Chairman Pai once again insisted that his decision to ignore the public and repeal net neutrality protections resulted in faster broadband speeds for consumers—and a spike in overall network investment. “Since we made the decision in December 2017, broadband speeds are up 60 percent according to Ookla, infrastructure investm

Privacy experts from Facebook and Apple defended the security and use of consumer data on their platforms, though they said greater protections and public education are needed, especially as technology evolves and new laws around it take shape.

At Broadband Communities’ 2019 economic development conference, held in October in Alexandria, Virginia, participants shared stories about how communities are improving broadband access to facilitate economic development, digital literacy and consumer choices. Followi the link to some of the highlights of the conference sessions.

At the Federal Communications Bar Association's annual Chairman's Dinner, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai delivered a solid set of inside jokes. 

The Metropolitan Information Exchange (MIX) is a close-knit association of CIOs from U.S. cities and counties with populations over 100,000. Gathering annually for over 51 years, members focus on sharing insights and cases from their own communities in order to build their collective knowledge and capabilities as leaders.

Senators argued over their dueling proposals for a federal privacy law during a highly anticipated hearing Dec 4, marking the first time key senators have taken their disputes public after months of closed-doors negotiations.

The House Commerce Committee approved a handful of bipartisan broadband and tech-related bills on a variety of topics, from broadband mapping and network security to freeing up spectrum. “Bills being favorably reported for a vote in the full House were: