Upcoming event

The hearing will explore policy issues that led to the European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) invalidation of the EU-US Privacy Shield Framework, one of the key mechanisms for allowing the transfer of personal data from the European Union to the United States. The hearing will also examine the impact of the ECJ’s decision on U.S. businesses engaging in transatlantic digital commerce and what steps the U.S. Government is taking to develop a successor data transfer framework with the Europeans.

Witnesses

Join Axios for a virtual event on the future of broadband connectivity. We will unpack network connectivity, digital equity and the importance of working with all communities to connect all Americans. Axios Business Editor Dan Primack, Business Reporter Erica Pandey and Technology Policy Reporter Ashley Gold will host one-on-one conversations with:

Geoffrey Starks
Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

Plinio Ayala 

President & CEO, Per Scholas 

Jessie Woolley-Wilson 

Learn more about FCC Form 555. This training will provide a walkthrough of the FCC Form 555 and review form resources. USAC will also discuss recent Lifeline changes, including the NLAD 508 Redesign.

During the webinar, you will be able to ask questions and participate in a dialogue with USAC and service providers throughout the industry. 

During this training, the Lifeline Program staff will discuss: 

• Announcements

• FCC Form 555

• Live Audience Q&A

In the U.S. and around the world, policymakers are pushing for legislation that threatens the availability of encryption technology, arguing that end-to-end encryption impedes the efforts of law enforcement to halt the spread of illegal content. But these proposals would also limit internet users’ ability to have access private, secure modes of digital communication. They have serious implications for free expression rights, as secure technologies allow a diverse array of online expression and organizing to flourish.

21 million Americans are not connected to high-speed internet today. With school closures and remote work due to the pandemic, the divide between those with broadband and those without has been more starkly realized than ever before. AT&T CEO John Stankey joins Washington Post Live in conversation with Washington Post columnist David Ignatius to discuss how the telecommunications giant is working to enable the adoption of high-speed internet in communities that need it most.

The FirstNet Authority will post a detailed agenda for the Combined Board and Board Committees Meeting on FirstNet.gov prior to the meeting. The agenda topics are subject to change. Please note that the subjects discussed by the Board and Board Committees may involve commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential, or other legal matters affecting the FirstNet Authority. As such, the Board may, by majority vote, close the meeting only for the time necessary to preserve the confidentiality of such information.

What changes will the administration of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris bring for the country’s use of broadband technologies? How will the technology and communications industries be affected? Will public policy on controversial tech policy issues, including Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, be markedly different from today? What does the quest for “universal broadband” mean? Tune in to hear what industry groups believe is likely to happen, come January 20, 2021.

Panelists include:

The European Commission is planning to present the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in December, a legislative package that will have far-reaching implications for the EU’s digital economy. Early drafts of these plans suggest that the Commission will ban some practices by search engines, operating systems, and cloud service providers to address concerns that their practices are unfair for consumers and new market entrants.

As 2020 comes to a close, we find ourselves 10 years out from the National Broadband Plan, 20 years down the road from initial discussions of the appropriate regulatory classification of broadband, and 25 years since the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The time is ripe take a step back and evaluate what has worked well and what has not. In a recent paper, noted telecommunications policy thinkers Howard Shelanski and Jonathan Nuechterlein set out to do just that.

USTelecom’s Broadband Investment Forum brings together leading national policymakers, business leaders, and technology innovators to assess solutions for achieving universal connectivity in America.

At the dawn of a new Administration and Congress, and in the midst of our ongoing pandemic, conversations will focus on exploring new policy pathways to promote broadband investment and innovation, and ensure access and affordability for all in need.