Upcoming event

COVID-19 has had a profound effect on how communities connect. Shelter-in-place policies have shifted the majority of our social interactions online, driving the transition to the digital public square. What are the trends and opportunities for cities, planners and technologists as they seek to engage residents and support civic participation? A discussion of what civic participation looks like during a time of social distancing with NYU Alliance for Public Interest Technology Fellow Mona Sloane and Warren Flood, Microsoft’s corporate affairs manager for Detroit.

Access to, and the use of, modern networks, services and platforms, raise a host of critical issues in our nation’s quest for universal digital equity and inclusion. 

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and USTelecom’s Jonathan Spalter in a conversation on the impact of technology policy and social justice, including details and next steps for the Digital Opportunity Equity Recognition (DOER) program recently announced by Commissioner Starks.

The workshop will feature frontline experts from libraries, academia, and civil society organizations who will discuss efforts to support underserved rural and urban communities’ acquisition of digital skills. Experts will consider what constitutes digital inclusion today and the role of libraries and public-private partnerships. The workshop will also address the impact of COVID-19 on advancing digital inclusion, as well as the impact of various local, state, and federal interventions in the last few months.

Paper 1 -- Measuring the Effects of Municipal Broadband

Sarah Oh, Technology Policy Institute

Paper 2 -- How Platform Components Impact Ecosystem Value: The Case of the iPhone and Mobile Broadband

Mark Jamison, University of Florida, Peter Wang, University of Florida

Paper 3 -- Multisided Markets and Platform Dominance

James H. Alleman, University of Colorado Boulder, Edmond Baranes, University of Montpellier, Paul Rappoport, Temple University

Senior government and technology leaders share perspectives on strategies to accelerate US 5G leadership while simultaneously advancing our broader national and economic security goals.

A Conversation with Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
Facilitated by USTelecom CEO Jonathan Spalter

Panel Discussion

The COVID-19 pandemic presents a challenge to the nation’s healthcare infrastructure like few in our history. To address these challenges, Congress, federal agencies, and states are taking numerous steps to enable wider use of connected health tools to serve patients during the public health crisis.

The Committee provides advice to the Assistant Secretary to assist in developing and maintaining spectrum management policies that enable the United States to maintain or strengthen its global leadership role in the introduction of communications technology, services, and innovation; thus expanding the economy, adding jobs, and increasing international trade, while at the same time providing for the expansion of existing technologies and supporting the country’s homeland security, national defense, and other critical needs of government missions.

The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of broadband connectivity. Broadband is critical to ensuring that Americans can telework, participate in remote learning, benefit from telehealth, and much more. The digital divide has closed in recent years, with millions more consumers getting broadband access and infrastructure investment setting records. But that divide persists in some places, either because internet access isn't available or because households have chosen not to subscribe.