Upcoming event
Satellite spectrum usage is governed largely by legacy frameworks that may not be appropriate given increased deployments and use of satellite connections. What new developments from WRC-23 affect satellite policy going forward? The FCC’s Space Bureau, other federal agencies and international bodies, have levers to speed up or slow down innovation in space. What is the state of policy in satellite spectrum, can there be more flexibility or is command and control inevitable?
The federal Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program will provide $42 billion to states to improve high-speed internet access for unserved and underserved locations, including libraries.
But there is a catch. Your library must be on the map as lacking gigabit service to get BEAD funding. Many maps are wrong and miss libraries that need better broadband. Luckily, most states will let libraries file a “challenge” to fix the map.
Featuring information security executive and social scientist Tarah Wheeler.
Finding and clearing new spectrum bands for a pipeline of mid-band flexible use spectrum along with satellite and unlicensed bands can seem like a herculean task amidst formidable institutional structures and processes. Where can we expect to see movement in spectrum reauthorization, mid-band clearing, and results from newly deployed shared bands? What incentives are needed to keep up with global competition?
Net neutrality protections are essential to advancing digital equity. These rules ensure all internet users have access to content on an equal basis and prevent internet service providers (ISPs) from blocking, throttling, or engaging in paid prioritization of content. In November 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposed reinstating net neutrality protections, returning to rules originally adopted in 2015, by establishing broadband internet access service (BIAS) as a Title II telecommunications service.
Child safety hearing puts key internet law back in Congress’s crosshairs
Senators of both parties are focusing their criticism on a law that Congress passed in 1996—a law that paved the way for social media as we know it. That law, said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), “needs to change.” The statute in question is Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which gives online service providers broad immunity from lawsuits over their users’ posts, with the goal of promoting free expression online. Over the years, it has survived court challenges, legislative pushes, and an executive order by President Donald Trump. Now, it is in Congress’s sights once again.
Semafor's senior editors and the most forward-thinking leaders in policy, engineering, and technology will survey the state of privacy in the U.S. and abroad. What does digital privacy look like in a future supercharged by artificial intelligence? How should policies evolve and what consequences might they have for businesses and individuals?
The OVBI Q4 2023 webinar will include a fireside chat with OpenVault CEO and Founder, Mark Trudeau, and Chief Product Officer, Brady Volpe. We'll uncover insights that will take your broadband service into the next era. Stay tuned as we dive into the incredible growth of broadband usage, breaking 600GB and redefining broadband once again. OpenVault will highlight tools that are predictive, prescriptive, and future-proof to help your network keep pace and excel in user satisfaction, quality of experience (QoE) and subscriber retention.
A listening session in Charleston, South Carolina, to hear from formerly incarcerated people and their loved ones about their experiences using incarcerated people’s communications services (IPCS). Participants will explain the critical importance of affordable communications services to incarcerated people, as the Commission works to implement the Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act of 2022 (Martha Wright-Reed Act).
February 2024 Open Meeting Agenda
On January 25, the Commission will convene its first open meeting of the new year. We already have plans to build on this forward momentum for 2024. Here’s what’s on the agenda for our February open meeting.