Upcoming event
Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the items below are tentatively on the agenda for the October Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 27, 2022. The Commission will consider:
Agenda
- Improving 911 Reliability
The Commission will consider a Report and Order to promote public safety by ensuring that 911 call centers receive timely and useful notifications of disruptions to 911 service. (PS Docket Nos. 13-75, 15-80; ET Docket No. 04-35) - Updating Resources Used to Determine Local TV Markets
An online technical assistance workshop to assist state, local, and Tribal governments, service providers, and other entities who plan to file bulk challenges to data in the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric (Fabric), which serves as the foundation for the Broadband Data Collection (BDC) fixed availability maps. The workshop will review how to open and work with the Fabric dataset and will also demonstrate possible approaches to identifying missing or mislabeled locations in the Fabric data set.
Federal broadband programs offer unprecedented funding to states for broadband infrastructure deployments. One of the requirements is that each state or territory assumes an active role in identifying those areas of greatest need for broadband infrastructure deployment (also meeting a long list of other requirements) and runs a grant program. A small number of states have been proactive in collecting data and making it available to the public.
Black Churches 4 Digital Equity Connects Communities to the Affordable Connectivity Program
On September 24, Black Churches 4 Digital Equity is hosting its National Affordable Connectivity Program Sign-Up Day in 34 cities across the United States. The coalition aims to increase participation in the Affordable Connectivity Program, the Federal Communications Commission's broadband subsidy program, by community members of African American, faith-based institutions.
An overview of the ongoing Broadband Data Collection process, which will be used to create an updated national broadband availability map. The forthcoming broadband availability maps will be instrumental in determining the flow of funds for over $42 billion in funds for broadband deployment from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
At this meeting, the Task Force will cover updates from Working Groups on their progress and discuss Working Group Reports. This agenda may be modified at the discretion of the Task Force Chair and the Designated Federal Officer.
The Precision Ag Task Force meeting will be wholly electronic and is open to the public on the Internet via live feed from the FCC’s web page at www.fcc.gov/live.
In the wake of National Telehealth Awareness Week, Next Century Cities released Changing Our (Virtual) Reality: Telehealth and the United States Maternal Health Crisis. The report authored by Brittany-Rae Gregory, Ph.D. examines the history of telehealth, the high morbidity and mortality rates associated with giving birth, and the potential for telehealth to serve as a critical point of intervention in the fight against the national maternal health crisis.
How much will it cost to reach universal broadband availability in the United States? Answering that question requires understanding network construction costs, estimating the number of unserved and underserved locations, and defining “broadband” – and that is exactly what Vantage Point Solutions has done in their recent whitepaper, Cost of Bringing Broadband to All. Larry Thompson, PE, co-author of the paper, will discuss the methodology and findings of the report during this Fiber for Breakfast presentation.
New Street Research: Time is 'running out' for Gigi Sohn's FCC confirmation
It’s been nearly a year since President Joe Biden named Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] as his pick to become the fifth member of the Federal Communications Commission, but the nominee’s prospects of actually being installed are as unclear as ever. A fresh report from The Deal tipped Sohn to squeak through the Senate confirmation process during a lame duck session in the coming months. But New Street Research analyst Blair Levin warned it’s extremely difficult to predict what will happen.