Benton Institute for Broadband & Society - Policymakers

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez

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Wed, 09/27/2023

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https://www.fcc.gov/document/commissioner-anna-gomez-being-sworn-commissioner-fc…

Commissioner Anna Gomez on Being Sworn in as Commissioner of the FCC

benton — Tue, 26 Sep 2023 12:16:15 +0000

I am humbled and honored that President Biden and the United States Senate have entrusted me with the privilege to serve the people of the United States as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission. As the first Latina to serve in this position in over two decades, it is especially meaningful to be sworn in as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. I look forward to working with Congress, Chairwoman Rosenworcel, my fellow Commissioners, and the talented and dedicated FCC staff to ensure that every person in every community, of every geography and income, has access to modern telecommunications services. I am eager to hear from all and to bring my experience in domestic and international telecommunications to serve the American people.

Benton Content:

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Commissioner Gomez brings over 30 years of public and private sector experience to her role

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FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez

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Wed, 09/27/2023

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Daily Digest 9/26/2023

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https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/05/22/presiden…

President Biden Announces Federal Communications Commission Nominees

dclay@benton.org — Mon, 22 May 2023 16:20:40 +0000

President Joe Biden will nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in the Federal Communications Commission:

Anna M. Gomez, Nominee for Commissioner of the FCC: A telecommunications attorney with extensive experience in domestic and international communications law and policy. Gomez serves as a Senior Advisor for International Information and Communications Policy in the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. Gomez served as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2013.
Geoffrey Adam Starks, Nominee for Commissioner of the FCC: Currently serves as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission since 2017. Throughout his career, Starks has focused on creating access to high-quality broadband for every American including rural America. While serving at the FCC he has worked to make networks more secure. Starks previously served as Assistant Bureau Chief of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau.
Brendan Carr, Nominee for Commissioner of the FCC: Currently serves as a Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, having first joined the agency as a staffer in 2012. In his time on the Commission, Carr has focused on expanding affordable, high-speed Internet service to all Americans. Carr also leads a groundbreaking telehealth initiative at the FCC, the Connected Care Pilot Program, which supports the delivery of high-quality care to low-income Americans and veterans.

Benton Content:

Teaser:

President Biden nominates Anna Gomez, Geoffrey Starks, and Brendan Carr for the FCC.

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White House

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Tue, 05/23/2023

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Daily Digest 5/22/2023

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Mon, 05/22/2023

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Federal Agency

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Federal

https://www.benton.org/blog/broadband-and-building-community

Broadband and Building Community

Grace Tepper — Wed, 04 May 2022 17:13:51 +0000

In a conversation on April 6 at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s 40th anniversary celebration, House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) and Glen Echo Group CEO Maura Corbett discussed building community—and the role broadband will play in building and strengthening communities moving forward. Congressman Clyburn founded the Rural Broadband Task Force to help find solutions to the digital divide. Much of the discussion on April 6 focused on bringing broadband to rural areas that, of yet, do not have broadband service. But Corbett asked about urban areas, too. When President Joe Biden met with Congressional leaders to help shape the debate around infrastructure legislation, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) deferred to Majority Whip Clyburn to make the case for including broadband under the infrastructure umbrella since, traditionally, infrastructure was thought of as mainly roads, bridges, power systems, and buildings. Congressional leadership agreed that universal broadband is a national challenge. “It is absolutely no different in the inner cities than it is in rural communities,” said Congressman Clyburn. He recognized that deploying broadband networks in rural areas presents its own problems, but “in some urban areas, there's as much disconnect as you'll find in rural communities.”

[Adrianne B Furniss is executive director at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society.]

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Benton Original Content

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In a conversation on April 6 at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society’s 40th anniversary celebration, House Majority Whip James Clyburn and Glen Echo Group CEO Maura Corbett discussed building community and the role broadband will play moving forward.

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Adrianne Furniss

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Thu, 05/05/2022

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Daily Digest 5/4/2022

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Wed, 05/04/2022

Digital Divide

Internet/Broadband

Adoption

Affordability/Cost/Price

Universal Broadband

https://www.benton.org/content/benton-institute-broadband-society-welcomes-new-d…

Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Welcomes New Director of Research and Fellowships

benton — Mon, 02 May 2022 11:27:40 +0000

Executive Director Adrianne B. Furniss announced the appointment of Dr. Revati Prasad as the Benton Institute's new Director of Research and Fellowships. Revati will recruit and manage a diverse cohort of fellows—researchers, advocates, and practitioners—and their projects supported by the newly created Marjorie & Charles Benton Opportunity Fund. In addition, Dr. Prasad will lead Benton's research efforts and help develop resources and strategies any state or community can use to bring broadband to everyone. 2022 will be a historic year for federal investment in digital equity including broadband infrastructure, adoption, and affordability. Dr. Prasad's work will help policymakers, advocates and practitioners better understand how people gain access to and expertise in using the critical communications and information tools of modern society.

Most recently, Dr. Prasad was an American Council for Learned Societies Leading Edge Fellow at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance studying efforts by indigenous communities to improve broadband access for themselves. She holds a Ph.D. in Communication from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPA from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. Her doctoral work examined efforts to “connect the unconnected” in rural India, including telecommunications policy, infrastructure projects, and small networks run by wireless internet service providers (WISPs). Dr. Prasad's research has been published in Media, Culture & Society, Information, Culture & Society, Communication, Culture and Critique, and Journalism. She has received awards from the Global Communication and Social Change and the Media Industries Divisions of the International Communication Association.

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Benton Original Content

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Executive Director Adrianne B. Furniss announced the appointment of Dr. Revati Prasad as the Benton Institute's new Director of Research and Fellowships

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Fellowship-Call-Extended.pdf

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Adrianne Furniss

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Mon, 05/02/2022

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Daily Digest 4/29/2022

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Happy Belated Birthday, Andrew Jay Schwartzman

benton — Wed, 27 Apr 2022 11:36:03 +0000

At our 40th Anniversary celebration on April 6, we were delighted to honor Andrew Jay Schwartzman and celebrate his 75th birthday. If you are not familiar with Andy's work, he is known to his friends, colleagues, and mentees as the “dean” of the public interest communications bar—someone who has devoted his professional life to making the communications landscape better for us all. Andy is the recent winner of the James Wilson Award, the highest honor the University of Pennsylvania Law Alumni Society bestows on its graduates—which, by coincidence, was timed perfectly to his 50^th law school reunion. The James Wilson Award is presented each year to a member of the alumni community in honor of a lifetime of service in the profession. Andy's career has been long and impactful. Happy birthday, Andy. We are so thankful for all you have done to advance public interest communications policy—and so excited that we can continue to work together to achieve broadband’s full promise and potential.

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Benton Original Content

https://www.benton.org/blog/happy-belated-birthday-andrew-jay-schwartzman

Teaser:

At our 40th Anniversary celebration on April 6, we were delighted to honor Andrew Jay Schwartzman and celebrate his 75th birthday.

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https://www.benton.org/blog/rosenworcel-davidson

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Adrianne Furniss

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Thu, 04/28/2022

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Daily Digest 4/26/2022

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Wed, 04/27/2022

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Rosenworcel & Davidson: With Leadership in Place, NTIA and FCC Must Now Work Together to Close the Digital Divide

benton — Fri, 14 Jan 2022 12:36:40 +0000

On January 11, the U.S. Senate voted 60-31 to confirm the nomination of Alan Davidson to be the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. Once sworn in, Davidson will lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is President Joe Biden's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy. Just last month, the Senate confirmed Jessica Rosenworcel for a new term as a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and President Biden has tapped her to lead the agency. So begins what will likely be the most consequential broadband relationship in Washington over the next few years. Through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress is investing $65 billion to help ensure that every American has access to reliable, affordable high-speed internet. The investment is meant to make sure that broadband infrastructure reaches more than 30 million Americans who live in areas where high-speed internet access service is unavailable or inadequate—and to make service more accessible to millions more who can't afford monthly broadband bills. To successfully implement the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and close the digital divide, the NTIA and the FCC have been called on to not just lead, but to collaborate as well. As the law states: "It is the sense of Congress that Federal agencies responsible for supporting broadband deployment, including the [FCC and NTIA] ... should align the goals, application and reporting processes, and project requirements with respect to broadband deployment supported by those agencies." Here are some examples of NTIA-FCC collaboration required in the Investment Investment and Jobs Act.

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Benton Original Content

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FCC and NTIA must work together to close the digital divide

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Kevin Taglang

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Fri, 01/14/2022

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Daily Digest 1/13/2022

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Fri, 01/14/2022

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Affordability/Cost/Price

Infrastructure

Universal Broadband

https://www.benton.org/content/it%E2%80%99s-time-call-vote-gigi-sohn-fully-funct…

It’s Time to Call the Vote on Gigi Sohn for a Fully Functioning FCC

Grace Tepper — Tue, 11 Jan 2022 21:23:09 +0000

President Biden has renominated Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to be a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). With Alan Davidson confirmed to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), it is critical that we have a fully functioning FCC to implement much of the work Congress has directed the two agencies to do. For more than a year, the FCC has been operating without a full slate of commissioners, hampering its ability to advance all of the important tasks on its agenda. This is why 350,000 people and counting have taken action in the past year by calling on the White House and Senate to act to get all commissioners confirmed, and more than 100,000 people across the country have weighed in specifically to support Ms. Sohn’s confirmation since she was first nominated in October 2021. The FCC is charged with protecting public safety; ensuring consumers have access to robust, affordable broadband service; and implementing federal spectrum policy in the public interest. Ms. Sohn needs to be voted out of the Committee this month and moved to the full Senate for a floor vote. The time for these votes is now.

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Benton Original Content

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FCC nominee Gigi Sohn needs to be voted out of the Committee this month and moved to the full Senate for a floor vote. The time for these votes is now.

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Wed, 01/12/2022

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Daily Digest 1/11/2022

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Tue, 01/11/2022

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Government & Communications

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Internet/Broadband

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/10/26/presiden…

President Biden Announces Key FCC and NTIA Nominations

Grace Tepper — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 16:05:22 +0000

President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve in key roles:

Jessica Rosenworcel, Nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission: President Biden has also designated Rosenworcel as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission. She is the first woman in history to serve in this capacity. Rosenworcel presently serves as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission, where she previously served as a Commissioner since 2012. During her time at the agency, she has worked to promote greater opportunity, accessibility, and affordability in our communications services in order to ensure that all Americans get a fair shot at 21st century success. From fighting to protect an open internet, to ensuring broadband access for students caught in the Homework Gap through the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund, to making sure that households struggling to afford internet service stay connected through the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, she has been a champion for connectivity for all. She is a leader in spectrum policy, developing new ways to support wireless services from Wi-Fi to video and the Internet of Things. She has fought to combat illegal robocalls and enhance consumer protections in our telecommunications policies.
Gigi Sohn, Nominee for Commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission: Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow and Public Advocate. Gigi is one of the nation’s leading public advocates for open, affordable, and democratic communications networks. For over thirty years, Gigi has worked to defend and preserve the fundamental competition and innovation policies that have made broadband Internet access more ubiquitous, competitive, affordable, open, and protective of user privacy. If she is confirmed, Gigi would be the first openly LGBTIQ+ Commissioner in the history of the FCC. From 2013-2016, Gigi served as Counselor to Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, and from 2001-2013 was Co-Founder and CEO of Public Knowledge, a leading communications and technology policy advocacy organization serving the interests of consumers. She was previously a Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation’s Media, Arts and Culture unit and Executive Director of the Media Access Project, a communications public interest law firm.
Alan Davidson, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Department of Commerce: Alan Davidson is an Internet policy expert with over 20 years of experience as an executive, public interest advocate, technologist, and attorney. He is currently a Senior Advisor at the Mozilla Foundation, a global nonprofit that promotes openness, innovation, and participation on the Internet. He was previously Mozilla’s Vice President of Global Policy, Trust and Security, where he led public policy and privacy teams promoting an open Internet and a healthy web. Alan served in the Obama-Biden Administration as the first Director of Digital Economy at the U.S. Department of Commerce. He started Google’s public policy office in Washington, D.C., leading government relations and policy in North and South America for seven years until 2012. Alan has been a long-time leader in the Internet nonprofit community, serving as Director of New America’s Open Technology Institute where he worked to promote equitable broadband access and adoption. As Associate Director of the Center for Democracy and Technology, where he is currently a Board Member, Alan was an advocate for civil liberties and human rights online in some of the earliest Internet policy debates.

Benton Content:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/white-house-to-tap-acting-fcc-chief-jessica-rosenwo…

https://www.theverge.com/2021/10/26/22746223/net-neutrality-fcc-jessica-rosenwor…

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/10/26/fcc-chair-rosenworcel-sohn/

Teaser:

President Biden nominates officials to the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

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White House

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Wed, 10/27/2021

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Daily Digest 10/26/2021

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Tue, 10/26/2021

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