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Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 – The Importance of Universal Broadband in the Age of the Coronavirus
Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Monday, March 31, 12 Noon ET – “The Importance of Universal Broadband in the Age of the Coronavirus”
Follow upcoming Live Online events, see Broadband Breakfast Live Online Will Stream Daily in March on ‘Broadband and the Coronavirus’
Guests for this event:
- Ben Bawtree-Jobson, CEO, SiFi Networks
- Chris Mitchell, Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, Institute for Local Self Reliance
- Gigi Sohn, Distinguished Fellow, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy ; Senior Fellow and Public Advocate, Benton Institute for Broadband and Society
- Drew Clark (Moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Panelist Resources:
- https://muninetworks.org/
- https://muninetworks.org/broadbandbits
- https://www.benton.org/blog/digital-equity-and-broadband-adoption
- https://www.benton.org/blog/state-broadband-2020
- https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2019/04/sifi-networks-announces-whole-city-open-access-fiber-network-in-fullerton-california/
- https://broadbandbreakfast.com/2019/04/sifi-networks-brings-infrastructure-financing-to-california-with-75-million-open-access-fiber-in-fullerton/
Follow upcoming Live Online events, see Broadband Breakfast Live Online Will Stream Daily in March on ‘Broadband and the Coronavirus’
For the story on event, see “The FCC Could Do More Now About the Digital Divide, Say Panelists at Broadband Breakfast Live Online Event,” and below:
April 2, 2020 – “It’s really unfortunate that it has taken a national emergency, a worldwide pandemic, for people to realize how many people don’t have access to broadband internet,” said Georgetown Law Distinguished Fellow Gigi Sohn on a Broadband Breakfast Live Online event Tuesday.
When she testified before Congress about two months ago, Sohn shared census data that 141 million Americans do not have access, recalled Sohn.
Broadband is not only about connection; it’s about safety, said Sohn, who is also senior fellow at the Benton Institute for Broadband and Society.
Sohn admitted that she is a “skeptic” of data caps, but urged mobile and fixed internet service providers to remove data caps immediately.
Right now, the Federal Communications Commission could make E-Rate funds available for mobile hotspots and connectivity. “This is the classroom today,” said Sohn, arguing that those funds apply and are necessary.
The money in the Universal Service Fund is shrinking because it is only funded by telephone services, which have become nearly obsolete and not “sustainable,” said Sohn.
“Let’s be honest folks; this FCC and their friends in Congress hate E-rate, and they hate Lifeline because they are subsidy programs that help poor people and brown and black people,” said Sohn passionately.
Chris Mitchell, director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative at the Institute for Local Self Reliance, highlighted the dissonance between government urging Americans to stay home but making broadband accessible outside of the home, like school parking lots.
Mitchell said a significant flaw with the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund is the allocation of billions of dollars to service areas with 25/3 megabits per second, a speed that will soon be outdated.
“This is a really bad decision,” argued Mitchell. “We’re going to pay for these networks twice,” complained Mitchell.
SiFi Networks CEO Ben Bawtree-Jobson’s private company works with cities to streamline and efficiently construct networks.
SiFi Networks works to build universally across cities because it doesn’t want to create a digital divide, said Bawtree-Jobson. Also, SiFi Networks has a long-term development vision, thinking about how connectivity can improve and progress areas.
Sohn said communities want everyone to be connected because it improves their economy, and open access could be the “antidote.”
Mitchell said the country should not wait until after the coronavirus pandemic to focus on broadband; it has to be a priority now.
Beginning on Wednesday, April 8, 2020, Broadband Breakfast Live Online will hold live events every Wednesday at 12 Noon ET.
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Broadband Breakfast on March 1, 2023 – Preview Session for Big Tech & Speech Summit
Summit moderators will set the stage for timely discussions on content moderation, privacy and competition.

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, March 1, 2023, 12 Noon ET – Preview Session for Big Tech & Speech Summit
With one week left to go before Broadband Breakfast’s live in-person Big Tech & Speech Summit, the conference moderators will present a preview of what to expect at the event. We’ll go over the newest developments in the world of Big Tech — including the recent opening arguments in Gonzalez v. Google and Twitter v. Taamneh — and set the stage for timely discussions on content moderation, privacy and competition. Attendees will have the chance to shape the discussion at the summit by letting moderators know in advance what burning questions are on their minds.
This FREE Broadband Breakfast Live Online event will feature insights from the exclusive Broadband Breakfast Club report for the month of March. Access the full report by registering here.
Panelists
- Panelists have been invited
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
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Broadband Breakfast on February 22, 2023 – Workforce Development Issues
Discuss the state of the broadband workforce, what is being done to develop it and what challenges still lie ahead.

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, February 22, 2023, 12 Noon ET – Workforce Development Issues
Several states are using funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to implement new broadband curriculums and apprenticeship programs in order to grow the dwindling telecom workforce. These programs are key for ensuring a future workforce that is robust, resilient, and has the training and experience required to support the future of broadband. But will these measures be enough to fend off the approaching labor shortage that some experts have warned will risk states’ ability to maintain adequate internet coverage? Join industry leaders at this live online event to check in with the state of the broadband workforce, what is being done to develop it and what challenges still lie ahead.
Panelists
- Panelists have been invited
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
#broadbandlive
Broadband Breakfast on February 15, 2023 – How State Broadband Offices Are Approaching the Next Phase of IIJA
What are states focusing on in order to maximize the amount and impact of their federal broadband funding?

Our Broadband Breakfast Live Online events take place on Wednesday at 12 Noon ET. Watch the event on Broadband Breakfast, or REGISTER HERE to join the conversation.
Wednesday, February 15, 2023, 12 Noon ET – How State Broadband Offices Are Approaching the Next Phase of IIJA
For the past year, state broadband offices have been hard at work to prepare for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Now that a key map challenge deadline has passed — for better or for worse — what are states focusing on in order to maximize the amount and impact of their federal broadband funding? Which states have come out ahead in BEAD funding allocation, and which are struggling? What other IIJA programs and projects are states working on, and what are the biggest hurdles to their completion?
Panelists
- Panelists have been invited
- Drew Clark (moderator), Editor and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
As with all Broadband Breakfast Live Online events, the FREE webcasts will take place at 12 Noon ET on Wednesday.
SUBSCRIBE to the Broadband Breakfast YouTube channel. That way, you will be notified when events go live. Watch on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook.
See a complete list of upcoming and past Broadband Breakfast Live Online events.
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