Broadband Breakfast on November 6, 2024 - The Debate Over Unlocking Phones
Join us to discover how this proposal could reshape the mobile landscape.
The Federal Communications Commission recently put forward a proposal requiring mobile service providers to unlock customers’ phones within 60 days of activation, stirring up a heated debate within the wireless industry and beyond. On one side, advocates see this rule as a way to enhance competition and digital equity, giving customers the freedom to switch carriers that better meet their needs. On the other side, critics caution this could upend affordable phone programs and pave the way for increased smartphone fraud. Join us to dive deeper into this pressing issue and discover how this proposal could reshape the mobile landscape.
Broadband Breakfast
Panelists
- Jeff Blum, Executive Vice President, External & Government Affairs, EchoStar
- Tamara Preiss, Vice President, Federal Regulatory and Legal Affairs, Verizon
- Liz Chamberlain, Director of Sustainability, iFixit
- John Bergmayer, Legal Director, Public Knowledge
- Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Panelist resources
Jericho Casper
Jericho Casper
Jericho Casper
Jericho Casper
Taormina Falsitta
Jake Neenan
Jeff Blum serves as EchoStar’s Executive Vice President, External & Government Affairs, overseeing public policy, regulatory and government affairs in Washington, D.C. Before coming to EchoStar (formerly DISH Network) in 2005, Jeff was a partner at the Los Angeles firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, where his practice focused on copyright, First Amendment and anti-piracy litigation. He serves on the board of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA), INCOMPAS, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Open RAN Policy Coalition (ORPC) and the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (BITAG).
Tamara Preiss is Vice President, Federal Regulatory and Legal Affairs, representing Verizon before the FCC, other federal agencies, and Congress on a range of regulatory and policy issues, including wireless, video, and universal service. She joined Verizon in 2008 after ten years at the FCC, where she served as Chief of the Pricing Policy Division in the Wireline Competition Bureau and Assistant General Counsel in the Office of General Counsel. Prior to the FCC, Tamara was in private practice. She received her undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Virginia.
Liz Chamberlain is Director of Sustainability at iFixit, which has all the parts, tools, and documentation you need to complete most electronics repairs. She heads the iFixit advocacy team, fighting for your right to fix everything you own, and has testified on behalf of Right to Repair legislation around the country. Her writing on repair has been published in Wired, The Atlantic, and The Wall Street Journal.
John Bergmayer is Legal Director at Public Knowledge, specializing in telecommunications, internet, and intellectual property issues. He advocates for the public interest before courts and policymakers, and works to make sure that all stakeholders--including ordinary citizens, artists, and technological innovators--have a say in shaping emerging digital policies.
Breakfast Media LLC CEO Drew Clark has led the Broadband Breakfast community since 2008. An early proponent of better broadband, better lives, he initially founded the Broadband Census crowdsourcing tool to collect and verify broadband data left unpublished by the Federal Communications Commission. As CEO and Publisher, Clark presides over the leading media community advocating for higher-capacity internet everywhere through topical, timely and intelligent coverage. Clark also served as head of the Partnership for a Connected Illinois, a state broadband initiative.
