Broadband Breakfast on October 16, 2024 - Cities and Taxes on Video and Broadband
Join us to hear about the potential implications for local economies, service providers, and consumers alike.
Across America, localities are embroiled in a push to tax streaming video and broadband services, driven in part by sweeping changes to streaming video services versus traditional cable service. Central to the debate is the burden imposed upon local rights-of-way as part of the physical connection to homes and businesses. Many municipalities contend that broadband and video streaming services should be subject to franchise fees similar to those applied to cable providers. What is the appropriate compensation for use of rights-of-way? What obstacles might cities face in seeking such fees? And what of the public’s need for public, educational and governmental information?
Broadband Breakfast
Panelists
- Burt Cohen, Staff Attorney & Broadband Policy Coordinator, Office of Consumer Counsel, State of Connecticut
- Cheryl Leanza, Of Counsel, Best Best & Krieger LLP
- Jessica Ring Amunson, Co-Chair, Appellate & Supreme Court Practice, Jenner & Block LLP
- Drew Clark (moderator), CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Burt Cohen is Staff Attorney & Broadband Policy Coordinator for Connecticut’s Office of Consumer Counsel, which represents the interests of consumers in utility and telecommunications matters. Prior to joining the OCC, he was in private practice primarily representing cable operators on regulatory and tax issues for nearly 3 decades and, subsequently, the interests of municipalities on telecommunications issues. Burt has also served on several working groups within the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services and was an associate member of the Broadband Tax Institute.
Cheryl A. Leanza has been practicing communications law for more than 25 years with a wide scope of practice including Internet access, broadcast and cable regulation, social media corporate accountability and affordability in communications. Cheryl is skilled in appellate litigation and representing clients before the Federal Communications Commission and Congress. Cheryl plays a key role at the intersection of civil rights and communications policy and is a nationally recognized authority in equity in access to communications. Cheryl is particularly adept at finding agreements and policy solutions that are strategic, politically viable and legally airtight.
Jessica Ring Amunson is the Co-Chair of the Appellate & Supreme Court Practice at Jenner & Block LLP and works closely with the firm’s Communications, Internet & Technology Practice. Jessie argued the City of Eugene v. FCC case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit on behalf of NCTA regarding the franchise-fee cap and the mixed-use rule.
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.
