Broadband in the Trump Administration
The one-day conference took place on Thursday, December 12, 2024
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Broadband Breakfast
Broadband in the Trump Administration Program
Thursday, December 12, 2024 | Washington, DC.
Keynote Address from Sen. Marsha Blackburn
Jake Neenan
Keynote Address from Sen. Amy Klobuchar
Jake Neenan
Panel 1: Finishing the Job on the BEAD Program
As power moves to a new administration, the future of the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program - is likely to come center stage. What kind of changes can we expect from the NTIA, and potentially the FCC, as Donald Trump returns to the White House. Will the new administration stay the course or tweak aspects of BEAD?
To set the stage for the discussion, we're pleased to welcome NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson to deliver a 10-minute opening address.
- Alan Davidson, Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Jake Neenan
Jericho Casper
Panelists:
- Eric Frederick, Chief Connectivity Officer, Michigan High-Speed Internet Office
- Diane Rinaldo, Executive Director, Open RAN Policy Coalition
- Ronnie Hammond, Director, Maryland Office of Statewide Broadband
- Joshua Breitbart, Senior Vice President, ConnectALL, Empire State Development
- Christopher Cole (moderator), Senior Reporter, Telecom, Law360
Executive Conversation with NextNav's CEO Mariam Sorond
The lack of a backup to GPS is a national security concern. Officials across the government and industry are sounding the alarm as GPS vulnerabilities like spoofing and jamming become more widespread. China and Russia are already ahead of the US and are building backup systems. Exploring alternatives to enhance this vital service is crucial for safeguarding American commerce, public safety, and national security. What role could a terrestrial PNT (Positioning Navigation and Timing) network play in strengthening national security in the incoming Trump Administration?
- Mariam Sorond, Board Chair and CEO, NextNav
- Drew Clark, CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Panel 2: A Return to Spectrum Authority?
Since the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to conduct spectrum auctions lapsed in March 2023, advocates have been clamoring for Congress to renew it. Thus far, their efforts have fallen flat. As the FCC looks to explore additional spectrum opportunities, the authority’s lapsing casts a long shadow. With a new Congress on the horizon and a potentially reshuffled FCC, what factors will facilitate - or hinder - a revival of auction authority authority? And what impacts might this have on future spectrum strategies, the broader economy, and the U.S.’s competitive edge in wireless technologies?
To set the stage for this pivotal conversation, we’re honored to welcome Congressman Bob Latta to deliver a 10-minute opening address.
- Bob Latta, Congressman, Ohio’s Fifth Congressional District
Jake Neenan
Panelists:
- Scott Blake Harris, Co-founder and Managing Partner, Crest Hill Advisors LLC
- Shiva Goel, Senior Advisor for Spectrum Policy, NTIA, U.S. Department of Commerce
- David Redl, Founder and CEO, Salt Point Strategies
- Jeff Blum, Executive Vice President, External & Government Affairs, EchoStar
- Robert M. McDowell, Partner, Cooley
- Kelcee Griffis (moderator), Telecom Reporter, Bloomberg News
Fireside Chat: The Future of Rural Broadband Connectivity
The digital divide remains a pressing challenge for America's rural communities, where reliable high-speed internet is essential for economic growth, healthcare access, and educational opportunities. In this fireside chat, Broadband Breakfast CEO and Publisher Drew Clark will sit down with former Rural Utilities Services Administrator Hilda Legg to explore strategies for addressing these pressing needs. Drawing from her experience leading key USDA telecommunications programs, Legg will discuss fiber deployment vs wireless solutions for future-proof connectivity, and how federal funding can overcome economic hurdles to deliver long-term value for rural communities.
- Hilda Legg, Consultant, Legg Strategies
- Drew Clark, CEO and Publisher, Broadband Breakfast
Jericho Casper
Panel 3: Reforming the Universal Service Fund, and Renewing the Affordable Connectivity Program?
While lawmakers say they support empowering underserved communities, the biggest disappointment for broadband advocates in 2024 was the expiration of the Affordable Connectivity Program. Its fate has become intertwined with potential changes in the Universal Service Fund. To complicate matters, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the USF as unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court is widely expected to review that decision next year. How will these two twin issues play out in the new administration, and in the next Congress?
Jake Neenan
Panelists:
- Roslyn Layton, Senior Vice President, Strand Consult
- Amy Huffman, Policy Director, National Digital Inclusion Alliance
- Mignon Clyburn, Principal, MLC Strategies, LLC
- Harold Furchtgott-Roth, Senior Fellow and Director, Center for the Economics of the Internet, Hudson Institute
- Ryan Tracy (moderator), Co-Writer, Capitol Account
Panel 4: With Chevron Deference Dead, Will Courts Check the Next Administration?
The Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo marks the end of Chevron deference, fundamentally altering the regulatory landscape that federal agencies navigate. This change has profound implications for the FCC's authority on critical issues including Net Neutrality and digital discrimination. A second Trump administration will face a transformed regulatory environment where agency rulemaking powers are significantly constrained. Additionally, are we likely to see more litigation about Section 230 content moderation under the Trump Administration? How will the FCC approach Big Tech, and how will courts react?
Jericho Casper
Panelists:
- Joel Thayer, President, Digital Progress Institute
- Tom Johnson, Partner, Wiley
- Michael O'Rielly, President, MPORielly Consulting Inc.
- Gigi Sohn, Senior Fellow and Public Advocate, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
- Lynn Stanton (moderator), Senior Editor, Wolters Kluwer’s TR Daily
Speaker Bios
Keynote Address from Senator Marsha Blackburn
Marsha Blackburn is the senior senator for Tennessee and the first woman to represent the Volunteer State in the United States Senate. She serves on the Deputy Whip Team and is a member of the Finance Committee; the Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee; the Veterans’ Affairs Committee; and the Judiciary Committee. She serves as the Ranking Member on the Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Data Security and on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Human Rights and the Law. Before her election to the Senate, Marsha represented Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She dedicates her public service to promoting opportunities for all Tennesseans, including by breaking barriers for women, and making America a more prosperous place to live.
Keynote Address from Senator Amy Klobuchar
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar is the first woman elected to represent the State of Minnesota in the United States Senate. As co-chair of the Senate Broadband Caucus, Senator Klobuchar has been a leading advocate working to connect every American to high speed internet once and for all. Her provisions to expand high-speed broadband across the country were included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law in 2021. Senator Klobuchar also serves as the Chairwoman on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, where she has worked to reinvigorate America’s antitrust laws and restore competition to American markets. As a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Senator Klobuchar has worked on behalf of Minnesota’s farmers, agriculture workers, and rural communities by fighting to expand access to broadband, support food assistance programs, and provide stability to livestock producers.
Panel 1: Finishing the Job on the BEAD Program
Alan Davidson leads NTIA, the President’s principal advisor on telecommunications and information policy. As NTIA Administrator, Alan oversees more than 500employees working to close the digital divide, manage federal spectrum resources, and build a better Internet. Before joining NTIA, Alan most recently served as a Senior Advisor to 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.
Eric Frederick serves as the State of Michigan’s first Chief Connectivity Officer. In this role, Mr. Frederick leads the Michigan High-Speed Internet Office (MIHI) with the goals of achieving universal broadband access and creating a more digitally equitable state. For more than a decade, Eric has been a steadfast advocate and resource for expanding broadband in Michigan and now oversees MIHI’s $1.8 billion in funds to close Michigan’s digital divide. Eric also serves as the designee for Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist II as the chair of the FCC’s Intergovernmental Advisory Committee.
Diane Rinaldo is one of the country’s leading authorities on 5G, telecommunications supply chain security and privacy. She served as Acting Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. During her time at NTIA, Ms. Rinaldo directed the Administration’s efforts on privacy; testified in the House of Representatives and Senate on 5G and Internet security issues; served as a principal advising the White House and Congress on 5G and supply chain; as well as other successes in education and deployment of Internet access around the world.
Ronnie Hammond is a seasoned professional committed to advancing connectivity and digital equity across Maryland. With over a decade of experience in the private and public sectors, he has been a driving force behind broadband infrastructure and digital inclusion initiatives that are transforming communities statewide. Now serving as the Director of the Maryland Office of Statewide Broadband, Ronnie leads the allocation of over $500 million in grants dedicated to closing broadband gaps. Under his leadership, the office has connected more than 140,000 households and community anchor institutions with affordable high-speed internet, devices, and digital skills training. Ronnie’s unwavering commitment to digital inclusion has been instrumental in driving Maryland toward its goal of achieving 100% connectivity by 2028.
Joshua Breitbart is the Senior Vice President, ConnectALL, at Empire State Development. In that role, he serves as Director of the Division of Broadband Access, overseeing the statewide digital equity plan and administering over $1 billion in public investments across the state. Joshua Breitbart brings more than two decades of experience to ConnectALL, including as Senior Advisor for Broadband and Deputy Chief Technology Officer for the City of New York and as an advisor to the broadband subcommittee of the Reimagine New York Commission.
Christopher Cole is senior reporter for telecom in Law360's Washington bureau, where he also wrote about all things FCC as part of the legal newswires' general assignment coverage. He has years of experience as a legal, business and political reporter and editor at newspapers, as well as covering Congress and federal agencies, and started at Law360 in 2018.
Executive Conversation with NextNav's CEO Mariam Sorond
Mariam Sorond is NextNav’s Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer. She has nearly three decades of experience leading transformational change across mobile, wireless, and satellite networks industries and has held leadership positions within start-ups and large companies. Before joining NextNav as CEO in November 2023, she served as the Chief Technology Officer, SEBU at VMWare, CRDO at CableLabs and Chief Wireless Architect at DISH. She also served on the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Commerce Spectrum Management Advisory Committee (CSMAC) and the Federal Communications Commission’s Technological Advisory Council. NextNav’s innovative terrestrial PNT technology serves as a complement and backup to traditional GPS services.
Panel 2: A Return to Spectrum Authority?
Since 2007, Congressman Bob Latta has served the people of Ohio’s Fifth Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. Congressman Latta is a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee where he plays an intricate role in crafting the nation’s energy, telecommunications, environment, health care, and interstate commerce policy. Congressman Latta is the chair of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology where he advocates for policies that help consumers, grow our economy, spur innovation, and close the digital divide. He is also a member of the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security and the Subcommittee on Health. Along with his committee positions, Congressman Latta is a Deputy Whip and Co-Chairs the Rural Broadband Caucus and the Congressional Propane Caucus.
Shiva Goel is the Senior Advisor for Spectrum Policy at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), where he represents the agency in its efforts to expand the use of spectrum to support the needs of the federal government, consumers, and the commercial sector. He also manages satellite and space matters for the Office of Assistant Secretary. He joined NTIA from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where he served as Legal Advisor to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks on wireless, space, and international policy. Shiva was previously a partner in the telecom, appellate, and litigation practices of Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP. He received his law degree Order of the Coif from the University of Virginia School of Law and a BA from Cornell University.
The founder and Managing Partner of Crest Hill Advisors, Scott Blake Harris has been a legal and policy professional in Washington, D.C. for forty-eight years, primarily focused on telecommunications, technology, and energy issues. He has deep experience both in government and in the private sector. Scott has served as Chief of the FCC’s International Bureau, General Counsel of the Department of Energy, and most recently as a senior advisor and Director of the National Spectrum Strategy at NTIA. He was also a co-founder, Managing Partner, and Chairman of the law firm Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis (now HWG), and a partner at the law firms of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Williams & Connolly. He is a magna cum laude graduate of both Brown University and Harvard Law School.
David Redl is the Founder and CEO of Salt Point Strategies, a public affairs consulting, strategy, and advocacy firm focused on the telecommunication and technology sectors. Prior to founding Salt Point, David served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and the Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and as Chief Counsel for Communications and Technology to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. David also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Silicon Flatirons Center at the University of Colorado
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).
Robert M. McDowell is a partner at Cooley LLP and is chair of its global communications practice group, where he advises telecommunications, media, spacetech, satellite and technology clients on their most significant regulatory, legal and business matters. As a former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Commissioner McDowell has been at the forefront of the most complex and groundbreaking issues facing the telecommunications, media and technology sectors. He was first appointed to the FCC by President George W. Bush in 2006 and again by President Obama in 2009. He was unanimously confirmed both times by the U.S. Senate. Commissioner McDowell also served on the U.S. diplomatic delegation to the 2012 World Conference on International Telecommunications. He is often called upon for speaking engagements and frequently appears on TV and radio. He has written opinion pieces for many high-profile publications, including the Wall Street Journal and Washington Post. He serves as a Senior Fellow for the Hudson Institute and is on the Board of Directors of Shared Spectrum Corporation. He also has served on the Board of Directors for The Potomac School and the Board of Visitors for Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy.
Kelcee Griffis is a Washington, D.C.-based reporter covering the telecom business for Bloomberg News. When she's not writing about the latest FCC development or affordable broadband initiative, you can find her watching reality TV or training for her next marathon.
Fireside Chat: The Future of Rural Broadband Connectivity
Hilda Legg is a prominent advocate for rural economic development, with a career spanning leadership roles in telecommunications, infrastructure, and public policy. Appointed by President George W. Bush as Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), she oversaw billions in investments, established USDA's first Broadband Loan Program, and created the successful Community Connect Grant Program, bringing broadband to underserved rural areas. She has also held key positions under Presidents Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and Donald Trump, including at the Appalachian Regional Commission and as Kentucky's State Director for Rural Development. Now a consultant with Legg Strategies, she continues championing rural infrastructure, including broadband, water, and energy, while serving on various boards and as a sought-after speaker.
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.
Panel 3: Reforming the Universal Service Fund, and Renewing the Affordable Connectivity Program?
Roslyn Layton, PhD has published many reports and analyses on universal service fund reform. She serves as Executive Vice President of Strand Consult and Visiting Researcher at Aalborg University’s Centre for Communication, Media and Information Technologies in Copenhagen, Denmark. She leads Strand Consult’s Global Project for Broadband Cost Recovery which chronicles the policy to enable financial sustainability and affordability for the world’s broadband networks. Her doctoral investigation measures broadband regulation and innovation across 53 countries. Roslyn has served on the Program Committees of the International Telecommunications Society and the Telecom Policy Research Conference. She is a Fellow of the National Security Institute at George Mason University and advises the Foundation for American Innovation and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue University. She holds citizenship in Denmark and USA.
Amy Huffman joined NDIA in 2021. She is a public servant, systems thinker, innovative policy expert, and storyteller passionate about closing the digital divide and ensuring all Americans can thrive in the 21st century’s digital world. Amy has studied and worked in the digital inclusion field since 2011. Before joining NDIA, Amy served as the State of North Carolina’s first digital inclusion and policy manager for the Broadband Infrastructure Office, a division of the Department of Information Technology. Government Technology named Amy one of the nation’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers, and Drivers of 2024 for her work supporting states to implement the Digital Equity Act. In 2021, Public Knowledge presented her with the 20/20 Visionary Award, recognizing her as one of the top 20 Future Tech Policy Leaders. Amy holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in political science from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Mignon Clyburn served as Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2009 to 2018, and acting chair from May to November of 2013. Previously, Clyburn served 11 years on the South Carolina Public Service Commission and prior to that, was the publisher and general manager of a family-founded, Charleston-based African American oriented weekly newspaper. She is currently the principal of MLC Strategies, LLC, a DC-based consulting firm, and serves on a number of public and non-profit boards.
Harold Furchtgott-Roth, former commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, where he founded the Center on the Economics of the Internet and helped cofound the Forum for Intellectual Property. He has cofounded various businesses in the communications sector.
Ryan Tracy is co-writer at Capitol Account, a Washington, D.C. publication focused on financial services regulation. He is a former reporter at The Wall Street Journal, where he spent 13 years writing about the intersection of business and Washington. His work spanned three presidential administrations and most recently focused on technology and telecommunications policy. He wrote extensively about broadband, including a series of articles digging into the effectiveness of the FCC’s broadband programs. He also covered artificial intelligence, antitrust, privacy, and other issues. Ryan got his start reporting on local government at The Times of Trenton in his native New Jersey. He has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Panel 4: With Chevron Deference Dead, Will Courts Check the Next Administration?
Joel Thayer is president of Digital Progress Institute, and a tech and telecom attorney based in Washington, D.C. His experience also includes working as legal clerk for FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen. Additionally, Mr. Thayer served as a congressional staffer for the Hon. Lee Terry and Hon. Mary Bono.
Tom Johnson has over 15 years’ experience in private practice and public service at the federal and state levels representing clients in high-stakes appellate and regulatory litigation matters. Tom has argued appeals in the Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, D.C. and Federal Circuits, and the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Prior to joining Wiley, Tom was the General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), where he served as the agency’s chief legal officer and briefed dozens of appeals – personally arguing two – in the federal courts of appeals in constitutional and administrative law challenges to the FCC’s orders.
Michael O’Rielly served as a Commissioner at the Federal Communications
Commission from 2013 through 2020. He is currently President at MPORielly
Consulting Inc., a Visiting Fellow at the Hudson Institute, a Senior Fellow at the Media Institute, and a Member of the International Advisory Committee of APCO Worldwide. Before joining the FCC, Mr. O’Rielly held a variety of leading staff positions during 20 years on Capitol Hill in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, ending as Policy Advisor in the Office of the Senate Republican Whip.
Gigi Sohn is one of the nation’s leading public advocates for open, affordable and democratic communications networks. In recognition of her expertise and dedication to the public interest in communications, President Biden nominated her to serve on the Federal Communications Commission in October 2021. Gigi currently serves as the Executive Director of the American Association of Public Broadband (AAPB) and a Benton Institute Senior Fellow and Public Advocate. From 2013 to 2016, Gigi was Counselor to the former Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler. She served as the Co-Founder and CEO of Public Knowledge, a leading communications and intellectual property policy advocacy organization, and also served in leadership roles at the Ford Foundation and the Media Access Project, the nation’s first public interest communications law firm.
Lynn Stanton is a senior editor at Wolters Kluwer’s TR Daily, where she currently covers policy issues affecting broadband and Internet services. She has reported on issues ranging from universal service to the section 230 safe harbor since the 1996 Telecommunications Act. She has a BA from the University of Maryland and a master’s degree from the University of Virginia.
Gold Sponsor:
NextNav Inc. is a leader in next generation positioning, navigation and timing (PNT), enabling a whole new ecosystem of applications and services that rely upon 3D geolocation and PNT technology. Powered by low-band licensed spectrum, NextNav's positioning and timing technologies deliver accurate, reliable, and resilient 3D PNT solutions for critical infrastructure, GPS resiliency and commercial use cases.
Silver Sponsors:
gaiia is a leading provider of OSS/BSS solutions for the telecommunications industry. With its comprehensive platform, gaiia offers ISPs an all-in-one solution for billing, CRM, operations, field service, automation, and more. Founded with a vision to simplify and optimize ISP operations, gaiia empowers providers worldwide to deliver exceptional services and drive growth in the digital age. To date, gaiia has raised a total of US$26.2M. For more information, please visit gaiia's website.
Connected Nation is a national nonprofit, founded in 2001, with a mission to improve lives by providing innovative solutions that expand the access, adoption, and use of broadband (high-speed internet) and its related technologies to ALL people. Our teams work in partnership with anchor institutions, Tribal Nations, nonprofits, Internet Service Providers, government agencies, and others to provide the support and guidance needed for successful broadband rollout and the expansion of digital equity programs. Everyone belongs in a Connected Nation.
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