Broadband in the Trump Administration
A one-day conference in Washington on Thursday, December 12, 2024
Want to Sponsor? Get the Media KitDonald Trump’s 2024 victory in the presidential election will change public policy in Washington on many fronts. Broadband will be particularly impacted.
What will become of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s centerpiece program to build broadband infrastructure everywhere, including in Rural America? Will Congress finally reauthorize Federal Communications Commission spectrum auctions? Will the Affordable Connectivity Fund enjoy a new lease on life with strong supporter JD Vance as Vice President-Elect? And how will the law and regulations regarding Net Neutrality and Digital Discrimination be transformed as the country shifts from a Democratic to a Republican administration?
Join officials from Republican and Democratic administrations, including former Trump administration decision-makers, for a one-day conference, “Broadband in the Trump Administration,” on Thursday, December 12, 2024, in Washington.
Registration Only $195
Register to Attend!Broadband in the Trump Administration
A one-day conference on Thursday, December 12, 2024, 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Location to be announced shortly
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 comes 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?
- Eric Frederick, Chief Connectivity Officer, Michigan High-Speed Internet Office
- Other panelists have been invited
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?
- 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
- Other panelists have been invited
- Kelcee Griffis (moderator), Telecom Reporter, Bloomberg News
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?
- Roslyn Layton, Senior Vice President, Strand Consult
- Other panelists have been invited
- Ryan Tracy (moderator), Co-Writer, Capitol Account
Panel 4: Net Neutrality, Digital Discrimination, Chevron Deference and the Next Administration
Will the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright eliminate the see-saw, from one administration to another, on issues like Net Neutrality? The Supreme Court ended Chevron Deference, potentially undercutting the decision-making power of federal agencies like the FCC. In addition to the legal question of prioritization of broadband traffic by internet service providers, digital discrimination and other issues might also be overturned by Trump. In the second Trump administration, what role will the Federal Communications Commission play in navigating the post-Chevron regulatory framework?
- Panelists have been invited
- Lynn Stanton (moderator), Senior Editor, Wolters Kluwer’s TR Daily
Speaker Bios:
Panel 1: Finishing the Job on the BEAD Program
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. Mr. Frederick is a state and community broadband policy and planning expert and a sought-after speaker on broadband and technology issues with experience working with local to international stakeholders to improve the access, adoption, and use of broadband. Mr. Frederick’s long-term and comprehensive approach to technology-related community development provides wide-ranging insights, education, and solutions to create digitally inclusive and equitable communities.
Panel 2: A Return to Spectrum Authority?
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
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.
Panel 3: Reforming the Universal Service Fund, and Renewing the Affordable Connectivity Program?
Roslyn Layton, PhD, Senior Vice President of Strand Consult and Visiting Researcher at Aalborg University Copenhagen, is an international technology expert focused on the economics, security, and geopolitics of broadband internet technology. She has testified before the U.S. Congress on competition in wireless technologies, spectrum reform, the security advantages of 5G versus Wi-Fi, and the empirical and ethical case for fair cost recovery for broadband networks. She is also a senior contributor to Forbes, a Fellow of the National Security Institute at George Mason University, and a Senior Advisor to the Lincoln Policy Network.
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: Net Neutrality, Digital Discrimination, Chevron Deference and the Next Administration
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.
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Broadband Breakfast
