Making Mobile Broadband Affordable

The FCC is wrestling with two major policy changes that promise to promote more affordable wireless broadband for low- and middle-income Americans:

One is reforming and extending the Lifeline phone subsidy so that poor households can decide to use it to make monthly smartphone service more affordable. The FCC will vote to put a Lifeline reform proposal out for comment on June 18.

The second policy choice is whether next year’s TV band Incentive Auction will best promote competition by setting aside 30 or 40 megahertz of spectrum in each market for bids by competitive carriers that lack sufficient low-band spectrum to compete. Currently the two dominant national carriers – AT&T and Verizon – hold three-quarters of all low-band spectrum that is necessary for mobile broadband signals to penetrate deep into buildings or cover less populated areas at low costs.

The policy forum will explore how, together, ‘Lifeline + Competition’ are core building blocks for a policy to ensure that all Americans can afford wireless broadband. Survey data from the Pew Research Center show that young, low-income and minority consumers rely on mobile devices as their exclusive or primary source of Internet access, since tens of millions of people cannot afford both a mobile and a home broadband subscription.

Please join us for a discussion keynoted by FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who has been a champion of Lifeline reform and affordable broadband access, and followed by former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, who employed spectrum caps during his tenure to ensure the emerging mobile market had five or more competitors in every market, keeping prices down and innovation up. An expert panel will conclude the luncheon program.

Lunch will be served.

Follow the discussion online using #AffordableBroadband and follow us @OTI.

Participants:

Click here to access a PDF copy of the presentation and click here to access a copy of the written remarks. 

Honorable Mignon Clyburn
Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
@MClyburnFCC

Reed Hundt
Former Chairman, FCC, and CEO, Coalition for Green Capital
@rehundt

Aaron Smith
Senior Research Specialist, Pew Internet & American Life Project
@aaron_w_smith

Panelists:

Michael Scurato
Policy Director, National Hispanic Media Coalition
@MichaelScurato

Wade McGill
Vice President, US Wireless Operations, Atlantic Tele-Network Inc.

Harold Feld
Senior Vice President, Public Knowledge
@haroldfeld

Marie Sylla-Dixon
Senior Director and Chief Counsel Legislative Affairs, T-Mobile
@Mrsylladixon

Moderator:

Michael Calabrese
Director, Wireless Future Project, New America’s Open Technology Institute
@MCalabreseNAF