Even though its August, a historically slow month in Washington, DC, that hasn’t stopped the FCC from engaging in meetings with key stakeholders regarding Net neutrality and broadband classification discussions.

With those conversations taking place, NextGenWeb wanted to track down leading thinkers and important voices that have recently published opinion pieces on the issue of broadband governance and classification. Our search brought us to Hance Haney of the Discovery Institute.

Haney recently had a special opinion piece published in the Sacramento Bee where he laid out the negative consequences that increased broadband regulation would have on jobs. Referring to the FCC’s apparent inclinations to regulate broadband, Haney stated, “It’s an aggressive play that will almost certainly land in court, and the results will have serious long-term impacts to consumers and small businesses throughout the country, including future job growth.”

NextGenWeb caught up with Haney to further discuss his position. Click below to watch the interview.

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On July 21, the eHealth Policy Institute hosted an event titled, “Improving the Nation’s Health —A Public Health Perspective on the HITECH Act and Health Care Reform.” Click below to watch archived footage.

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Many people have said that if Thomas Edison were alive today and looked at our electricity grid, he would recognize it. But finally, some 100 years after Edison fired up the first commercial power grid, the revolution is beginning– thanks to broadband.

A recent briefing on Capitol Hill hosted by the Clean Economy Network and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) touched on how broadband is enabling consumer energy tools and the smart grid. Smart grids are being developed across the country, and they will change the amount of control that consumers have over their energy consumption and monthly bills like never before. Presenters at the briefing focused their comments on how broadband providers and utility companies can work together to ensure that smart grids become commonplace.

Following the event, NextGenWeb caught up with Mike Brander, Vice President of Sales for Utility and Industrial at Verizon Wireless, and Tim Greeff, Political Director if the Clean Economy Network, to further discuss the role broadband is playing in enabling the smart grid.

Click below to view interviews as well as complete archived footage of the briefing.

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Join NextGenWeb beginning Saturday, July 10 through Monday, July 12 as broadband brings you four of the top sessions at the National Council of La Raza’s 2010 Annual Conference. This year’s conference takes place in San Antonio, Texas providing a forum for organizations, corporate representatives and government officials from around the country to learn about and discuss ongoing and emerging issues that affect the Latino community.

When:

Saturday, July 10, 3:00 – 4:30pm CT*
Educating Our Way Out of the Economic Crisis: Everyone College-Ready

Sunday, July 11, 3:30 – 5:00 pm CT*
Childhood Obesity: A Call for Action

Monday, July 12, 12:30 – 2:30pm CT*
Luncheon Keynote

Monday, July 12, 3:00 – 4:30pm CT*
What’s the Holdup? Strategies to Jump- Start a Stalled Economy

*Please note all times are Central time.

Live video chat by Ustream

Archived Footage of Day 1

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Three organizations leading the advancement of broadband adoption, Broadband for America, the US Internet Industry Association (USIIA), and Net Literacy, dedicated a daylong conference to the issue earlier this week in Washington, DC.  Industry, government, consumers, and more all shared their expertise through keynotes and panels that included:

• Keynote address by USTelecom President & CEO Walter McCormick
• The Broadband Adoption Paradox
• Where Will We Get the Computers?
• Keynote address by former Broadband Initiative Exec Director at FCC Blair Levin
• Outline for Community Adoption Programs
• Promoting Broadband Adoption

One of the experts participating in the conference was Brian David, Director of Adoption & Usage at the FCC.  He began his speech analogizing broadband policy to the sport of curling.  You might raise an eyebrow at this, as many in the room did, but his explanation brought the truth to light.  First, the curler throws the stone, which in this case would be the private sector, nonprofits, and communities.  Their target is sustainable broadband.  The sweepers, whose role is to influence the path of the stone towards the target, would be analogous to the FCC’s National Broadband Plan.

David played an integral role in the creation of the broadband plan, listing the factors below as key priorities of the National Broadband Plan:

1)   Focus on the barriers to adoption

2)   Focus on broadband in the home

3)   Promote broadband utilization

4)   Measure and adjust

5)   Form partnerships across stakeholder groups

Watch the video below for more from Brian David.

NextGenWeb also caught up with Navarrow Wright, President of Maximum Leverage Solutions, who shared a more personal and practical perspective on broadband adoption.  He believes we need to demonstrate a strong value proposition to non-adopters, ideally around jobs and entrepreneurship.  Watch the video below for more from Wright.

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On Tuesday, June 22, Third Way hosted an event titled, “Back in Black: A Plan to Defeat the Deficit.” The event featured a keynote address from Majority Leader, Steny H. Hoyer, as well as a panel discussion from Robert Bixby, of The Concord Coalition, Robert Greenstein, from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and the Honorable David Walker, of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. Click below to watch archived footage of the event.

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On Thursday, June 17, NextGenWeb attended the Health Information Technology Showcase and Demonstration hosted by the Institute for eHealth Policy. As part of National Health IT Week, the showcase featured interactive tabletop exhibits of more than 30 leading government agencies, universities, and health care and technology organizations as well as a panel discussion titled, “HITECH: Strategies for Delivering on The Promise to Rural and Underserved Communities.” Following the panel, we caught up with Marcia Thomas-Brown, Program Manager for the National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved (NHIT). Click below to watch the interview, as well as full archived footage of the panel.

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On June 2nd, the e-Health Policy Institute hosted an event on Capitol Hill titled “Implementing Health Information Technology: Meaningful Data = Meaningful Use.” Click below to watch archived footage of the event.

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On Thursday, June 3, the Media Institute hosted their June installment of the Communications Forum. The event featured a keynote address by FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Click below to watch archived footage from NextGenWeb’s live stream of the event.

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On Thursday, May 27, Third Way hosted a policy breakfast titled, “Red Tide Rising: Confronting the Fiscal Crisis.” The event featured Senators Kent Conrad (D-ND), George Voinovich (R-OH) and Representative Jim Cooper (D-TN) who discussed the looming financial crisis and possible solutions moving forward. Click below to watch archived footage of the event.

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