NextGenWeb recently sat down with George Gilder, Senior Fellow at the Discovery Institute, Editor in Chief of the Gilder Technology Report, and contributing editor to Forbes magazine (for a complete bio, click here). Gilder is a prominent American economist who has focused on the technology and telecommunications sectors for more than two decades. His book, “Life After Television,” was an incredibly accurate prophecy on the future of computers and telecommunications. Gilder has recently been writing and commenting on telecommunications policy, and how it effects economic growth and job creation.

Gilder’s overarching theme is investment, and how increased regulation, specifically the reclassification of broadband as a Title II “telecommunications service”, would harm private investment. In the interview below, Gilder discusses his vision for the future of the Internet, how new applications will require large amounts of bandwidth, and how private investment will be the primary driver to ensure that high-capacity broadband networks continue to be built out across the United States.

Click below to hear more of Gilder’s vision.

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The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) recently held their 8th Annual Summit in San Antonio, TX to explore the different avenues available to increase Latino competitiveness in the 21st century. The discussions at the summit were concentrated on the issues that NHCSL focused on in 2010 and the available policy options that could help strengthen the Hispanic community.

Among the attendees were Jose Luis Rodriguez, President and CEO of the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN), and Jerry M. Fuentes, AT&T President for the states of Arizona and New Mexico. As members of the NHCSL business board of advisors, they were particularly interested in the caucus’ focus and support for ensuring broadband access to the Latino community.

NextGenWeb sat down with both gentlemen to gain insight on the NHCSL summit’s accomplishments as well as what still needs to be done in order to maintain progress in the Latino community moving forward.

Click below to watch the interviews.

Jerry M. Fuentes

Jose Luis Rodriguez

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Last week we highlighted a recent study released by the Commerce Department titled, “Digital Nation II.” The study looked at contemporary trends in broadband adoption amongst different demographics of American society. To get another perspective on the findings of the study, and what policy implications those findings might have, we sat down with David Sutphen, co-chair of the Internet Innovation Alliance, for an interview. Click below to hear Sutphen talk about the barriers to broadband adoption, and what can be done to help cross those barriers.

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NextGenWeb is kicking off its spotlight week discussing the role broadband plays in 21st century healthcare delivery. Through electronic health records, remote monitoring and telehealth applications, broadband is transforming the way may Americans receive their healthcare. Both urban and rural Americans have greater access to higher quality care. Check out our “Broadband and Health IT” page for more information.

NextGenWeb had the privilege of sponsoring the Center for Connected Health Symposium for the fourth year running. This year, NextGenWeb sponsored a session titled, “Lessons Learned During the Maturation of Online Social Networks, Patient Communities and Patient Blogs.” The Center for Connected Health Symposium is an annual gathering of patients, payers, physicians, hospital leaders, entrepreneurs and IT execs that experience healthcare every day. This year’s symposium aimed to discuss and debate the means of moving care beyond the hospital and clinic and into the day-to-day lives of those who need our help.

Dr. Joe Kvedar, Director of the Center for Connected Health in Boston, has been a friend of and contributor to NextGenWeb for the past several years. At last year’s symposium, we had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Kvedar to discuss the need for continued integration of technology into America’s health care system. He also touched on the negative impact that increased broadband regulation could have on e-health delivery.

Click below to watch the interview.

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The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies hosted a recent forum titled, “The Smart Grid Promise: A Technology Policy Forum.” The event pulled together a number of representatives from private industry, consumer welfare groups, technology organizations and public officials to discuss the promise of the smart grid – cost savings, better data collection, energy savings, more consumer control over energy consumption and energy efficiency. Each panelist was asked to explore current efforts aimed at moving more of the country onto the smart grid, as well as what types of policies need to be adopted in order to ensure faster deployment and adoption of smart grid technology.

As we’ve highlighted before on NextGenWeb, the smart grid is possible because of the high-speed broadband networks connecting homes and utilities all across America. And it is thanks to the billions of dollars annually invested by America’s broadband providers that today make the promise of the smart grid closer to a reality.

Present on the panel were two representatives from two of those broadband providers leading the charge – AT&T and Verizon. Jeff Brueggeman, Vice President for Public Policy at AT&T, stated that a conversation about the smart grid must start by thinking about the full range of communications needs that enable the smart grid. The challenge, according to Brueggeman, is managing huge amounts of data that flow over the networks. This is why state of the art broadband networks are needed in order to ensure that seamless flow of data and information.

Larry Plumb, Executive Director of Emerging Issues and Technology Policy at Verizon, began by stating that Verizon sees the smart grid as a business opportunity. A good business model is to invest in what consumers really want. In this case, consumers want to save money and reduce their energy consumption, which the smart grid is allowing to happen. We caught up with Plumb following the panel to further elaborate on the idea of the smart grid as a business opportunity (see below).

During the audience Q&A, a question was posed of what affect the Net neutrality and other broadband regulation debates going on in Washington may have on smart grid policy. In near unanimity, the panelists echoed that network provider’s ability to manage their services will be key to realizing the full potential of the smart grid moving forward. To read more about the managed broadband services debate, click here.

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Earlier this week, the Safe Internet Alliance presented a Capitol Hill roundtable discussion entitled, “Safer by Design: Policies and Principles,” to facilitate a conversation around industry solutions for dealing with consumer safety issues and privacy demands.

The event featured key industry voices from the private sector, special interest groups, and federal agencies. The keynote address was given by Congressman Rick Boucher (D-VA), and Anna Gomez, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communication and Information at NTIA gave the introductory remarks that spearheaded the discussion. (For a full list of speakers, click here)

The main discussion centered around the implications safety and privacy have on broadband adoption. As the industry continues to address Internet safety and privacy concerns, policymakers are reviewing the possibility that those efforts could lead to increased broadband adoption. Some known barriers to broadband adoption include a lack of digital literacy and understood relevance. This often means average citizens are simply afraid to go online because they don’t understand the Internet, or believe there are potential threats or risks once they are online. One discussant compared Internet browsing with driving a car. In the same regard a driver would use caution when driving, Internet users should employ certain safeguards to protect themselves against predators or criminals. Just as people heed driving warnings but don’t stop driving, they should use broadband while applying Internet safeguards.

Click below to watch the interview with Joel Gurin, Consumer Affairs Bureau Chief at the FCC.

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Earlier this week, Broadband Breakfast hosted their September installment of their event series, with this month’s topic being, “Title I, Title II: What Direction for Broadband Reclassification.” The event featured key industry voices from the private sector and academia. Included on the panel were Link Howeing of Verizon, John Mayo form the Georgetown Center for Business & Pubic Policy, Cathy Sloan of CCIA, Larry Spiwak from the Phoenix Center, Harold Feld of Public Knowledge, and Gerald Duffy of the Western Telecommunications Alliance. The panel was moderated by Politico’s very own Kim Hart.

The premise of the discussion was the recent D.C. Court of Appeals decision in Comcast vs. FCC that brought into question the FCC’s authority to regulate broadband, and has subsequently sparked debate throughout Washington concerning the proper regulatory structure for broadband services. Among the key questions posed to the panelists – Are Title I safeguards sufficient for consumers and government? Who has the authority to develop a regulatory structure for broadband, Congress or the FCC? What does Representative Waxman’s proposed bill say about the way the debate has shifted?

Professor John Mayo was quick to point out that the modern Internet economy looks much different than the public utility world, and regulations need to reflect that difference. He warned that shifting broadband to under a Title II regulatory structure would lead to market uncertainty, potentially harming the constant revenue stream of private investment into infrastructure deployment.

Click below to watch an interview with Jon Mayo following the event.

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Day 1 of the Pennsylvania Broadband Summit concluded with a keynote presentation by NextGenWeb contributor and America’s broadband mayor, Graham Richard, followed by a roundtable discussion on the National Broadband Plan, featuring the FCC’s John Horrigan, Verizon Pennsylvania’s Gale Given, and others.

Mayor Richard focused his remarks on the role the broadband can play in local communities in order to “retain and gain jobs.” At NextGenWeb, we make a point of highlighting the role that broadband plays in the economy, from increased competitiveness to job creation. Mayor Richard brought the story close to home by describing how he used broadband in his role as a two-term mayor of Fort Wayne, Indiana to make the second largest city in the state a global competitor, and a place where companies want to conduct business.

The following panel focused on specific areas of the recently released National Broadband Plan. Gale Given of Verizon Pennsylvania discussed how broadband can be used to address what the Broadband Plan calls “national purposes,” including healthcare, education, energy, and public safety. Given highlighted specific programs in the state of Pennsylvania, and how Verizon is enabling those programs through grants and other means. Finally, Given touched on the policy implications of the National Broadband Plan, stating that policies need to remain in place continue to incent private investment, rather than hinder it.

After the keynote and the round-table discussion, we caught up with Mayor Richard and Given to get more of their thoughts. Click below to watch the interviews.

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NextGenWeb is at the Pennsylvania Broadband Summit where government officials, industry leaders and consumers have all gathered to discuss the state of broadband in both Pennsylvania and the nation. John Horrigan, Associate Director for Research at the FCC and friend of NextGenWeb, delivered the opening keynote.

Horrigan, formerly with the Pew Internet and American Life Project, opened his remarks by describing the three main areas of the National Broadband Plan – deployment of infrastructure, universal adoption, and national purposes – but focused his comments on the second – broadband adoption. Horrigan described very succinct lines upon which broadband adoption can be divided, including level of education, income, and age. Perhaps not surprisingly, more education, coupled with higher income levels and younger age all leads to higher broadband adoption rates.

Horrigan then focused on actual broadband adoption levels, and reasons why non-adopters themselves have cited for their lack of adoption. It should be noted that only 4% of adults cite lack of availability as their reason for not adopting broadband. That means 96% of Americans have access to broadband. The question then – if 96% have access, then why does only 66% actually have broadband? The answer is rather muddled, but there are three main reasons that non-adopters cite for their lack of adoption – price, digital literacy, and relevance.

Now, while many detractors often point to price as being a primary reason, Horrigan was quick to point out that data actually pushes against the notion that broadband in America is too expensive. Only 15% of non-adopters don’t have broadband because they think their monthly bill would be too high.

More importantly, and perhaps more alarming, is that nearly 50% of non-adopters either don’t see broadband as relevant to their lives, are afraid of going online, or don’t believe they have the digital literacy necessary to navigate the web.

The moral of the story? Contrary to what some have said, access and price are not major barriers to broadband adoption. This is why focusing policies on digital literacy and computer ownership programs is not only important, but necessary.

Following his presentation, we caught up with Horrigan to further discuss some of his findings. Click below to watch the interview.

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The annual Fiber to the Home Council Conference and Expo came to an end on Wednesday with a timely and informative discussion titled, “Broadband in America: A Current Affairs Perspective.” The panel featured Kathleen Franco, Executive Director for Public Policy at AT&T, Eric Reed, Vice President for Market Issues and Policy at Verizon, and was moderated by Tom Cohen, FTTH Legal Council.

The key topics discussed on the panel were straightforward and complex at the same time. The key takeaway – private investment in broadband infrastructure has been the key driver in reaching near ubiquitous broadband penetration, developing more choices for consumers, and lower prices over the last decade. And policy discussions going on in Washington will have a major impact on those investments.

Franco stated that the massive broadband deployment that has taken place in the United States over the past decade and a half has been due to a free market process. The free market process is now being threatened by overreaching regulations, such as the proposed reclassification of broadband under Title II. Franco called potential Title II classification, “Trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.”

Reed followed by discussing the need to refocus the debate around broadband regulation by educating consumers and using real-world solutions, rather than focusing on hypotheticals and rhetoric. Reed stated, “The key is for us [broadband providers] to provide clear and concise info to consumers about how the Internet really works.”

Following the session, we caught up with Eric Reed to elaborate on some of his remarks. Click below to watch the interview.

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