Today, policymakers, their staff, industry groups, nonprofit organizations, and other stakeholders are gathering for the 6th Annual State of the Net conference, presented by the Congressional Internet Caucus. However, many also gathered yesterday for the pre-conference and technology expo. The pre-conference focused on two very important technology policy issues, broadband adoption and net neutrality, following introductory remarks by FCC Commissioners Copps & Baker.

Panelists discussed the biggest challenges to broadband adoption along with proposed solutions to address them. Many expressed concern for minorities, seniors, and those with disabilities but are hopeful that with better social policies that empower individuals, we can help those with access to broadband choose to adopt. When asked what she would recommend that the FCC include in the National Broadband Plan, Nicol Turner-Lee of the Joint CenterJoint Center Media & Technology Institute urged for paying attention to low hanging fruit (like repurposing existing service initiatives towards technology) and accelerating adoption overall.

The second panel was on the topic of network neutrality and did not draw quite as much consensus among the speakers. Hal Singer of Empiris LLC argued strongly against regulation since we have not met economic standard for government intervention. More from Singer is available in the video interview below. Professor Christopher Yoo mentioned several new approaches to networking that are being explored by engineers and believes that we should not jump towards regulation in the face of ambiguity so that we don’t lose possibilities of experimentation.

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