The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) recently confirmed U.S. Senator Mark Warner from Virginia as a featured speaker at the BEAD Success Summit, taking place from April 19 – 20 in Arlington, Virginia.
The BEAD Success Summit will bring together all key stakeholders in the $42 billion program to discuss the Broadband, Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NoFo) and technology alternatives in plenary sessions, panel discussions and technical breakouts. Attendees and speakers will include representatives from state broadband offices, federal agencies, ISPs, suppliers, manufacturers, consultants, and investors.
Senator Warner will join TIA CEO, David Stehlin, at the event to discuss key BEAD Program-related topics, with a special focus on cybersecurity. Senator Warner currently serves as the Senate's Intelligence Committee Chairman and as a member of the Senate Finance, Banking, Budget, and Rules Committees; he also co-founded the bipartisan Senate Cybersecurity Caucus in 2016.
As noted in a press release, Senator Warner was a technology and business leader before entering public office, as an early investor in the cellular phone business, and co-founded the company that became Nextel.
TIA CEO Stehlin commented:
“We are honored to have Senator Warner confirmed as a featured speaker at the BEAD Success Summit in his home state of Virginia. Senator Warner has a deep history in the telecom industry and the combination of his time as Governor of Virginia and now as Senator, gives him the unique and very important understanding of the impact tech policies, such as the CHIPS and Science Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, can have on both a local and national level. He has championed cybersecurity and will add valuable insights for attendees.”
TIA also recently announced Kevin Gallagher, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the lead agency administrating the BEAD Program, as a featured speaker for the BEAD Success Summit event.
As saliently, and separately, noted by Fiber Broadband Association vice president Deborah Kish in a February 2023 article for CI&M, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has recognized workforce development as a key priority to build out the communications infrastructure of the nation, with a certain amount of funding from the $42.45-billion BEAD broadband infrastructure program available to be applied to workforce and job training.
Kish pointed out that the National Skills Coalition has recommended a “robust” portion of BEAD funding be dedicated to workforce development and career pathways activities through industry sector partnerships and/or apprenticeships that result in high-quality credentials.
2 TIA staff members added to key federal advisory roles
Meanwhile, the TIA this month released a statement congratulating two staff members, Colin Andrews and Patrick Lozada, for their new federal advisory roles in advancing key issues for ICT industry.
TIA’s Senior Director of Government Affairs, Colin Andrews, was elected to the Executive Committee of Communications Sector Coordinating Council (CSCC).
The CSCC advances the cybersecurity of critical communications infrastructure by supporting information-sharing between the public and private sectors.
“Strong public-private partnerships help accelerate improvements in security for the communications sector and I look forward to collaborating with my fellow executive committee members – and our partners in government – on this critical issue,” Andrews said.
For his part, TIA’s Director of Global Policy, Patrick Lozada, was appointed to serve as a member of Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Digital Economy (ITAC 6).
As noted by TIA, ITACs provide expertise and advice to the Department of Commerce and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on current and proposed trade policies and treaties. Lozada will represent the telecommunications industry for a four-year charter term.
“It is an honor to represent our industry on ITAC-6. I look forward to working with fellow committee members to support Commerce and USTR as it develops digital trade policies that benefit U.S. businesses, workers, and the economy as a whole,” Lozada said.
BEAD in the U.S. heartland
Noted as a sample of the nationally encompassing nature of interest in the BEAD funding program, an informative webinar conducted on March 22 has been released by the Nebraska Public Service Commission. As presented below, the webinar looks at BEAD Community outreach activities in Nebraska, and updates stakeholders in local infrastructure on the state's Capital Projects Fund (CPF) grant program.
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