Throughout the two-month coronavirus stay-at-home orders, the Gigabit Libraries Network has hosted weekly presentations to discuss anchor institutions meeting the connectivity needs of their communities. Over 1,300 participants have heard from 26 speakers since the series began in late March. All of the events have been recorded and posted on the Pandemic Response page at GigLibraries.Net.
This Friday, Voqal’s director of telecommunications strategy, Mark Colwell, will present a high-level view of how libraries and other anchor institutions can utilize and preserve precious spectrum in the 2.5 GHz range known as Educational Broadband Service (EBS) to affordably expand broadband coverage to their communities. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the FCC has granted a number of temporary authorities to allow carriers, tribes, and others to deploy unused spectrum for wireless networks.
In addition, Washington State librarian, Cindy Aiden, will be back for an update on a partnership they have developed with Microsoft to open and map hundreds of hotspots around the state.
The final speaker of the webinar is the illustrious Jon Sallet of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, who will share his insights on infrastructure outlooks to round out the program. Sallet recently penned a comprehensive plan titled Broadband for America’s Future: A Vision for the 2020s.
You can register for the event on Eventbrite.
To learn more about Voqal’s telecommunications policy work, visit our protecting public airwaves page.