A Q&A with Adrianne Furniss, executive director of the Benton Institute, and Matt Schmit, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Within months of its inception in September 2019, the Illinois Office of Broadband (IOB) forged a strategic partnership with the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. As a very lean operation with just two dedicated staff, IOB needed to expand our capacity if we wanted to do more than simply administer Connect Illinois, which at $400 million is the largest state matching grant program ever. Schmit believed that Benton would be the perfect partner to work with us to fulfill Governor J.B. Pritzker’s commitment to broadband ubiquity, the Connect Illinois investment, and the promise of serious and sustained digital equity programming.
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Expanding broadband access is a complex task, and often state officials benefit from the counsel of experts and community leaders in order to effectively implement it. The Illinois Office of Broadband has partnered with the Evanston-based Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, a nonprofit organization focused on deploying open, affordable, high-performance broadband connections to everyone in the U.S. The partnership has led to innovative new programs that address key broadband issues and may offer lessons for other states looking to harness the knowledge of external partners to close the digital divide.
This interview with Adrianne Furniss, executive director of the Benton Institute, and Matt Schmit, deputy director of the Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, has been edited for clarity and length.
Public Knowledge Celebrates FCC Action To Connect the Vulnerable With New $50 Broadband Subsidy
Targeted News Service (Press Releases)
WASHINGTON,
Feb. 26, 2021:
Yesterday, the
Federal Communications Commission voted on circulation to approve a Report and Order to establish the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, a
$3.2 billion federal initiative to provide qualifying households discounts on their internet service bills and an opportunity to receive a discount on a computer, laptop, or tablet. The program created by
Congress subsidizes broadband and device payments for low-income consumers or families hit hard by the pandemic, including students and the unemployed.
The program follows several months of advocacy from Public Knowledge, including an early proposal for an emergency broadband subsidy by Senior Vice President
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. judge said on Tuesday he will not block California's state net neutrality law aimed at protecting the open internet, acc.
California should soon implement its landmark net neutrality law under a judge's ruling on Tuesday, nearly three years after the state legislature enacted the measure, the state attorney general's office said.