Register Now For Upcoming Building For Digital Equity Event

Building for Digital Equity

Our next Building for Digital Equity (B4DE) event is only weeks away. Have you registered yet?

Sponsored by UTOPIA Fiber, the June 7 virtual gathering will feature engaging debates on the hottest topics in broadband: the upcoming release of BEAD funds, the challenges around mapping, updates on efforts to boost enrollment in the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), and the looming implications for both urban and rural communities.

Like B4DE in the past, this event, slated to begin at 3 pm ET on June 7, will be cohosted by Pamela Rosales, from the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA), and our own Christopher Mitchell, Director of ILSR's Community Broadband Networks Initiative. 

Register now for the event here.

As with previous B4DE events, this one will include informative, concise presentations, a series of interactive trivia games, and an introduction to new data tools for those working on the front lines of digital equity. It will all be livestreamed and will be available (and later archived) on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn, with live viewer questions answered by the panels.

Building for Digital Equity Podcast Series New Episodes

Meanwhile, be sure to check out our most recent episodes of our Building for Digital Equity podcast, which features short interviews with the people working in the trenches for digital inclusion.

Episode 7 is a discussion with Dwight Thomas, who built the first citywide municipal fiber network in Mont Belvieu, Texas. Thomas goes on talk about the importance of community engagement and how to make sure people can use the network once it is built before explaining his passion for discipleship and sharing knowledge.

 

Episode 8 features Bill Callahan, Executive Director of Connect Your Community. Callahan speaks to the history of digital equity and the before-times that led to the formation of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). He also discusses Cleveland and northeast Ohio exploring how Internet access has changed in the area since the landmark report, "AT&T’s digital redlining of Cleveland."

 

Episode 9, our most recent B4DE podcast, is a conversation with Deb Socia, President and CEO of the Enterprise Center in Chattanooga. She talks about America's first gig city and it's remarkable municipal fiber network, which began offering free, high-speed service to thousands of low-income families during the pandemic under a program called HCS EdConnect. Socia goes on to talk about tackling the affordability challenge before offering some advice for people new to digital equity work.