 Welcome to our Airwaves for Equity webinar and launch event. I am Michael Calabrese. I direct the Wireless Future Project here at New America's Open Technology Institute. You will be hearing today from some of the nation's leading advocates for digital equity about an opportunity to reinvest billions of dollars in proceeds from the auction of licenses to use the public airwaves to fund digital literacy and inclusion efforts. I will kick things off by describing our proposal and then turn it over to the other speakers, starting with Larry Irving, then Angela Sefer, and finally a panel of leaders from the groups behind this effort. Today we are launching the Airwaves for Equity initiative. Next slide. The founding members of this initiative are nine of the leading NGOs in this field, representing schools and libraries, low-income communities and digital inclusion practitioners, children and families, consumers and rural Americans. Next slide. We believe a share of future spectrum auction proceeds should be dedicated to endow a digital equity foundation chartered to make sustainable investments in digital literacy and inclusion. This is essential to ensure that major new spending for broadband access and affordability is successful in closing the digital divide long-term. Next slide. The problem, as that's well known of course, is that more than one in five Americans still lack broadband internet at home, including millions with access who have not adopted it. This disproportionately afflicts low-income, elderly, rural and BIPOC communities. The federal government is dedicating more than $60 billion in new funds to subsidize access and affordability, but relatively little to address the third driver of the digital divide. The need for digital literacy and inclusion. Simply put, if people don't know how to use technology, don't have the skills or cannot tap the value of broadband internet for basic needs, our efforts to connect them are fruitless. As House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Polone put it at last week's oversight hearing, it takes all three, access, cost affordability, cost adoption equals equity. Next slide. There is a large source of additional funding available to address this problem, spectrum auction revenue. Like land in the agricultural era and oil in the industrial age, the public airwaves today are a key driver of wealth creation. This public resource is owned by all of us, the American people. Auctions of public airwaves have generated more than $200 billion since the 1990s and more than $100 billion in last year alone. The FCC's auction authority expires this year. Congress needs to renew it and to decide whether $30 billion or more in expected revenue will flow back into the telecom sector and for what purposes. Next slide. We believe the logical solution is to designate a substantial portion of these proceeds to endow a digital equity foundation that makes sustainable investments year after year in digital literacy applications, devices and training aimed at closing digital equity gaps. Because auction revenue is unpredictable in both its timing and amount, auctions are an appropriate source to endow a foundation that can sustainably target efforts that complement the coin and affordability. Next slide. An endowed foundation can address critical needs in two general categories. First, digital literacy and adoption. Examples are the community-based digital navigator programs that are proving so successful but difficult to sustain libraries and other community technology centers, local outreach and assistance to expand enrollments in the affordable connectivity program and in Lifeline and other assistance. A second category is public purpose applications, training and evaluation for education technology, for disability access, for telehealth and for school and library initiatives to close the homework gap more permanently. Next slide. We suggest the vehicle should be a federally chartered independent foundation. The benefits of this approach include sustainability since an endowment provides the certainty of support year after year and the ability to evolve to address new digital equity gaps as they emerge. Expertise from advisory groups that represent diverse stakeholders, innovation, including the ability to raise additional funds from the private sector and of course, transparency and accountability mechanisms to Congress. Next slide. There were both recent and historical precedents for this approach. Legislative visionaries have long established that the monetization of public assets, including the public airwaves, can be dedicated to forward-looking investments in the national interest. When Congress last renewed the FCC's auction authority in 2012, it designated $7.5 billion in auction proceeds to establish the first net public safety wireless network. This was the first and only time that auction proceeds were returned to the sector to serve a public purpose. But there are historical precedents as well. At the height of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln signed the Land Grant Colleges Act of 1865 transferring tens of millions of acres of federal land to states to establish public colleges. And far more recently, current Senate and House Commerce Committee leaders from both parties embraced this general approach in recent auction legislation that was in 2019 to concerning the C-band in two different Senate bills. Next slide. So to close, our coalition believes the time is now. This Congress is likely to make two key decisions this year. First, renewing the FCC's auction authority, which expires September 30th. And second, deciding whether the $30 billion or more in revenue expected from future auctions will be recycled into the sector and for what purposes. As it did with first net in 2012, Congress can designate a substantial portion of the future revenue from this public resource to meet vital public needs. Next slide. So please join us. We hope your organization can endorse this initiative. You can visit the website for more information. It goes live today, www.airwavesforequity.org. And actually it's a F-O-R equity, airwavesforequity.org. Join us in asking Congress to designate a substantial share of the proceeds to endow a digital equity foundation. Next slide is the last. And once again, the website. And we hope to be engaging with all of you on this in the future. With that, I'd like to bring on our first speaker who's been in the trenches of this for so many years, Larry Irving. Larry is president and CEO of the Irving Group. Among his other roles, Larry serves as chairman of the PBS Board of Directors and serves on the board of the Shelby Coalition, one of the nine groups you saw earlier. Larry also served for seven years as assistant secretary of commerce and administrator of the NTIA under President Clinton. Larry was widely credited with coining the term digital divide and was among the first in government to raise awareness of this problem and he's never given up working on it. So Larry. And thank you so much, Michael. And it is an absolute pleasure to join you, New America. And so many of my fellow co-conspirators on this digital divide issue. You know, as I was looking back over the history and when you say I'm seasoned, it actually means I guess I'm old, but I was looking back over the history of both the spectrum auctions and the digital divide. And they both have their origins about 29, 30 years ago, 28 to 30 years ago. I was involved, I helped when I was at NTIA provide spectrum for the first spectrum auctions. And I think many of you know NTIA back in the 1990s helped with their falling through the net reports to identify the problem that we now call the digital divide that some of us where it had access to the newest technology, understood how to use it and it was affordable. And then some of us didn't. And 28 years later, we still have the problem of the digital divide. And fortunately, the thoughtful work that went into spectrum auctions has brought $200 billion plus at $100 billion last year. And we need to rethink how we use those dollars. One of the things that I'm really always been very grateful for, the number of people out in our communities who are trying to find ways to bring access, affordable access and digital skills to people. Back in the 1990s, we started talking about the four C's which were connectivity, computers, content and competence, which is kind of digital equity. In the 2000, we're talking about access, affordable, affordability and aptitude. So it makes a lot of sense that when Chairman Palone talks about access, affordable, affordability equal digital equity. When we were in the 1990s, we were doing demonstrations and products at NTIA, our partners with community technology centers and libraries and folks in the community who understood the needs of the people they lived with. The airways for equity opportunity that we have before us gives us the opportunity to provide funding for much needed skill leveling. And all the things you talked about, Michael is so important. I'll give you one other. We never think about how low income people don't have access to the legal system. And one of my heroes from last year, her wins from last year is the Chief Justice Michigan Supreme Court who recognized with the courts closed that it was low income people who were disproportionately impacted, couldn't get into the courts, but they also didn't have the tools to access the courts. So you use mobile technology and created a program to bring technology to communities so that people could access the legal system. There's so many opportunities, but we have to veil ourselves of them. Yesterday, I was reading something that somebody sent me last week. In 1993, I wrote an article on why physicists should care about the forthcoming internet. 1993, 50 million people on the internet. And I said to these physicists in 1993, as physicists, you should care about the information superhighway, as we called it then, not just because it adds convenience to your personal lives and not just because we'll enable you to expand your own professional horizons, but because we'll help to provide a future for your children, your profession, your country, and for the world community. That's just true to days that ever was. And it is really fitting that we combine a 1994 concept that's worth $200 billion into federal coffers, spectrum auctions, with a concept that we started in 1994 with our first reports at the Commerce Department, but who was connected, who was not connected, the digital divide. We're coming full circle. And I'm really proud as individually, even though I can't speak on behalf of all of the organizations I work for, but as individual on behalf of Shelby, I'm really proud of this work. And I'm glad to add my support to New America and these nine organizations are trying to do. Thank you, Michael. Thank you, Larry. Your support means a lot to us. And of course, thank you for all your efforts, both past and current. As you said, you are well-seasoned. Another veteran, not quite a season, perhaps, is up next, Angela Sefer. She is the executive director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance. NDIA is itself a coalition and a community of digital inclusion organizations and practitioners from across the country. And they are the folks that are doing this work on the ground. So we definitely need Angela's guidance in this effort, Angela. Thank you, Michael. And thank you, Larry. Big thanks to all of our partners here. I am thrilled about this. I haven't been doing it quite as long as Larry. I started around 97, but then we did call them community technology centers and know there wasn't money for it then. So the fact that we have this Digital Equity Act funding coming in through the congressional action is amazing and fabulous, but it's a set time limit. We have it, we're gonna spend it, it's gonna change some lives, but is it gonna change systems? Ooh, right? That's a lot harder. And we like to think that we only invent, like everybody does this, right? We all think, oh, that's only invest in things that are sustainable. But if there's no sustaining source of funding for the Digital Equity work, for the Digital Literacy work, for helping people connect to a low cost offer, right? That's the inclusion part. How do you even get in the door? If we don't have that sustained source of funding, are we really making the most of this incredible investment that Congress has made for us now? So I'm thrilled that we are proposing such a thing. I'm thrilled that NDIA is part of it. As technology keeps changing, we are going to need to make sure we're keep helping folks so that they're not left behind. Because as technology changes, we can't forget how to use it. We all struggle with that, right? We're like, ah, my favorite app changed something. Or your employer tells you gotta do something different or we're so scary administration is like, oh, if you wanna check what you have, you gotta do it here, right? I know you used to come into the office, but we don't do that anymore, right? So like that's a reality for all of us. So we like to think that technology is a choice. Sometimes it's not a choice. Sometimes those who need it, we need to interact with are forcing us to use that technology. And so as a country, we can't be like, well, so sorry, you don't know how to use it. So sorry, you don't have access. That is not acceptable, right? And this group here is like, no, that's not acceptable. We need a long-term answer. And that long-term answer has to include funding. And as mentioned by Larry, it's the folks on the ground. It's the folks that are most connected in their communities who are trusted by those that they're serving. That's where change occurs. But what we want them to just volunteer their time to do it. They have families to feed to. So this is amazing because we're gonna figure out how, right? Together as a group, we can all convince Congress, this is a good idea because it is a really good idea. And it really gets at the equity piece. We want folks to have lots of opportunities. We wanna make sure that those who've been kept out have a chance in because technology is an incredible tool and we need to be there for everyone. And this, airwaves for digital equity, this is the way we could get there. Back to you, Michael. Thanks so much, Angela. That's exactly right. So I would like to now turn this over to John Windhausen for the panel. And John is the executive director of the school's health and library's broadband coalition, the Shelby Coalition, which John built from the ground up. And Shelby's members are among the community anchor institutions, most active and innovative in advancing digital equity. So he has his ear close to that ground around the country. So John, can you proceed with the panel? And I invite the panelists, of course, to turn your video on and we'll see and hear from you for the rest of the event. Well, thank you, Michael. This is a great, great pleasure to be here at the launch of this event today with such a distinguished panel of speakers. And I'm very excited to be here. This is a very important initiative. And Michael, I think a lot of the credit goes to you for originating this idea and creating this coalition. But it's such a great idea. You see a lot of organizations immediately jumping on board because it's so well thought through. The Shelby mission, as you may know, is to support open, affordable, high quality broadband for anchor institutions and their communities. And the addition of those last three words is particularly relevant to this conversation because it's important for the anchor institutions or it's important for policymakers to recognize that it's the anchor institutions that are at the forefront of trying to solve the digital divide and solve the homework app by reaching out to their communities. We've seen this through the emergency connectivity fund program that Congress created and schools and libraries have done a great job of applying for that funding, bringing service to unserved and underserved homes. But that funding is going to run out and we need to have ongoing more permanent source of funding to promote digital equity. Some of you may know that I formerly worked on Capitol Hill back in the 90s and I had worked with Larry Irving and had something to do with the creation of the first spectrum auction authority that we gave to the FCC at that time. And when we drafted that statutory language, we made clear that the auction was intended, we were going to authorize the use of auctions but that the public interest was paramount in proceeding with enforcing that auction authority. And so we laid that principle out very clearly at the very beginning of the auction authority as a past Congress and was enacted. But I sure wish we had an airwaves for equity coalition around at that time because then we could have even gone further and dedicated this auction revenue to these public interest purposes. So I'm so glad that this airwaves for equity coalition is getting started now and hopefully we can finish the job this year. The broadband ecosystem and solving the digital divide is a multifaceted problem. And as the previous speakers have talked about, there are many, many dimensions to that. So I'm very pleased that this digital equity foundation is going to be able to solve the digital divide by focusing on the need for digital literacy training and digital inclusion efforts and explore all the possible ways to get everybody connected. That should be our goal. We should have accomplished it by now. We haven't, so we need to step up. And that's what this coalition is all about. So I'm very pleased to open it up to our conversations with our panelists. Let's start and hear from Amina Fazlula who is the policy council at Common Sense. Amina, go ahead. Thank you, John. And at Common Sense, we care deeply about the issue of digital inclusion and we're really excited to see airways to equity and see this great group get together to create a lasting program to support digital inclusion and digital equity. Families and kids I think have been deeply impacted by the lack of digital equity and digital inclusion in the country. Access to telemedicine, access to education, access to remote work and job training, access to government services, impacts vulnerable families deeply. And much of that access runs over broadband and runs over the ability to utilize technology and having an ongoing fund to support the ability of students to use the next new form of technology or families to be able to continue to afford devices into their home or for parents or caregivers to be able to get trained on how to support students or other children in their home in their use of technology is incredibly important. The digital divide doesn't end when you hand somebody a device or when you hand somebody some dollars for one month of service or even one year of service. It is a persistent issue. And so it's important that Congress create a program that addresses this persistent issue and supports providers on the ground whether they're institutions like schools and libraries whether they're community broadband organizations doing the work through their trusted relationships to make sure that kids and families are well supported every step of the way as they use technology and as they continue to need to use technology and the benefits don't end with the families themselves when you have communities that are well trained well connected can rely on these technologies then you have institutions, educational institutions healthcare institutions, government institutions that can create long-term strategies to use the best technology available to maximize their resources as they deliver these essential uses these essential services. So I'm really excited for this effort and John, I'll let you turn it over to our next panelists. Very good, thank you, Amina. Very pleased next to hear from Chris Lewis who is the president and CEO of Public Knowledge. Chris, go ahead. Thanks, John. Thank you, Michael and New America for organizing this event. I'm very excited, Public Knowledge is very excited one of the founding partners here to support our ways for equity. Public Knowledge is a 20-year-old organization based here in Washington where we focus on the importance of free expression and affordable open access to communications tools and creative works. And over the last 20 years, closing digital divide has been a big part of our policy portfolio here in Washington because broadband is the essential communications network of the 21st century. And as technology has evolved and changed the values that we care about at Public Knowledge but the values we care about in civil society and in our country and in our communities haven't changed. Everyone needs to be connected to communications for the core essentials of their lives for education, for their work, entrepreneurship, health and safety. And without ensuring that the digital divide is closed and all aspects, all drivers of the digital divide then we're never going to make sure that everyone has an equitable chance in our society. So this is an exciting proposal. And what I love about it is its emphasis on sustainability, having a long-standing fund. That is just smart policy making to make sure that when we value something we make sure that it is always there and available. And that's especially important in technology because of how technology changes over time and how the things that we need to teach and help introduce people around technology and communications tools changes over time. And so to have a sustainable fund like this put together in a digital equity foundation I think it's just smart policy work and we're just so excited to support it. So thank you, John. Thank you, Chris, very well said. I'd next like to turn things over to Whitney Kimble Co who is the director of national programs at Rural Assembly. Go ahead, Whitney. Thank you, John and thank you, Michael and I'm just so pleased to be part of this really powerful group coalition that has been working to close this divide for a long time and I can't remember who said it but it's overdue, we need to get there. And this might be that really that last push that it's gonna take. So I work for the Center for Rural Strategies where I direct the Rural Assembly and we've been in this space for a while from the perspective, working on from the perspective of rural communities. And I feel like addressing this third driver of the digital divide, this issue of digital literacy and adoption sometimes gets glossed over with rural communities because we're often speaking about access and accessibility and affordability but this is such an important piece of the whole package. So whenever we speak about digital inclusion I think we're also speaking about rural inclusion. And just to give everybody a reminder or a sense, 60 million people of us call rural America home. Rural America is a diverse set of communities were represented across geographies and cultures and experiences. Families live in small towns on reservations in hollers along the coasts. And many rural communities are grappling with the same challenges that occupy most families everywhere, everything from figuring out how we're gonna cover expenses to how we're gonna achieve quality and affordable childcare, healthcare, education and housing. So these are basic ingredients that must be met across the board in order for any family and any community to find a foothold in our democracy. And we know that an additional basic ingredient is broadband. And that broadband is out of reach for many rural families and communities. And so too are the accompanying tools that are needed to ensure its adoption and its use. And because broadband has for so long been too expensive or unavailable in rural communities, residents have struggled to develop the skills to use it or to see it as the critical piece that it could be in helping with the flourishing of communities. So I think this airwaves for equity initiative just really targets that gap in literacy because it will help rural folks and others develop those skills alongside investments in infrastructure that are bringing more affordable and accessible broadband to the countryside. This initiative would provide an ongoing source of support to rural families as technology shifts and changes and as more services move online. I think the one other point I wanted to make, John is about digital inclusion and democracy and how it strengthens our democracy to invest in digital adoption and literacy in an ongoing way. It shores up our democracy because it strengthens communities in all the ways I was just talking about because it allows families to take advantage of opportunities that exist online, from telehealth to online ed courses and legal services. But it also just gives people the opportunity to participate in building a nation that honors the dignity of all of us because it ensures greater participation in the global exchange of ideas and culture and commerce. So there's a real link between airwaves for equity and strengthening our democracy. And I just wanna make sure that that's a point we bring out. Wendy, that's a very important point that you raise. And I often think how some of the difficulties that we're having in this country right now are their people are feeling disconnected. And it's not just that they're disconnected from broadband but all of the important government services and social services that come over that broadband connection and that there's a very real risk that people are gonna be left behind and don't feel like they've been fully able to take advantage of all the new technologies coming down the pike. So I totally agree with you about the importance of tying broadband connectivity to the future of democracy in this country. That's a very good point. And now it's my great pleasure to turn to Alan Inouye who is the Senior Director of Public Policy and Government Relations at the American Library Association. Alan, go ahead. Well, thank you, John. And thank you for that setup since the nation's 117,000 libraries are a great place or a great way to connect with Americans all over in terms of democracy and everything else. And so, and should say that digital literacy and digital inclusion are at the core of all libraries. Libraries are well situated to provide effective programs across the country especially reaching people who need help the most such as those in rural and tribal areas or those in low income areas in suburban or urban communities. Libraries serve everyone of course but especially people who need specialized services such as those with disabilities, veterans, children, new immigrants and the recently incarcerated. Just two quick examples to give a little bit more flesh on the bones, if you will. So one is that the libraries provide literacy programs and resources for kids and everyone else on how to keep safe and responsible online addressing issues such as personal safety and cyber built bullying or securities such as fishing and scams and how to manage passwords or larger issues such as licensing and the permanence of postings. Another example is in terms of folks who want to start and develop small businesses and to provide training and resources for them since many new or small business owners are not fully aware or available understanding of new technologies and how they can help serve to promote their businesses or what kind of online databases or online systems there are that might be of use or how to use these things. And so those are just two examples of how libraries promote digital literacy and digital inclusion. Libraries are also a strategic place for investments because of the 117,000 locations they leverage investments that we've already made in our communities, right? There are buildings, there's already internet access and computers and technology. Of course there's experts, staff like librarians and of course there's a lot of store of information resources and in particular resources that are tailored to that local community. And of course, libraries have this stellar reputation and trust. So it's a great place to place investments in digital literacy and digital inclusion in terms of getting a good return on investment in terms of the federal dollar. And so libraries are ready and eager to make a big leap that would be enabled by the Airways for Equity initiative and how people leverage technology to advance their education and learning, economic prospects, health and just their overall quality of life. And just in conclusion, because I know that we're getting into the next phase of this discussion, just to say that the broadband connections are of course fundamental. If you don't have the actual connection to the internet then you're missing out on a lot of things in life nowadays. But that's not enough, right? It's like having the interstate highway, that's great. But now I need a car, I need driving lessons, I need insurance, I need a GPS, rest areas, restaurants, hotels, et cetera and the knowledge to use all of that. So we need Airways for Equity to get us to our final destination. Thanks John. Thanks Al, and that's a great closing statement for this round of the conversation today. So I have some questions that I have prepared in advance that I'd like to ask the panelists but I also invite audience members to submit their own questions and we'll be trying to integrate some of your questions into the conversation that we are about to have. So if I could start off with Angela and bring you back into the panel discussion Angela, I think that, and then I'll open it up to some other panelists. But I think the starting off question is Congress just passed this infrastructure investment and jobs act with $65 billion for broadband. So why is it that we need an additional Digital Equity Foundation or Digital Equity Trust Fund in addition to the money that Congress has already appropriated? Can you answer that question? The shortest answer John is that technology keeps changing. So whatever we do in the next five years, I'm sure it'll be awesome but the technology is gonna change again and then folks are still gonna be left behind plus people grow up, right? Somebody moves into their own home, we're not taught, it's not the same people in this five years as the people in the next five years. The population changes, we have new residents. So we need to make sure that everybody has the support they need because the technology keeps changing and because the people themselves need to the support as they come into our communities. Gotcha, very good answer. Would anyone else on the panel like to take a stab at that question? Well, I just wanna add on to the point about technology changing. I mean, think about what digital literacy training looked like a decade ago versus what it looks like now. A lot of the issues we're talking about, we weren't training people on 10 years ago. Looking at how do you protect your privacy online looks different now than it looks then. The hardware is changing then and we could have endless trainings on media training for education around fighting disinformation or understanding how we're influenced by what we see and hear online. So there's so much to train about and to have a sustainable fund like this to just make sure that we can adjust and make sure that people are getting these sort of lessons that they need as new generations come online. And I would just say, John, more and more services are moving online. So understanding how to access legal justice systems or telehealth or education, those programs will continue to grow and expand most likely in the future. So we're just gonna need to continue to help connect people to those, especially those folks who don't have access to them in their own communities. And it's probably relevant to say this whole group, we like all that stuff, right? We like being able to get stuff done online. It's awesome, it makes our lives easier but for some people, it makes our lives harder. So that's the difference like, yes, let's continue moving technology forward. Let's find all the cool solutions. Let's just not leave folks out of it. I think it's also worth pointing out that the authority that we are asking for, for Congress and the Digital Equity Foundation would be a 10-year mission, whereas the IIJA spending is probably going to be, we don't know for sure, but it's probably gonna be expended over the next three to four years. And so that money is, that's one-time money, that's not ongoing money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. So we need this foundation to continue to invest in this issue, to make sure everybody gets connected and stays connected in the future as the technology changes. And also to Whitney's point, I think, hypothetically, let's say the digital divide, if 30% of households don't have broadband access today, and even if that number stays the same, we hope it doesn't, but even if that number stays the same, the digital divide gets worse because the 70% of people who do have broadband are using it for more and more important things. And the 30% that don't have access fall further and further and further behind in their ability to access the internet and participate in this modern society, economy and democracy. Anyone else have a response or I'll move to the next question? Okay, well, we have a good question from Kelsey Griffiths in the chat that has come up about how does this proposal square with the recent call by FCC chairwoman Rosenwurzel that suggested auction proceeds should be used for 911 funding? Is this a conflict or my view is that this is perfectly compatible with the idea of serving the public interest and reinvesting those auction revenues into serving public interest goals? Well, what does our panel think? Who would like to respond? Amina, shall I call on you? Sure, I was just about to put myself off mute. No, I think they're both very compatible goals. I mean, we've got, I think what you're hearing from the chair is this interest in making sure that essential activities are well supported. So certainly, I know when one is important, but then we've also got to make sure that communities who are vulnerable have continuing support to be able to use technology as well, especially if there are changes with other forms of essential emergency communications and things like that. So, I think for sure, having both, they both fall under these public interest priorities and I could see them as complimentary. Very good. Anyone else like to answer that question? Yeah, go ahead, Alan. Sure, John. Yeah, I would say that, I think one thing that we, this group has known for a long time, but has became painfully clear from the pandemic is that we have many needs in this country and we've painfully revealed the fact that some people don't even have basic access, much less have more advanced digital literacy or skills or access. And so that, so we have, so there are many things that we have to do and the chairwoman's proposal is very important and we need that. And I think clearly we need this too because it's the next big step or the additional big step in addition to connecting people is that they have to know how to be able to use that technology effectively. And so we need both. And I might modestly say that maybe these two are the most important priorities in terms of what deserves a big increase in big allocation of funding, for example, from the spectrum auctions. Gotcha, good points. So my next question is, what do we imagine this funding from the Digital Equity Foundation is going to be used for? Can you, can the panelists give us a sense of what kinds of activities or priorities that you think or how these decisions will be made about who gets funded out of the foundation? I think we're gonna, super cautious, right? Like we're gonna have, there's gonna have to be a clear what's in, what's out, kind of, kind of, and there's gonna be a lots of us recommending one or another. There's some basics though that I think we do know we would want to have in there and we can get the other items as we move this forward. But the basics would be what we've talked about so far, the digital literacy. So that's training, but it's also one-on-one support. It is trusted support, right? It's digital navigation, which means having somebody who can talk you through, okay, here's what your options are for broadband. Let's talk about what you can afford. Oh, are you eligible for affordable connectivity program? Okay, let's help you sign up for that. Do you need a device? Let's figure out what kind of device is best for you. It's a laptop, it's a tablet. What are the choices for how to get one? Is there anything subsidized that you're eligible for? Right, so figuring that out with individuals, that's the part that it's not gonna stop, right? We have to keep doing that with people and helping them find the resources and then figure out where to get the skills and encourage them. A lot of it's just, you can do this, right? And it takes a real person to say you can do this. If an ad tells you you can do this, do you believe it? Right, this is a human kind of issue. And I think maybe one way for us to think about it even is that this fund can fund the human side of being connected, because it's not just about the bits and the bytes. I love that. Very good. I'm sorry, I'm jumping ahead. No, go ahead. No, that's fine. When do you go ahead? No, I just love Angela's framing there at the end. This is funding the human side, which to me means we're funding relationships and trust-building and strengthening the core of community. And that's also going to take a cohort of diverse people at the table talking about how this can make the biggest impact. Because communities or different institutions of trust are different in different communities. So there's an opportunity here to be a little bit flexible, I think, about understanding that a one size doesn't fit all model here. But we do know that there are, at the core, there's relationships and trust that can be forged through this. Yeah. And I think what's exciting is that we can build on what's been done well. We have an opportunity right now thanks to ECF funds going out the door, thanks to the funds that NTIA will be pushing out the door to be able to see what really works and what we want to continue to invest in. And so, I think this fund will have, I think the benefit of being the next step and we'll be able to lift up those programs that are really working and that we wanna make sure don't fall away. And we have the opportunity to continue. I like to build on Whitney's point about the big impact. And so I think for, at least for me and for some of us that we often think in terms of the bottom up in terms of, someone doesn't have to work with all to apply to Walmart for a job. And so we, how do we help them on the internet and give them access? And that's all really important. But I think with a more substantial amount of money potentially, we can also think in terms of the big picture and big vision. So some of the issues in this country, like the, you know, in the past where the blue collar worker or the miner would end up with the middle class income and those jobs don't exist any more nearly as much as they used to. And so how do we bring up a prior opportunity to people like that? And for many of them, it's gonna be through digital literacy and digital inclusion and it's gonna be via technology. So providing, how do we provide them with opportunities and access? And I'm hopeful that this initiative will help address some of these bigger issues we have in society. Just one more thing, if I could. Sure. Because, you know, as I watched, you know folks were doing the work on the ground like, like, Angel's Group and DIA and others, they've been really advocating for local communities to develop their own plans of what did they need to do as a community? You know, they call them digital equity plans, I think, Angel, or things like that. When a community can get together and say, so this is how we wanna attack this problem. My hope is that then they could take those plans and bring them together as a community by their public private partnerships or the folks who are doing the work on the ground. But putting these proposals forward for funding from a fund like this. So then you're really taking the money and using it in a specific way that community needs to increase their digital literacy, their digital equity. Well, Chris, can we stay with you for another question? Because, you know, traditionally, these programs are run by Congress appropriating money to the FCC or to NTIA or in this last year, the Department of Treasury and going to the state. So that's sort of the traditional appropriations method. Why couldn't we ask Congress to continue to appropriate more funding? Like why is a digital equity foundation? Why are we recommending a digital equity foundation in this initiative? Right, well, you know, I never wanna speak for Congress, but I hope they'll listen to us because I think there are benefits to doing it this way. And I also think it matches the policy challenge in front of us. So when we talk about, you know, affordability with old programs like the Lifeline Fund or some of newer programs like the ACP, you know, issues like authentication or verification of households becomes an issue. And so centralizing those programs made sense. Same for giving out funds for deployment to rural areas that don't have broadband infrastructure or need an upgrade in broadband infrastructure, then you get into issues like mapping where in order to use that money effectively, you really wanna have it a centralized effort to make sure the maps are accurate and you're investing wisely. All of that makes sense. But when you're looking at what an individual community needs are, you want them to be in conversation with you. And to set up a foundation like this, I think sets up that sort of relationship that I think matches the policy challenge in front of us. So that when we're attacking each of the legs of the digital divide where we're hitting them exactly where they need support. Also, I'd add that, you know, for families, especially having a gap in support is really detrimental. It can be devastating. You know, if you think about the course of a student's career, you know, if you've got support for, you know, grade two and grade three, and then you've got nothing for four, five and six because you're waiting on Congress to pass some additional relief, that's gonna drastically change the course of that child's career in education. And in our own research found that, you know, when students are left in the digital divide and don't have the digital skills or don't have access to the tools that they need, you know, what we experience is about 22 to 33 billion dollars in annual GDP loss. And that's a conservative estimate. And that's just talking about the kids. So if we start to think about, what does it mean to leave adults in the digital divide? What does it mean to care for aging populations who are in the digital divide? And what are those additional costs to healthcare and other social services? You can start to see how that number goes up and up and how the impacts to the entire country go on. So you don't want those to lag. You know, whatever we've put in place, we want to be able to continue to support. So we have a couple of other interesting questions in the chat. So Don Means has asked an interesting question about, you know, we've also had a policy in this country of awarding certain slices of spectrum for two public interest entities, like the EBS spectrum that was allocated for schools and colleges and universities. So if we were to proceed with this digital equity foundation legislation, would that remove the possibility of allocating spectrum for other public interest groups? I mean, my own answer is no, that that's also a good idea to allocate spectrum to for public interest purposes. And, but I'd love to hear their panelists' thoughts about that. I see Chris, you nodding your head. So maybe we'll start with you and then we'll go to others. Sure, sure. So there's so many different ways to meet public interest needs with spectrum and spectrum options and since it's the public airways, it's very appropriate. You know, EBS and where spectrum specifically is allocated is one way, you know, this is just a proposal to take the revenue and put it towards a specific purpose, which we've seen a number of times, you know, from the Congress, whether it was the creation of FirstNet or other designations. And when they do that, they can make estimates and hopefully those estimates are close and close projections on what revenue will be available so that they can make sure that the revenue that's generated by an auction meets the public interest need in dollars, that's needed. But yeah, there's so many ways that we see spectrum used to make sure that public interest needs are met. I would be remiss if I didn't note the importance of preserving unlicensed spectrum use, which has always been folded in either as a reservation of a slice of spectrum or as an underlay so that smart, small, innovative uses for unlicensed spectrum can come to market and give people things that they never thought they would see before or now that they take for granted like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, baby monitors, all of that was developed over unlicensed spectrum. So there's different ways to slice it. That's a good reminder. It's not just preserving the unlicensed spectrum as we need more unlicensed spectrum because it's become so useful, it's becoming crowded and that would be another allocation that we ought to look at. Angel, I'd like to bring you back and answer this question, an interesting question that Sean McLaughlin has raised in the chat about local community media organizations because they have had contracts with their local communities to provide public benefits and to help meet the local needs of broadband consumers. Have you encountered and as part of NDIA, do you have some of these local community media organizations that are doing digital literacy work? Oh, most definitely community media centers are doing this work along with libraries, housing authorities, community-based organizations. The list of who does it is pretty wide and what they refer to it as isn't always, they don't always say, like if you looked at any community media centers website, you may not see digital literacy listed as one of their programming, but if you dig in and you'd be like, oh, they're teaching people how to use the technology, they're running training classes, they're providing one-on-one service. If you look at a library, you're not gonna see, we do digital literacy, you're gonna see, you come to this class and you can bring your mobile phone in and we'll help you. And so it's the specific activities that we say, yes, that falls under digital equity. The definition of digital equity is that individuals and communities have full access to information communication technology to do whatever it is they need to do. The definition for digital inclusion are all the things that we've been discussing today. These are the activities that get us to the digital equity and the activities of the media center and the libraries and housing authorities and rec centers and everybody at the local level, they do those activities. They help folks learn how to use the technology, they help them get access to internet at home, they help them have the right device, they teach them digital literacy, they do digital navigation. So they're doing the pieces that make up digital inclusion for the media center and all the other local organizations. That's great. And just so everyone knows, we consider all of those organizations that Angela just listed to be anchor institutions and Shelby is very pleased to be able to work with Angela in promoting these objectives. So I think we're coming to the end of our Q&A session and I suspect Michael Calabrese would love to offer his concluding thoughts. So Michael, I'll turn this back to you. All right, well, thanks, John. And hold on here, let me, there we go, you can see me even. Yeah, that was a terrific discussion and thanks to all of you for filling in so many blanks on what this can do, which just has enormous potential. And I think it's particularly important to emphasize again, as you all did, that this is a longer term perspective. So for example, the FCC is probably not going to have another very big auction for a few years. So last year, two auctions generated more than a hundred billion dollars. That was unusual and auctions, the nature of it is that it's lumpy. But when Congress extends auction authority, it's typically for, well, the last time it was for 10 years. So when you think of a five to 10 year period and when you think that this need is, as you all said, it's really an evolving persistent need to keep addressing digital equity gaps and to reinforce what we are achieving over the next few years with more funds, a huge amount of funds for access and affordability. This will come into play at just the right time. And when there is another large auction that can be used to endow this effort, then that funding can be available year after year beyond that. So I would just wrap up by encouraging everyone out there to talk about this within your organization and join us in, join our coalition, join Airwaves for Equity, it's airwavesforequity.org. You can go there now and endorse this proposal and hopefully engage with us going forward as we all together advocate for this.