The Center for Media Justice, free press, and the Center for Rural Strategies have teamed up to host a summit and sponsor a hearing about rural broadband challenges and community-based solutions to broadband access. Broadband access affects issues much broader than infrastructure — access to fast, reliable internet has implications for telecommuting, remote health care provision, distance learning, journalism and information in rural communities. The information below is provided by the group — if you attend, please feel free to share your thoughts and feedback!
Announcement:
We’ve reached a critical juncture in the debate over the future of wireless Internet in America. AT&T is arguing that it needs to take over T-Mobile to extend broadband to rural Americans, and the Justice Department has sued to stop the deal, in part because of AT&T's rural-buildout claims. Now is the perfect time to discuss what will work to connect millions of underserved Americans to high-speed Internet.
Your input is key as we discuss how the future of health care, education, jobs and civic participation depends on access to broadband.
That’s why we’re inviting you to attend the first Rural Broadband Summit & Hearing. This event will be held in Whitesburg, Ky. on Oct. 11–12 and is presented by the Center for Media Justice, the Center for Rural Strategies and Free Press.
This event is a great opportunity for rural advocates and media justice advocates — as well as local, state and federal policymakers — to discuss community-based solutions to closing the digital divide. It’s also a chance to voice your opinion about AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile and its potential effects on rural communities.
Here are the details:
What: Rural Broadband Summit & Hearing, Oct. 11–12
Summit Info: Oct. 11, 1–7 p.m., Letcher County Cooperative Extension Service, 478 Extension Drive, Whitesburg, Ky.
Hearing Info: Oct. 12, 9 a.m.–12:30 p.m., Appalshop Auditorium, 91 Madison Ave., Whitesburg, Ky.
Guests are encouraged to participate in both events.
The October hearing in Whitesburg is the right time and place for the public to weigh in — and to remind our elected and appointed officials that our voices must be part of this conversation.
