Cream-colored Benton Institute for Broadband & Society event graphic with the organization’s red-and-black logo at upper right. Large blue text at left reads “A New Compact for Connectivity: Internet Infrastructure in the Public Interest,” with the date 24 September 2026 near the bottom. An abstract blue geometric illustration of intersecting planes and transparent cubes appears at lower right.
6:44 am on September 24, 2026 · 2026 (273), benton (7), infrastructure (23)

HYBRID 24 SEP 14:00 UTC: Benton Institute – A New Compact for Connectivity: Internet Infrastructure in the Public Interest

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Cream-colored Benton Institute for Broadband & Society event graphic with the organization’s red-and-black logo at upper right. Large blue text at left reads “A New Compact for Connectivity: Internet Infrastructure in the Public Interest,” with the date 24 September 2026 near the bottom. An abstract blue geometric illustration of intersecting planes and transparent cubes appears at lower right.
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On Thursday, 24 September 2026 at 10:00–16:00 EDT (14:00–20:00 UTC), the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society hosts ‘A New Compact for Connectivity: Internet Infrastructure in the Public Interest‘, a one-day convening at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center in Washington, DC, and online – ‘A conversation about the future of communications policy‘.

Having marked the 30th anniversary of the Telecommunications Act of 1996 this spring by looking back, Benton now looks to the future, examining the internet’s evolving technical architecture, the changing broadband marketplace, and shifts in the institutions and policies that shape access, affordability, and accountability. The internet has become essential infrastructure governed by laws built for a different era, and a new compact for connectivity is needed.

10:00 EDT (14:00 UTC) — WELCOME REMARKS
Revati Prasad – Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

10:10 EDT (14:10 UTC) — PANEL 1: TRANSLATING CORE PRINCIPLES OF THE COMMUNICATIONS ACT FOR THE MODERN INTERNET
Tejas N. Narechania – University of California, Berkeley
kc claffy – University of California, San Diego
Lai Yi Ohlsen – Cloudflare
Johannes M. Bauer – Michigan State University
Moderator: Scott Jordan – University of California, Irvine

11:10 EDT (15:10 UTC) — LIGHTNING TALK #1: CRITICAL DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE PUBLIC CLOUD
Amelia Acker – Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

11:30 EDT (15:30 UTC) — PANEL 2: THE EVOLVING BROADBAND MARKETPLACE
Ernesto Falcon – Public Advocates Office, California Public Utilities Commission
Claude Aiken – Nextlink Internet
Russ Hanser – NCTA – the Internet & Television Association
Moderator: Angie Kronenberg – Sligo Solutions LLC

13:10 EDT (17:10 UTC) — LIGHTNING TALK #2: THE CASE FOR PUBLIC MUNICIPAL DATA CENTERS
Preston Rhea – HR&A Advisors

13:25 EDT (17:25 UTC) — PANEL 3: SHAPING SUPPLY, SUPPORTING DEMAND: POLICY LEVERS FOR UNIVERSAL SERVICE
Brian Vo – Connect Humanity
Benjamin Dinovelli – Fordham University
Joshua Breitbart – ConnectALL, Empire State Development
Nell Geiser – Communications Workers of America
Moderator: Christopher Ali – Pennsylvania State University

14:35 EDT (18:35 UTC) — LIGHTNING TALK #3: PUBLIC POWER: APPLYING THE LESSONS OF ELECTRIFICATION TO INTERNET INFRASTRUCTURE
Sandeep Vaheesan – Open Markets Institute

14:50 EDT (18:50 UTC) — PANEL 4: WHO MINDS THE STORE? EXERCISING OVERSIGHT, ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY
Harold Feld – Public Knowledge
Anna Lenhart – University of Maryland
Lisa Hone – Former Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade Subcommittee, Energy & Commerce Committee, U.S. House of Representatives
Jud Cary – Colorado Attorney General Office
Moderator: Joseph Wender – Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition

15:50 EDT (19:50 UTC) — CLOSING REMARKS
Revati Prasad – Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

#Broadband #TelecomPolicy #UniversalService #InternetInfrastructure