On 22 September 2026, Internet Society Pulse hosted an online workshop ‘Internet Frontiers: Navigating Data to Inform Public Discourse‘. The virtual workshop was a digital companion to an in-person workshop held earlier the same day in Washington DC.
While global conversations often focus on the next generation of satellite constellations and ultra-high-speed fiber, millions of people across North America remain marooned on the wrong side of the digital divide. Achieving universal access is not just a technical challenge; it is a complex puzzle involving regulatory bottlenecks, economic disparities, and data gaps. Together, participants moved past the marketing hype to analyze the empirical successes, systemic limitations, and real-world experiences of underserved Internet users in rural, tribal, and marginalized urban communities.
01 Opening and Welcome
Ryan Polk – Director, Internet Policy, Internet Society
Joel Templeman – Executive Director, Internet Society Manitoba Chapter Stuart Reid – President, Internet Society New York Chapter (ISOC-NY) Matt Rantanen – Co-Founder, Tribal Broadband Bootcamps Monique Tate – Co-Director, Community Tech-NY (CTNY) Raul Enriquez – Co-Director, Community Tech-NY (CTNY)
Moderator: Sharayah Lane – Senior Advisor for Indigenous Community Connectivity, Internet Society
Jane Ruffino – User Experience (UX) Architect, Internet Society Steve Song – Senior Director, Infrastructure Mapping and Development, Internet Society Erica Mesker – Chief Development and Operating Officer, Connect Humanity Dr. Traci L. Morris – Tribal Nations Policy Institute Monique Tate – Co-Director, Community Tech-NY (CTNY) J Stephanie Rose – University of Pittsburgh
Facilitator: Ryan Polk – Director, Internet Policy, Internet Society
Permitting is a critical link that supports successful broadband deployment. It secures lawful access to public and private rights-of-way, poles, and conduit, and it aligns with environmental and historic preservation responsibilities – getting it right ensures that projects can move from design to construction without costly delays.
This webinar will emphasize the importance of taking an informed, proactive approach to permitting across a range of diverse broadband projects – from early route planning and mapping, to multi-agency coordination, to developing analysis for compliance obligations. Speakers will highlight practical ways teams identify likely permits up front and anticipate sensitive areas, coordinate with federal, state, and local partners, and navigate the ins and outs of permitting for broadband projects.
The session promises a candid, forward-looking discussion on what’s working and what’s possible — designing for resilience and route diversity, turning federal funding into sustainable middle-mile assets, advancing digital equity, and developing the local workforce to sustain it.
SPEAKERS Tzeitel Buchanan – Director of Public Sector Programs and Community Partnerships, Lumen Steve Kalomas – Account Director, Business Development – SLED Infrastructure, Lumen
This webinar examined unlicensed fixed wireless technology and its role within the broader broadband “toolkit.” It will define what unlicensed fixed wireless is, highlight real-world deployment examples, and explore cost considerations. The discussion also covered situations where unlicensed fixed wireless can accelerate deployment by reducing or avoiding permitting challenges, as well as key network architecture considerations needed to deliver reliable, uninterrupted connectivity.
SPEAKERS Matt Larsen – CEO, Vistabeam / Chairman of the Board, Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA ) Monisha Ghosh – Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Notre Dame (former CTO, FCC) Steve Schwerbel – Director of State Advocacy, WISPA Tricia Paoletta – Senior Advisor on Spectrum, NTIA
HOST / MODERATOR Chip Spann – Federal Program Officer (Kentucky & West Virginia), NTIA
FACILITATOR Julia Pulidindi – Broadband Program Specialist, Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth (OICG), NTIA
On March 11. 2026 the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society hosted a webinar ‘Broadband and Health: Collaboration, Funding, and Policy‘. As health care and digital inclusion organizations alike recognize that connectivity, devices, and digital skills shape our health, collaboration across sectors is essential. This webinar offered ideas for how organizations can collaborate, how health care funding sources can be marshaled to support patients’ and providers’ access and use of technology, as well as the policy considerations associated with expanding technology-enabled healthcare.
HOST Caroline Stratton – Research Director, Benton Institute
SPEAKERS Matt Christie – Medicaid Transformation Project, Washington State Health Care Authority Jon Morrison Winters – Digital Equity Program and Broadband Manager, City of Seattle Amy Sheon – Digital Health Equity Consultant, Rockville, Maryland Jamila McLean – Director of Health Equity, State Health and Value Strategies, Princeton University. Dr. Pablo Buitron de la Vega – Program Director, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine (BUSM)
MODERATOR Sara Raza – Visiting Lecturer, University of Washington School of Law
PANEL Grant Spellmeyer, President and CEO, ACA Connects Tim Donovan, President and CEO, Competitive Carriers Association Greg Hale, CEO, LTC Connect Sarah Morris, Former Deputy Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (Acting)
PROGRAM (All times EDT = UTC-4) 14:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks 14:15 Keynote: Gigi Sohn Gigi Sohn – Executive Director, American Association for Public Broadband 15:15 Show Me The Money! Funding for Broadband Projects Ken Demlow – Project Manager, HR Green, Inc. 16:15 Digital Equity Starts at Home Jon Willow – President, Community Broadband Action Network Brianna Dillavou – Digital Navigator, Community Broadband Action Network
Maine faces a perfect storm of challenges in achieving digital equity. Maine’s remote and rugged terrain makes the state one of the most complex and expensive to reach with digital infrastructure. As the state with the oldest population, many in Maine are not digital natives. Maine’s median household and per capita income lag far behind most other states. A majority of Mainers live in small, rural communities with limited resources. These forces combine to shape the challenging contours of the digital divide in Maine.
With the passage of the IIJA, the State created the Maine Connectivity Authority as a quasi-governmental entity to drive a proactive and nimble approach to achieve universal connectivity. The Maine Connectivity Authority will share our unique approach, focused on Projects, Places, and People and now layering in the values of urgency, universality, and digital equity.
This webinar is part of a series of Marconi Society State case study virtual workshops.
PANEL Nick Battista, Chief Policy Officer, Island Institute Maggie Drummond-Bahl, Director of Strategic Partnerships, Maine Connectivity Authority Kerem Durdag, President and Chief Operating Officer, Great Works Internet Jeff Letourneau, Executive Director, Networkmaine Marijke Visser, Director, Library Development, Maine State Library
MODERATOR Tanya Emery, Maine Connectivity Authority
