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WASHINGTON, DC—Womble Bond Dickinson partner Marty Stern recently moderated a “Jam Session” with FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly to a packed house at the annual conference of the Schools, Health and Libraries Broadband (SHLB) Coalition, on October 11 in Washington, DC.
Stern was joined on the panel by Womble Bond Dickinson attorney Erin Fitzgerald, who serves as regulatory counsel to the Rural Wireless Association, and Jill Canfield, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of NTCA - The Rural Broadband Association.
The panel featured a lively discussion and spirited questions from the audience on the race to the next generation of wireless broadband known as 5G, which is expected to deliver broadband speeds 100 times faster than today’s wireless networks; action the FCC will be taking at its October meeting to speed the availability of wireless spectrum via a new Citizens Broadband Radio Service (or CBRS) band; and federal broadband and telecom funding programs that are critical to schools and other educational institutions, as well as to rural telecom providers.
The SHLB Coalition works to advance broadband connectivity, infrastructure and technology for educational and other anchor institutions and their communities in urban, suburban and rural areas throughout the country.
Marty Stern provides legal and strategic counsel on regulatory, policy and commercial matters to telecommunications, information technology and media firms, including network operators, programmers, and technology companies, in the United States and globally. He also develops and executes regulatory and legislative strategies, including through trade associations and the formation and implementation of industry coalitions, and engages in associated advocacy.
Erin Fitzgerald advises telecommunications carriers, broadband service providers, and technology companies on complex commercial and regulatory matters. Erin also serves as Regulatory Counsel to the Rural Wireless Association (RWA), and has extensive experience on issues regarding privacy/data protection, spectrum auctions, universal service, broadband deployment, data roaming, network neutrality, and wireless licensing. Erin advocates in rulemaking and policymaking proceedings on behalf of RWA as well as individual clients, and frequently appears before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Photo courtesy of SHLB Coalition
