Gigi Sohn

About

Gigi Sohn is a Distinguished Fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Senior Fellow & Public Advocate. She is the host of the "Tech on the Rocks Podcast." Gigi sits on the Board of Directors of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Gigi is one of the nation’s leading public advocates for open, affordable and democratic communications networks. For thirty years, Gigi has worked across the country to defend and preserve the fundamental competition and innovation policies that have made broadband Internet access more ubiquitous, competitive, affordable, open and protective of user privacy. Most recently,…

News

National Journal: Lack of accurate maps could paralyze Democrats’ COVID-19 broadband buildout

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Whip James Clyburn unveiled their plan for an $80 billion broadband buildout last Thursday, both emphasized the importance of the proposal in the broader fight against COVID-19. “We’re talking about distance learning, we’re talking about telemedicine, we’re talking about people buying things in…

Posted on May 4, 2020May 18, 2020 by Kip Roderick

News

Bloomberg: Virtual School Leaves Kids Behind, Sparking New Broadband Push

A growing number of politicians of both parties in Washington are coming to agree. The Covid-19 crisis, by laying bare the so-called “digital divide” at school systems and communities across the country, may achieve what years of lobbying by interest groups has failed to deliver: significant new federal funding to…

Posted on May 1, 2020May 4, 2020 by Kip Roderick

News

CNET: Dems on FCC take issue with claims the digital divide is narrowing

The Federal Communications Commission says the broadband industry is making great progress in getting Americans connected to high-speed internet service. But Democrats at the agency say that isn't so. Last week, the agency released its 2020 Broadband Progress Report, which showed a reduction in the digital divide. The report concluded that…

Posted on April 30, 2020May 4, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Media

Tech on the Rocks: Local Broadband Needs in the Age of COVID-19.

On this episode, Gigi chats with Francella Ochillo, the Executive Director of Next Century Cities to discuss the importance of universal broadband access during the COVID-19 pandemic. Gigi and Francella discuss what cities and small communities across the United States are doing to connect residents who lack quality internet access…

Posted on April 29, 2020August 18, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Writing

Gigi Sohn at Wired: During the Pandemic, the FCC Must Provide Internet for All

IF ANYONE BELIEVED access to the internet was not essential prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, nobody is saying that today. With ongoing stay-at-home orders in most states, high-speed broadband internet access has become a necessity to learn, work, engage in commerce and culture, keep abreast of news about the virus, and…

Posted on April 28, 2020April 29, 2020 by Gigi Sohn

News

Ars Technica: Ajit Pai uses bad data to claim ISPs are deploying broadband to everyone

The Federal Communications Commission on Friday issued its annual broadband deployment report, finding for the third straight year that broadband is "being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion." The FCC is required to report on broadband progress annually under Section 706 of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Pai's Republican majority pointed to…

Posted on April 27, 2020May 4, 2020 by Kip Roderick

Speaking

Aspen Institute Webinar: COVID-19 and the Digital Divide

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the widening digital divide. Roughly one-in-five American adults are “smartphone-only” internet users with no access to home broadband service or laptops. Low-income Americans and communities of color are particularly disadvantaged. As schools move to distance learning, workers are displaced from their jobs and public services…

Posted on April 24, 2020May 4, 2020 by Kip Roderick

News

Guardian: US digital divide ‘is going to kill people’ as Covid-19 exposes inequalities

The Covid-19 crisis is exposing how the cracks in the US’s creaking digital infrastructure are potentially putting lives at risk, exclusive research shows. With most of the country on lockdown and millions relying on the internet for work, healthcare, education and shopping, research by M-Lab, an open source project which monitors…

Posted on April 13, 2020April 13, 2020 by Kip Roderick

News

CNET: Joe Biden’s Views on Tech

With Bernie Sanders dropping out of the Democratic race for the presidency, former Vice President Joe Biden is the party's presumptive pick to run against President Donald Trump. Though the coronavirus pandemic and its fallout over the coming months are likely to dominate the political discussion, technology issues are also here to stay. Throughout the primary…

Posted on April 12, 2020April 13, 2020 by Kip Roderick

News

New York Post: Plans for fourth US wireless network dim amid coronavirus pandemic

Charlie Ergen’s plans to build the nation’s fourth wireless network by 2023 are being thrown into doubt due to the coronavirus. Ergen, the billionaire chairman of satellite-TV company Dish Network, needs to raise about $10 billion to build a 5G network that covers 70 percent of the US population by…