Every year, the Annual Institute on Telecommunications Policy & Regulation brings together the nation’s finest legal minds for a two-day training program in Washington, DC. This year, Scott Delacourt, Wiley Rein LLP; Michele Farquhar, Hogan Lovells US LLP; and Bryan Tramont, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, co-chaired the conference, host to a series of in-depth discussions on developments in telecommunications policy. The faculty included public and private legal practitioners and senior officials from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). FCC Commissioners and Bureau Chiefs are annual fixtures in the program. 

On December 10, 2019, Next Century Cities’ Executive Director, Francella Ochillo, hosted the fireside chat with FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. She pressed the Commissioner on the FCC’s efforts to improve its data collection, bridge the digital divide, preserve network security, and reform Universal Service Fund distributions. It was a unique opportunity to urge FCC leadership and agency staff to be more intentional about including municipal leaders in discussions about federal telecommunications policy.