The Federal Communications Commission is going to South Carolina on Monday, October 5, and Tuesday, October 6. Today, Today, the FCC hosts a consumer forum on broadband at Ravenel Community Hall in Ravenal, S.C., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The forum, according to the FCC, the event “is designed to provide an open dialogue between consumers and government officials in order to develop a more comprehensive and inclusive National Broadband Plan.”
On Wednesday morning, the FCC will hold a field hearing on broadband adoption, headlined by FCC Commissioners Mignon Clyburn, who hails from South Carolina, and Michael Copps, who worked for former Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings, S.C.
And on Wednesday afternoon, how broadband has enabled the Medical University of South Carolina to serve rural areas through telemedicine will be among the points of discussion in an event at the university with Clyburn and Copps. The officials are scheduled to describe the research institution’s support for advanced stroke treatment services, prenatal care and other health care services for women that have been made possible via broadband networks. MUSC is part of the Palmetto State Providers Network, which connects four rural and underserved regions to a fiber optic backbone being developed in the state and Internet2. The network is a participant in the FCC’s Rural Health Care Pilot Program.
Also participating in the Wednesday morning event, on the significance, benefits and impact of broadband adoption will be Stephanie Blunt, Executive Director, Trident Area Agency on Aging; Bernie Mazyck, President and CEO, South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations; Otha Meadows, President and CEO, Trident Urban League; Julius H. Hollis, Founder and Chairman, Alliance for Digital Equality; and Nicol Turner-Lee, vice president, Media and Technology Institute, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies. The second panel, on “lessons learned in broadband adoption and deployment,” will include Ernest Andrade, founder, Charleston Digital Corridor; Scott Adams, Aerolina Wireless; Andi Afsar, Chimera Wireless; Stacey F. Jones, Vice President, Benedict College, and BGTIME; and H. Keith Oliver, Home Telephone.
[Editor’s Note: This post comes from our Washington D.C. partner site, BroadbandCensus. For more deep technology policy reporting, click here. –mrh]
