Hinds to attend national summit on broadband, cable policy
Boston — Sen. Adam G. Hinds, D-Pittsfield, announced Wednesday that he has been appointed by Massachusetts Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst, to represent the Massachusetts Senate at the 2017 Broadband and Cable Policy Summit, presented by the National Conference of State Legislatures Sunday, Oct. 15, through Tuesday, Oct. 17, in Denver, Colorado.
According to NCSL, the summit is a partnership project intended to educate state legislators about broadband and cable technology and associated regulatory and policy issues. The BCPS will provide a balanced program covering a broad range of issues and gather the most important voices in the broadband and cable world to interact with state legislators. The summit will equip policymakers with the knowledge to tackle important and developing communications and technology issues, and enable legislators to share best practices for enhancing access to these services for their constituents.
The summit’s agenda includes sessions titled “Connecting America: Broadband Adoption Among Seniors, Low-Income Households and Schools;” “Future Trends in Technology and Innovation;” “A Conversation with Dane K. Snowden, NCTA Chief of Staff;” “Innovation and Disruption; Online Issues – Privacy, Data Breach, Cybersecurity and More;” and “Delivering Broadband to All Americans.”
“There is no other issue that my colleagues and I in western Mass. are focused on more than broadband,” said Hinds. “My first transition briefing, before I was even sworn into office, was on the status of Last Mile efforts in Massachusetts. We have a standing, biweekly conference call with state broadband officials, and are constantly trying to make progress working with residents, local officials, utilities, providers and other stakeholders. This is critical for our economy and opportunity, academic research at home, home sales, population decline and public safety. I am hopeful the Summit will increase my knowledge of solutions employed by other states and my ability to be a leader for my district in solving unnecessary inequities in access to services, existing infrastructure and both public and private investment.
While Hinds attends the summit his district and policy staff will be available to respond to incoming inquiries from constituents and local officials. Hinds is not expected to miss any formal Senate debate or roll call votes while at the summit.
