Washington, D.C. – TechNet, the national, bipartisan network of innovation economy CEOs and senior executives, today applauded the top priorities of Alan Davidson, nominated to lead the National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA), and Gigi Sohn, nominated as commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), during their Senate hearing. The nominees’ priorities including expanding access to broadband connectivity and 5G networks and increasing security and privacy measures. The following statement can be attributed to TechNet President and CEO Linda Moore:
“The pandemic has highlighted the digital divide that exists in this country and the urgent need to expand reliable, affordable, and secure high-speed internet to all Americans. Connecting everyone to the internet will increase economic opportunities, improve student learning, and expand access to health care. This must be a top priority for the FCC and NTIA in the months and years ahead.
“The need for a national privacy law has also never been greater. We applaud the nominees for recognizing the need to protect user data and privacy and bolster our cybersecurity defense. As data grows in size and value, sensitive information will remain a constant threat from cybercriminals.
“We applaud both Davidson and Sohn’s commitments to expanding broadband and protecting user data and privacy and look forward to working with both, if confirmed, to ensure broadband is more accessible and our data is more secure.”
Recently, TechNet applauded the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure bill that commits $65 billion to expand broadband access across the country, which will be distributed by the NTIA.