In this webinar, Joanne Hovis described the evolution of consumer broadband service technologies with a focus on providing an understandable, jargon-free technical explanation for the non-technical. Technology deployment has impacted price, competition, and access — from the early days of the commercial internet (dial-up over copper) through the advent of the broadband age (cable model and DSL), all the way through today’s growing investment in next-generation cable modem, “5G” wireless, and fiber-to-the-premises. The history of how those technologies were deployed is also the history of who benefitted from them – and who did not. Joanne described how the development of each technology impacted communities differently based on income-level and degree of rurality; why mobile should not be considered an adequate substitute for fixed broadband; and how the future evolution of these technologies, as they are currently postulated to develop, may further exacerbate the access and affordability divides. For a preview of this webinar, watch the video clip of Joanne’s presentation from the San Antonio Digital Inclusion Summit.

Joanne Hovis

Joanne Hovis

President, CTC Technology and Energy

Joanne Hovis is president of CTC Technology & Energy, where she directs the firm’s work in network business planning; market analysis; financial modeling, policy, and strategy; and management consulting. Joanne advises public sector clients regarding how to build strategy and opportunity for public–private partnerships in broadband. She led the CTC teams that developed first-of-their-kind partnerships for the Commonwealth of Kentucky; the City of Santa Cruz, California; the City of Westminster, Maryland; rural Garrett County, Maryland; and the Champaign-Urbana Big Broadband consortium. Joanne co-authored “The Emerging World of Broadband Public–Private Partnerships: A Business Strategy and Legal Guide” which was published by the Benton Foundation. An attorney with a background in communications and commercial litigation, Joanne is also the CEO of the Coalition for Local Internet Choice (CLIC), and former President of the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA). She serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Fiber to the Home Council and the Benton Foundation.