PUBLIC NOTICE Federal Communications Commission 445 12th St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554 News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 DA 14-270 Released: February 27, 2014 FCC ANNOUNCES MARCH 19 RURAL BROADBAND WORKSHOP GN Docket No. 13-5 WC Docket No. 10-90 In the Technology Transitions Order, the Commission recognized the “particular challenges for the deployment of next generation communications services” in rural areas and affirmed its commitment to ensuring that “as networks transition, the access of rural American customers, including customers living on Tribal lands, is not just preserved, but enhanced, in all areas of the country.”1 In order to better understand these challenges and develop targeted experiments to address them, the Technology Transitions Order announced that the Commission would hold a Rural Broadband Workshop in March 2014.2 The Rural Broadband Workshop will focus on the importance of broadband in rural America and include presentations designed to elicit information to help develop “ideas about how to structure experiments that will inform our policy decisions regarding the deployment of next generation networks in rural, high-cost areas.”3 The Rural Broadband Workshop will be held on Wednesday, March 19, 2014, in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th Street, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20554. The workshop will include an examination of the broadband needs of rural populations and the unique challenges of both broadband deployment and adoption in rural areas. In addition, the discussion will highlight the economic, educational, and healthcare benefits that can be realized through broadband deployment and adoption. The workshop will also examine different business models that have been used to deploy broadband in rural areas, including a discussion of the factors that drive investment decisions and technology choices of different types of providers in rural communities. Finally, the workshop will examine the role that states have played, and can continue to play, in meeting the rural broadband challenge. Additional details concerning the workshop agenda and panelists will be forthcoming. The workshop will be free and open to the public, and will also be streamed live at http://www.fcc.gov/live. Reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities are available upon request. The request should include a detailed description of the accommodation needed and contact information. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible in order to allow the agency to satisfy such requests whenever possible. Send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). 1 Technology Transitions et al., GN Docket No. 13-5 et al., Order, Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Report and Order, Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Proposal for Ongoing Data Initiative, FCC 14-5, at paras. 88, 90 (rel. Jan. 31, 2014) (Technology Transitions Order). 2 Id. at para. 91 3 Id. 2For further information, contact Patrick Halley at 202-418-7550, or via e-mail at Patrick.Halley@fcc.gov. -FCC-