Next Century Cities

The team at Next Century Cities would like to thank all of our members, ally organizations, local, and federal partners that we have worked with over the last decade. Read some parting thoughts from the outgoing team here:https://nextcenturycities.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/NCC-Farewell-Letters-.pdf

After ten years of progressive service and advocacy to the broadband community, Next Century Cities will close its doors as an organization effective November 15, 2024. After much consideration, sunsetting the organization is the best route due to the changing philanthropic landscape preventing NCC from sustaining itself and its meaningful work.

Next Century Cities was chartered in 2014 as a collaborative effort intent on advancing a more robust national broadband environment, enhancing local-level knowledge, and developing a richer, bipartisan discourse on next-generation connectivity and broadband infrastructure.

After more than ten years of service to over 230 member municipalities and counties, Next Century Cities has surpassed the goals set before it. With over 50 public filings in the last two years, dozens of webinars, insightful research, and practical tools NCC has had an extraordinary impact.

Thank you to all of our partners in the public interest space and to all of our incredible member municipalities and counties. Special thanks to our philanthropic funders who have continued to support us over the last decade.

Have you had a chance to read our recent Tech Policy Tidbits bulletin? We dive into the recent GAO USAC report, broadband in your state or territory and affordable broadband in America. Read it here: https://conta.cc/3MrPvTK

Our latest newsletter dives into the recently authored report, "Broadband Affordability: The Metrics That Drive And Divide Us" by Corian Zacher and Stacey Baxter and the staff's recent attendance at the Mountain Connect Conference and Digital Opportunity Summit.

Read the full newsletter here:

August 2024 Newsletter Read August 2024 Newsletter by NextCenturyCities on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

The ongoing challenges to the Universal Service Fund are one of the quietest but most important court challenges happening in telecom law right now. Each of the four circuits hearing these cases has the potential to upend how the USF is administered and how contributions can be collected. In this article, Senior Policy Counsel Ryan Johnston summarizes each case, their outcomes, and what they might mean for the USF reform discussion writ large.

Litigation Update: The State of the Universal Service Fund Universal Service Fund Reform remains a highly contested issue, but many don’t know about challenges to the program happening right now. In this article, we take a look at the four ongoing USF lawsuits, their dispositions, and what that might mean for the ongoing reform debate.

"It is time for each and every state to adopt DVC and have ASL-proficient representatives support their Deaf and Hard of Hearing residents." - NCC's Stacey Baxter in her latest piece for the NCC Newsletter.

Read more about why Direct Video Calling (DVC) Means Equitable Communication:

Calling All States: Direct Video Calling (DVC) Means Equitable Communication DVC benefits everyone. It is 2024, the time is now for states to adopt DVC services and allow individuals with disabilities to be themselves, communicate for themselves, and maintain a level of autonomy that is guaranteed to each of us.

Dig into our June 2024 newsletter! We explore access and regulation, the importance of direct video calling, the state of the Universal Service Fund and more.

June 2024 Newsletter Read June 2024 Newsletter by NextCenturyCities on Issuu and browse thousands of other publications on our platform. Start here!

ICYMI | Yesterday NCC hosted a robust conversation, "AI and the Digital Divide" with Sachin Gupta, Amina Fazlullah, and Jasmine McNealy. Watch the full webinar here:

NCC Webinar 2024 | AI and Digital Divide Next Century Cities team hosted a webinar discussing the future of emerging tech and the digital divide. Many local governments are navigating increasing art...

ICYMI | Next Century Cities offered remarks on the end of the Affordable Connectivity Program. Read the full press release here: https://myemail-api.constantcontact.com/Next-Century-Cities-Laments-The-End-Of-The-Affordable-Connectivity-Program-And-Urges-Congress-To-Quickly-Reinstate-This-Critical.html?soid=1118092311945&aid=uq0S2lMnDOI

Bipartisan Tech 2024 was one for the books! Take an in depth walk down Bipartisan Tech memory lane in the May issue of the NCC newsletter out now.

The Next Century Cities Newsletter | May 2024 Local leaders, advocates, and federal officials convened in Washington, D.C. for the hallmark conference in celebration of NCC’s 10th anniversary.

Kudos to our Executive Director Andy Stutzman for being named one of Technical.ly's "20 People You Want to Know" in the Philadelphia tech space. Read more about Andy and the other RealList Connectors here: https://technical.ly/civic-news/reallist-connectors-philadelphia-2024/

RealLIST Connectors 2024: In Philly’s tech and startup community, 20 people you want to know The annual RealLIST feature spotlights the most connected and community-oriented people in the region’s innovation ecosystem.