Broadband Breakfast sets telecom history conference for Oct. 1

Broadband Breakfast will host a half-day online conference Oct. 1 on 250 years of U.S. independence and 150 years of American telecommunications, with Sen. Deb Fischer delivering the keynote. The event ties telecom history to current debates over broadband deployment, spectrum access and AI infrastructure.

Why it matters: - The Oct. 1 conference connects telecom history to current policy fights over broadband, competition and AI infrastructure. - Broadband Breakfast is using the 150-year telecom timeline to frame questions about how regulation, innovation and market structure shape the next wave of communications technology. - The event also extends a yearlong project that includes a three-part online series and a 35-lesson course on 150 Years of American Telecommunications.

What happened: - Broadband Breakfast will host "250 Years of American Independence and 150 Years of American Telecommunications" on Thursday, Oct. 1, from 12 noon ET to about 3 p.m. ET. - The half-day conference will be held online from Washington. - Sen. Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska, will deliver the keynote address. - The event centers on two panels: innovation and competition.

The details: - The Innovation panel will examine how earlier regulatory bargains shaped later technologies. - The panel will also look at how to preserve permissionless innovation while accounting for risks introduced by new tools. - Tom Wheeler, former FCC chairman under President Barack Obama and now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution, will join the Innovation panel. - Wheeler led the FCC from November 2013 to January 2017. - Wheeler oversaw adoption of net neutrality rules, consumer privacy protections and stronger cybersecurity policy. - Wheeler previously led the National Cable Television Association from 1979 to 1984 and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association from 1992 to 2004. - Wheeler is the only person inducted into both the Cable Television Hall of Fame and the Wireless Hall of Fame. - The Competition panel will focus on broadband deployment, spectrum access and infrastructure being built to power artificial intelligence. - The panel will ask whether the current buildout is opening markets to new entrants or concentrating power in fewer hands. - Confirmed panelists for the Competition panel are Eli Noam, director of Columbia Institute for Tele-Information; Gigi Sohn, executive director of the American Association for Public Broadband and former counselor to the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission; and Jonathan Nuechterlein, distinguished scholar at the George Washington University Competition Law Center. - Additional panelists for both sessions will be announced. - Broadband Breakfast built the conference out of a three-part Broadband Breakfast Live Online series held this summer. - The first session, "1876-1926: The Telephone and the Transatlantic Cable," covered Bell's patent, the rise of AT&T and the first transcontinental telephone line in 1914. - The second session, "1927-1976: Broadcasting, Cable and the Creation of the Media," covered the Federal Radio Commission in 1927, the Communications Act of 1934, the postwar television boom and cable systems challenging broadcast networks. - The third session, "1977-2026: Computing, the Internet and Artificial Intelligence," covered the breakup of Ma Bell, ARPANET, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, net neutrality fights and large language models. - An online seat costs $150 and includes three months of Breakfast Club access through Dec. 31, 2026. - Breakfast Club Members can access the complete course, "150 Years of American Telecommunications," at no additional charge. - Section A of the course, Lessons 0 through 4, is available to free members of the Broadband Breakfast Community. - Sections B through F, Lessons 5 through 31, are reserved for Breakfast Club Members.

Between the lines: - Broadband Breakfast is linking an anniversary-driven educational series to a paid access model, using the conference to drive enrollment in the broader course and membership program. - The panel lineup signals a focus on policy, competition and legacy telecom expertise rather than product launches or corporate announcements. - The AI infrastructure angle shows how telecom history is being used to frame current debates over who controls the networks that will support future computing growth.

What's next: - Additional panelists for both sessions will be announced before the event. - Registration is available through the conference page, and attendees who join as Breakfast Club Members will unlock the full course library. - Broadband Breakfast is expected to continue using the 250th and 150th anniversaries as organizing themes across its programming.

The bottom line: - Broadband Breakfast is turning telecom history into a live policy forum, with the Oct. 1 event aimed at connecting past regulatory choices to the broadband and AI battles now underway.