FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2019
Contact: Susan Norton
Communications Director
Communications Department
479-575-8330
snorton@fayetteville-ar.gov
City Invites Residents to Net Neutrality and 5G Technology Event
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— Mayor Lioneld Jordan’s Digital Inclusion Task Force is hosting its fifth outreach event on Thursday, March 21 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Fayetteville Public Library in the Walker Room. Speakers are Sean Kinney and Michelle Gibeault.
Sean Kinney, managing partner for content at Arden Media and editor in chief of RCR Wireless News, a digital publication founded in 1982 and focused on all things telecommunications, will speak about 5G, the newest generation of cellular technology. 5G is currently available in a limited number of markets, but US mobile carriers have big plans for nationwide expansion. In this session, we will discuss how 5G is different from 4G, what types of use cases and applications 5G will support, and what end users can expect.
Michelle Jude Gibeault is a teaching librarian at the University of Arkansas Libraries, scholar, and advocate for digital literacy and equity. She serves as chair of the Digital Inclusion Task Force. Her presentation gives a brief overview of net neutrality policies and why rules are so strongly linked to Internet freedom. The future of net neutrality protections in this country are still unclear and hopeful developments are on the horizon in 2019.
Event attendees and residents are asked to complete a survey regarding the availability of high-speed Internet service throughout the community, including how they access and use it. Surveys are available in English and Spanish, online at the City’s public engagement portal, Speak Up Fayetteville, and in paper format. Surveys will be mailed to a random sampling of households in early April. Copies are also available for pickup at the Fayetteville Public Library.
The Task Force is building a community-wide Digital Inclusion Coalition to advocate for enhanced broadband services and improve the understanding of the community’s digital needs and resources. The vision of the Mayor’s Task Force is to bridge digital divides in our community so that residents and business owners of Fayetteville have broadband Internet access and the basic skills to use it. More information can be found at www.fayetteville-ar.gov/digitalinclusion.
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