Clarifies That Additional Comments in Broadband Health Proceeding May Be Filed Through September 29, 2017
The Federal Communications Commission’s (@FCC) Connect2Health Task Force announces that it will convene several virtual listening sessions over several weeks, starting the week of August 7, 2017, to more efficiently facilitate targeted input on broadband health issues (including on the rural/urban gap and other digital divide issues) from non-traditional stakeholders and those outside the Washington, DC area. This effort specifically relates to the Task Force’s development of recommendations on critical regulatory, policy, technical, and infrastructure issues concerning the emerging broadband-enabled health and care ecosystem described in the April 24, 2017, Public Notice issued in GN Docket No. 16-46 (FCC Seeks Comment and Data on Actions to Accelerate Adoption and Accessibility of Broadband-Enabled Health Care Solutions and Advanced Technologies).
In addition, the formal comment period for GN Docket No. 16-46 will remain open until September 29, 2017, to give interested parties an opportunity to file additional comments and information following the completion of the virtual listening sessions.¹ Parties have also expressed interest in submitting comments and suggestions for enhancements related to the Mapping Broadband Health in America platform released on June 8, 2017, and this extension will facilitate such filings.²
The scheduled virtual listening sessions will serve to supplement the Commission’s typical in-person, ex parte meeting process and will be conducted via teleconference with participants from specified stakeholder groups as detailed below. We anticipate that each of the sessions will last for about an hour. Conducting these sessions via teleconference will help ensure that interested parties based outside the Washington, DC area can participate. The calls will be led by Task Force staff and will be recorded and transcribed for the record. The resulting transcripts will be publicly-available in the above-referenced docket on the FCC’s website. Interested parties may submit comments and any additional input in response to the discussions reflected in the transcripts.
Parties interested in participating in these virtual sessions should contact the Task Force by July 28, 2017, by sending an e-mail to connect2health@fcc.gov, and inserting “Virtual Listening Session” in the subject line. Please identify the session(s) of interest; provide a brief personal biography; your contact information; a description of your organization (and/or link to your organization website), if applicable; and the extent of your availability (specify days and EST times) during the specified week.³ Please note that the stakeholder groups listed below are based on stakeholders that have submitted comments in the above-referenced docket and/or have engaged the Task Force; the list below is not intended to reflect the full range of stakeholders relevant to broadband health issues. The Task Force welcomes the participation of any interested party. Once final schedules are determined, the Task Force will notify participants of the date and time of their selected session(s), as well as any additional information and instructions.
Virtual Listening Sessions — Tentative Schedule And Stakeholder Groups
- Week of Aug. 7: Health Care Provider Forum: e.g., Health system administrators and CIOs, clinicians and other health care providers (including allied health professionals); community health officials and clinicians; small medical practices; public safety and EMS professionals; and researchers
- Week of Sept. 11: Rural and Consumer Issues Forum: e.g., Associations and advocacy groups representing rural interests, Tribal lands, people with disabilities, veterans, and older Americans
- Week of Sept. 18: Technology and Broadband Services Forum: e.g., Telecommunications carriers, broadband services providers, manufacturers, innovators, and entrepreneurs
- Week of Sept. 25: Policymakers Forum: e.g., Federal policymakers; state and local health officials (or their representatives) and other policymakers; associations representing state, county, and city health officials and policymakers; state and local officials involved in developing technology and broadband policies and strategies
For questions and additional information about these virtual listening sessions, please contact Ben Bartolome, Special Counsel, Connect2HealthFCC Task Force, at (770) 935-3383, or via e-mail at Ben.Bartolome@fcc.gov.
Please visit the FCC’s Connect2Health Task Force for general information.
¹ The initial deadlines for filing comments and reply comments in response to the Public Notice in GN Docket No. 16-46 were May 24, 2017, and June 8, 2017, respectively. Thus far, at least 84 parties have submitted comments and other relevant information in the docket. Numerous other parties—in particular, physicians and researchers—unfamiliar with the FCC filing process have expressed interest in submitting comments and studies in the record. Although we are specifying a time period for submitting comments in response to the Public Notice, parties may submit any other information and input that may be relevant to the ongoing work of the Task Force at any time in the docket.
² The current Mapping Broadband Health in America Platform is available at the FCC website.
³ We plan to select the date and time that can accommodate most of the interested participants for each session. Parties who are unable to join a session due to scheduling conflicts may request a separate meeting with the Task Force by sending an e-mail to engageC2H@fcc.gov, and inserting “Meeting Request re GN Docket No. 16-46” in the subject line. In the e-mail, please identify and describe your organization (if affiliated with one), provide your contact information, and identify the subject(s) you wish to discuss in the meeting.