By Clifford Agugoesi, Editor-in-Chief
With a few days to IIC’s Digital Comms & Media Forum, Washington DC 9-10 December, Cyber Era NG has it on good authority that Federal Communications Commission Commissioner, Olivia Trusty is joining the Keynotes Faculty.
A heads-up we got from the Director-General at IIC, Ms. Lynn Robinson says the forum chair and host and Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel, Federal Regulatory & International Public Policy, Verizon Communications Will Johnson looks forward to welcoming attendees. Said Ms. Robinson: “As a perennial favourite with our Washington DC community the forum also attracts members from much further afield. We look forward to welcoming attendees from Latin America & the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. We have a packed agenda as always, with fireside chats, interactive panels and deep dive sessions, all held under the Chatham House Rule.”
The event is slated for Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 December 2025 at Verizon Communications,1300 l Street, NW, 5th Floor (West), Washington, DC 20005, United States
Attendees are required to register to be able to participate.
Latest fireside chat and keynote confirmations achieved for the event include:
- Founder & CEO, Family Online Safety Institute, Stephen Balkam
- Vice President for Multilateral and International Affairs- Mastercard, Heba Shams
- Senior Vice President – Public Policy, AT&T Services, Inc. Dr Giulia McHenry
- Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission, Olivia Trusty
USG priorities will be addressed by:
*Partner, Wiley Rein LLP, USA; Advisory Council, International Institute of Communications, Ambassador David A Gross
*Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary and Deputy Administrator, National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Adam Cassady
*Senior Counsel and Chief AI Officer, Federal Communications Commission, Arpan Sura
European and LatAm comparisons are to be handled by:
-Telecommunications Specialist, Inter-American Development Bank, Pau Puig Gabarró
-Commissioner Audiovisual Content, Commission for Communications Regulation of Colombia (CRC) Mauricio Vera Sánchez
-President of the Board of Commissioners, National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), Brazil, Carlos Baigorri
-Digital Counselor, European Union Delegation to the United States, Johannes Bahrke
To address New paradigms in spectrum policy and decision making are:
- Legal Director, Bird & Bird LLP, Anthony Rosen
- Group Director, Spectrum, Ofcom UK, David Willis
- President and CEO, CTIA, Ajit Pai
- Senior Director for Technology and Spectrum Policy, Cisco Systems, Bill Davenport
- Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, North America, Nokia, Becky Tangren
WSIS+20 review and why it matters will be addressed by:
*Co-Founder, Salt Point Strategies, Fiona Alexander
*Vice President, Digital Policy, USCIB, Cheryl Miller
*Government and IGO Engagement Director – UN/ITU, ICANN, Elizabeth Oluoch
*Vice President, Policy, DotAsia Organisation, Jennifer Chung
*Senior Policy and Advocacy Expert, Internet Society, John Perrino
Infrastructure in an AI-centric world: pipes, power, policy, and public trust will be handled by:
-Vice President for Government Relations, Ciena, Grace Koh
-Global Policy Director, Connectivity Meta, Thomas Navin
-Deputy Assistant Secretary for Services, International Trade Administration (ITA), US Department of Commerce, Bill Guidera
-Director of the Strategic Technologies Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Matt Pearl
-Director, Head of US Public Policy, Cloudflare, Zaid Zaid
Justice to Cybersecurity and trusted networks will come from:
- Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP, Evelyn L Remaley
- Vice President, Government and Policy Advocacy, Ericsson, Jeffrey Marks
- Managing Associate General Counsel, Verizon Communications, Chris Oatway
- Senior Advisor, Crest Hill Advisors LLC, Stephan A Lang
From policy to protection: the regulatory front line of voice security has the followings to look into it:
*Senior Director of Number Administration Strategy, Somos, Heather Hendrickson
*Deputy Division Chief, Competition Policy Division Wireline Competition Bureau, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chris Laughlin
*Chief, Consumer Policy Division, Information Access and Privacy Office, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Wesley Platt
Assistant Director, Bureau of Consumer Protection, Division of Marketing Practices, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Will Maxson
Key topics will include:
✔️ Priorities for policy makers and regulatory authorities
✔️ Regulatory simplification – trends and international comparisons
✔️ Wireline and wireless infrastructure policies and funding
✔️ National security and public safety
✔️ Space and satellite policy
✔️ Trade policy and technological sovereignty
✔️ AI governance on the global stage
✔️ WSIS+20 review and the future of internet governance
-With additional reporting by Godson Umejiego, Bureau Chief, The Americas & Emmanuel Oluebube, Bureau Chief, United Kingdom
