Volume 32 | July 2021
Member Benefit Alert
www.sbca.org
Member Benefit! Satellite CARES Program
As a member of SBCA, you have the opportunity to participate in the Satellite Cares program. The program provides consumer satellite industry members with a channel to give back to communities in disaster. Satellite CARES disaster resource requests are received, validated, and coordinated through ITDRC's National Disaster Relief Coordination Center (NDRCC), and assigned to a partner member in the local region. Learn more about this program, requirements and it's benefits.
Broadband, Broadband, Broadband
Broadband access to underserved communities is one of the top priorities of state legislators. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for access to broadband and SBCA has been actively reaching out to stakeholders on the advances of satellite technology. While much of the buzz is for fiber deployment, many state and local policy makers fully grasp that the cost and time needed to deploy wired infrastructure is a significant barrier and may not occur for years. Even then it will not serve every household. Both Hughes and ViaSat are poised to launch new satellites next year and be in a strong position to benefit on the fact that our technology is fast, reliable and quickly deployed. SBCA is ramping our education and outreach efforts to help state legislators understand the technology and work to get funding to help consumers get connected.
Hughes Shares BESTE Ideas for Hurricane Preparation
Company profile provided by HUGHES

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), an innovator in satellite and multi-transport technologies and networks for 50 years, provides broadband equipment and services; managed services featuring smart, software-defined networking; and end-to-end network operation for millions of consumers, businesses, governments and communities worldwide. The company also supplies essential connectivity to families, business owners and first responders who need to communicate in times of disaster – such as in the aftermath of a hurricane.

With hurricane season underway and the National Weather Service predicting above normal activity again this year, Hughes offers SBCA members some suggestions to help prepare. While you can’t predict exactly when or where a storm will strike, you can do your B.E.S.T.E. to mitigate the effects when one is imminent.
Missed A Newsletter?
SBCA publishes two newsletters each month. If you have missed a newsletter, you can check out the Newsletter Archive section of SBCA's website for all of the back issues of the Member Benefit and Connection newsletters. There you will also find special communications that are sent out to our satellite community.
Article via SmartBrief

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) has asked the National Telecommunications & Information Administration to review its broadband data collection, suggesting it is using “woefully inaccurate” data that threatens the effectiveness of billions of dollars in broadband subsidies.