Maggie Hassan

I want to perhaps just say that we should commit to each other to continue this discussion and really drilldown on this issue.

I will often have one conversation with providers and industry about the levels of connectivity and then I am out.

Part of what we are dealing with here... is that there does seem to be this ongoing different understanding of the level of connectivity for people in so many parts of our state.

I think the time has come to treat this like the utility that it really is and address it that way.

If the private sector cannot, for some reason, get to everywhere it needs to get, then the issue of whether municipalities should be somehow empowered to becomes another question.

For people in our state, a lack of affordable access to broadband continues to be a real and serious challenge.

The importance of being able to do that in a way and at a time that makes sense, given people's busy lives, is really increasingly important.

We would like so many people in our rural areas to be able to access medicine through a tele-connection.

The capacity to do telemedicine is increasingly important, as it is for people who live far away from providers.

If there is not good access to broadband, to connectivity... it is really a nonstarter for those folks.

I think it is critically important purely for that perspective.

Well, and it may be that as we further these conversations that Congress has to get involved, too, in identifying where we think investments should go and trying to help strike that balance with the industry.

I know from our office's perspective, dealing with constituents who had medical emergencies after these hurricanes hit--and the limitations of communications because of the devastation on the networks--really prevented absolutely critical…

One of the purposes of the AIRWAVES Act is to make sure that the United States can maintain its leadership in advanced wireless networks.

The greatest benefit of the AIRWAVES Act is the fact that you put deadlines on getting that spectrum to market.

I wanted to get your feedback on the importance of the AIRWAVES Act, which I introduced earlier this year with Senator Gardner.

I want the community to know I started in public life in the New Hampshire State Senate.

I do have a number of questions that are really intended to help us delve a little bit deeper into the topics that you all have raised so well.

Thank you very much, Mr. Strickland.

I encourage the committee to act quickly to establish the regulatory framework needed to encourage the deployment of broadband infrastructure to New Hampshire and to the rest of the United States.

Access to the Internet is vital in today's 21st century economy.

Access to the Internet is vital in today's economy.

It is one reason why the AIRWAVES Act, that Senator Hassan and Senator Gardner have put forward, is so important.

Finally, I want to point out that connectivity matters not just on the ground, but in the skies.

I am a big believer in the wisdom of crowds, so I think we should put it to the public.