Internet Association Ramps Up State Activities

Robert Callahan, California executive director for the Internet Association, is taking over as the lead state government affairs exec for the association, which represents major edge providers--Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Google, reddit and many others.

Callahan will be VP, state and government affairs, reporting to Melika Carroll, SVP of global government affair.

Among the state issues of importance to edge providers are the efforts by some state governments, including California, to fight the FCC's reg rollback or come up with their own network neutrality regulations now that the FCC has eliminated its own regulations against blocking, throttling and paid prioritization.

Municipal broadband is another issue that involves efforts by some states to limit those buildouts.

Also as part of a general expansion of state government roles, New York Executive Director John Olsen will oversee state government affairs in the Northeast, while state and local government affairs senior manager Lauren Kimzey will now head up "political engagement" in California.

Chelsea Anderson
Assistant Content Producer

Chelsea Anderson has been with Future for two years. She started as an intern with NewBay Media/Multichannel News in 2015. During her time she wrote bylined articles and program reviews as well as helped with research graphics for the magazine. She later became News Assistant for Broadcasting & Cable in 2017 until 2020 when she became Assistant Content Producer. Chelsea graduated from Niagara University in 2016 with a Bachelor's in Communication Studies and a double minor in Writing Studies and Sociology.