Here at the Tech Policy Summit in Silicon Valley, we had the chance to catch-up with Mobile Future Chairman Jonathan Spalter. After appearing on a panel on spectrum policy for the digital century, Spalter sat down with us to talk about how mobile could fit into a national broadband strategy. Mobile broadband, after all, is the fastest-growing category of broadband adoption in the United States today. Who’s driving the growth? Is mobile uniquely positioned to help us overcome barriers to adoption? The answers might just surprise you—and certainly illuminate the conversation about a constructive path forward. Check out our interview.

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Have you seen the recent advertising campaign from Apple featuring all of the great applications you can use on your iPhone? Check a sample out below.

With Apple announcing late last month that customers had downloaded more than 1 billion applications from its online App Store in just nine months, it’s clear that mobile apps are a white-hot business opportunity. As more and more people rely on their smartphones for applications, entrepreneurs and technologists are busy coming up with the next “killer app.” If this sounds like something you’d like to learn more about, you should attend the upcoming Mobile Monday.

Time: May 11, 2009 from 5:30pm to 8:30pm
Location: Embassy of Finland
3301 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20006

RSVP here – http://dcmomo05.eventbrite.com/

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This past week, the Congressional Internet Caucus, a diverse group of individual, non-profit, and industry experts that educate Congress on Internet policy issues, gathered for a half-day summit called State of the Mobile Net.  

Pew Internet & American Life Project Associate Director of Research John Horrigan.
used his time to compare mobile broadband adoption to earlier Internet adoption in the 1990’s.   Key findings:

1)       There is no standard profile of a mobile broadband user.
2)       Engaged mobile users are more diverse and younger than wired Internet users.
3)       Even though mobile Internet seems to be the next thing, there is a portion of the population that may be slow to adopt.   Although the vast majority of adults have cell phones and Internet access, some prefer not to connect.
4)       Mobile won’t serve all users, so we need wired broadband, too.

The conference continued with breakout sessions on important topics like cloud computing, mobile infrastructure, privacy and spectrum.   The closing general session considered what policy framework would best enable innovation.   And finally, a networking reception allowed for the further exchange of ideas and, of course, business cards.

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