Louisiana has the potential to be a tech and innovation destination. During the Pelican Institute’s recent “(BIG) Solutions (mini) Summit(s),” our expert keynote speakers and panelists offered several proven solutions to make Louisiana into the “Silicon Bayou.” If you missed the Summit(s), take a look at the videos below to learn how we can achieve...

Louisiana’s state and local governments will be receiving approximately $5.18 billion from the federal government because of the American Rescue Plan of 2021. Part of that $5.18 billion is earmarked for water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure projects. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted that many rural areas still struggle with broadband internet access.  Louisiana policymakers should invest...

As connectivity has become more important than ever, elected officials at all levels of government are facing issues, challenges, and opportunities that have previously been largely unexplored. To that end, today, the Pelican Institute joined other public policy groups across the nation in releasing policy solutions to help states close the digital divide following COVID-19. This...

Since the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by Chairman Ajit Pai, ended the regulation of the internet under Title II, investment in broadband infrastructure has continued to increase. Now that we’re facing a public health crisis posed by COVID-19, this increase in broadband capacity is more important than ever. That’s why when the FCC recently...

Despite the gorgeous weather in large swaths of the country, the recent spread of COVID-19 and extensions of stay at home orders by several governors is forcing many Americans to stay indoors. Just a few years ago, this kind of large-scale self-isolation would have taken an even greater mental toll on people, but thankfully, today’s...

This week, the Louisiana Superintendents Association requested Gov. John Bel Edwards to close schools across the state for the remainder of the education year. The following is a statement from Ethan Melancon, director of education policy at the Pelican Institute, in response to this request. “While we understand Louisiana’s leaders continue the fight to contain...

To reduce the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19, many Louisianans are foregoing shopping in stores and are instead, ordering their necessities online through services like Amazon, Postmates, and Instacart. But these delivered goods are still interacting with human handlers multiple times before they make it to consumers. What if there was a way to...

As people worldwide go into quarantine and conversations around COVID-19 move increasingly online, thousands of Facebook users received a shocked Tuesday night when they discovered the social media outlet flagged their posts as potential spam content or misleading information. This kind of flagging is typically reserved for purposefully misleading websites or those hawking fake products....

If you are reading this article, chances are you have access to a broadband internet connection. A broadband connection is anything faster than a 25 Mbps (Megabits-per-second) download speed and a 3 Mbps upload speed. While this minimum speed isn’t considered especially high today, tens of thousands of Louisianans don’t have access to any broadband...

As state legislative sessions get underway across the country, the Pelican Center for Technology and Innovation released “Principles for Lawmakers: How to Think About Emerging Technologies,” a deep dive policy paper to give tips and advice to policymakers on the subject. In it, we lay out how important the light regulatory touch has been at...