In March 2021, following the House Administration’s submission of the Technical Observations: Hybrid Proceedings and Specific Information Concerning Committee Witnesses information report to the Board of Internal Economy, tangible improvements have been achieved in several technical areas being tracked and monitored due to their potential impact on the work done in virtual proceedings. Also in March, the Board of Internal Economy and the Liaison Committee members requested that a technical observation dashboard be prepared and shared. As a result, the following data focuses on February and March 2021:

• 1) The number of committee witnesses whose IT equipment and connectivity were tested prior to their appearance (see Graph 1);
• 2) Types of headset used by witnesses (see Graph 2);
• 3) The number of audio quality incidents attributable to headset use (see Graph 3); and
• 4) The number of participants who joined the meetings using a hard-wired connection, rather than Wi-Fi (see Graph 4).

Graph 1: Witnesses and pre-tested witnesses (by month)

Note: As of February 2021, the House Administration calls all committee witnesses to schedule pre-tests.

Graph 2: Committee witness headset type with microphone

Graph 3: Reasons for audio quality issues experienced by committee witnesses

Graph 4: Network connection of committee meeting participants

In general, wired connectivity provides a better audio chain.