The Technology Policy Institute and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research have released the complete agenda for “The National Broadband Plan: Economics, Politics and Policy,” a full-day conference scheduled for June 9th at Stanford University. The conference will feature a keynote luncheon address by ICANN President and CEO, Rod Beckstrom, former Director of the National Cybersecurity Center and successful tech entrepreneur.
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Farewell to Limewire?
Paul Otellini added to TPI Aspen Forum Agenda
Paul Otellini, President and CEO of Intel Corporation, will be a featured keynote speaker at the Technology Policy Institute’s Aspen Forum, scheduled for August 22nd – August 24th. He will join other influential industry leaders and policy experts at the event to discuss key issues affecting innovation in the technology sector.
Technology and Taxes
June 9th Event: The National Broadband Plan: Economics, Politics and Policy
The Technology Policy Institute and the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research are co-hosting “The National Broadband Plan: Economics, Politics and Policy,” a full-day conference scheduled for June 9th at Stanford University. Presentations and panel discussions will focus on such topics as broadband competition and demand, the effect of broadband deployment on economic development, spectrum allocation, and how recent events concerning the FCC’s jurisdiction over broadband could impact implementation of the National Broadband Plan.
Screening and Simplifying the Competition Arguments in the NBC/Comcast Transaction
The proposed joint venture between Comcast Corporation and NBC Universal is a significant transaction in a significant market. The transaction will create a large media and distribution company, including the programming assets of both NBC, a leading national programmer, and Comcast, which owns several cable networks and some regional sports networks, and the distribution assets of NBC (namely, its owned-and-operated broadcast television stations). This new company will be majority-owned by Comcast, which in its own right is the nation�s largest distributor of multi-channel video programming, and Comcast could be in the position, within the next few years, to own 100% of the new joint venture. The size of the transaction is made more important by the markets in which the companies operate: the companies are more than just producers and distributors of entertainment and sports programming, which are of course important in their own rights, the companies also produce and distribute news and political programming. The mass media has long been considered a market important enough not only to draw scrutiny from antitrust authorities but also to justify the attention of a specialized regulator, using sector-specific regulation designed to achieve specific outcomes.
NBC/Comcast Should be Judged only on Antitrust Concerns
Antitrust analysis of the proposed merger between Comcast and NBC Universal should focus only on its effect on competition in relevant markets and resulting harm to consumers, states James Speta in “Screening and Simplifying the Competition Arguments in the NBC/Comcast Transaction” released today by the Technology Policy Institute.