Registration is now open for the Technology Policy Institute’s first annual Aspen Forum, scheduled this year for August 22nd – 24th. TPI’s Aspen Forum will bring together leaders from business, government, and academia in a relaxed, informal setting to discuss and debate the key public policy issues surrounding information and communications technology. This year’s theme, “Innovation and Critical Policy Choices: Is the United States Losing its Edge?” will guide the keynote speeches, workshops and panels on a variety of topics.
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TPI/Georgetown Event – The FCC’s National Broadband Plan: The Early Reaction
The Technology Policy Institute and the Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy are hosting a half-day event on March 23rd on the FCC’s newly announced National Broadband Plan. Experts from industry, academia and government will share their reaction to the Plan in two panel discussions focusing on the effects of the Plan on both investment and broadband penetration. The event will feature a keynote from Blair Levin, Executive Director of the FCC’s Omnibus Broadband Initiative.
Comments with Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Electronic Health Record Incentive Program Meaningful Use
These comments are submitted in response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued January 13, 2010. The NPRM implements provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that provide incentive payments for adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology among eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid.
Complexity of Meaningful Use Rule Threatens to Slow Adoption of Health Information Technology
The definition of “meaningful use” of electronic health records proposed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services(CMS)should be simplified, according to comments submitted to CMS by TPI senior fellow Arlene Holen. The complex and evolving definition of meaningful use could slow investment in electronic systems, contrary to the intent of the $14 billion to $27 billion in federal incentive payments to health care providers in the economic stimulus legislation, Holen asserted.
Smorodin Joins TPI as VP of Communications
The Technology Policy Institute announced today that Amy Smorodin will join the organization as Vice President for Communications and External Relations effective March 15.
Lenard Files Comments with the FCC In the Matter of Preserving the Open Internet Broadband Industry Practices
These comments supplement those that I submitted in response to the Commission‟s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Preserving the Open Internet during the initial comment period.2 The purpose of these reply comments is to address the recommendation of several public interest groups to reclassify broadband as a Title II service subject to traditional common carrier regulation.3 Press reports suggest that the Commission is seriously considering implementing this recommendation
Reclassifying Broadband as Title II Service Wrong Way to Go
TPI President Thomas Lenard urged the FCC not to reclassify broadband as a Title II service, as the agency reportedly is considering. Such a step, he wrote in comments submitted to the FCC, would “adversely affect innovation, investment, and consumer welfare, and would undermine the Commission’s goal of extending broadband penetration, particularly to underserved populations.” Lenard said his “earlier comments on the Open Internet NPRM apply even more strongly to the proposal to reclassify broadband as a Title II service.”
TPI EVENT TOMORROW: Increasing Spectrum for Broadband: FCC, Congressional Representatives Discuss Options
The expansion of wireless broadband is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, but a shortage of liberally licensed spectrum rights could put a crimp on this expansion. The freeing up of spectrum from other uses would allow greater expansion of wireless broadband and would bring substantial gains – likely in the hundreds of billions of dollars – for U.S. consumers, businesses, and the federal treasury. Developing a plan to increase the amount of spectrum for wireless broadband is a high priority of the FCC’s Omnibus Broadband Initiative, which is developing a national broadband plan. Failure to allocate sufficient spectrum will slow the rollout of broadband services, increase their prices, and cost consumers and taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. TPI has assembled a panel of experts to discuss the options.
Increasing Spectrum for Broadband: What Are The Options?
Increasing Spectrum for Broadband: What Are The Options?
More Spectrum Needed from Public and Private Sector
The growth of wireless broadband is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, but a shortage of flexibly licensed spectrum rights could put a crimp on this expansion, according to a new study released by the Technology Policy Institute. The study was coauthored by Thomas Lenard, president and senior fellow at TPI; Lawrence J. White, professor of economics at the NYU Stern School of Business; and James Riso, a research associate at TPI.