July 16, 2009 – The universal service program is coming under increasing pressure: expenditures for old-fashioned voice service, especially in the high-cost fund, are growing rapidly even as many policymakers are calling for the fund to also include broadband. Even without including broadband, consumers are already paying higher taxes for these increased expenditures. This seminar will address questions of how to reform the fund, including ways of controlling growth in the high-cost fund, such as reverse auctions, and how to incorporate broadband in an efficient and equitable manner.
12:00 Noon Registration and Buffet Lunch
12:15 pm Introduction
- Thomas Lenard, Technology Policy Institute
12:20 pm Panel Discussion
- Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, WilmerHale
- F.J. Pollak, TracFone Wireless, Inc.
- Gregory Rosston, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
- Scott Wallsten, Technology Policy Institute
1:15 pm Q&A Session
2:00 pm Adjourn
The Technology Policy Institute
The Technology Policy Institute is a research and educational organization that focuses on the economics of innovation, technological change, and related regulation in the United States and around the world. More information is available at https://techpolicyinstitute.org/