July 13: Broadband Competition Policy: What Comes After the Stimulus?
B340 RHOB, 12 noon-2, lunch will be served.
The Obama Administration is increasingly looking at approaches other countries have taken as it continues to formulate its broadband strategy. This Congressional Seminar will address key questions of how the U.S. broadband market is developing, how competition in the U.S. compares to elsewhere, and how various policy prescriptions, such as open access and functional separation, would be likely to affect investment.
Confirmed speakers:
- David Hill, Verizon VP & Associate General Counsel – Federal Advocacy
- Michael Katz, Harvey Golub Professor in Business Leadership and Professor of Management, Leonard Stern School of Business, New York University
- William Lehr, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Scott Wallsten, Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow, Technology Policy Institute.
- Joseph W. Waz, Jr., Senior Vice President, External Affairs and Public Policy Counsel, Comcast Corporation
July 20: Universal Service Reform
B340 RHOB, 12 noon-2, lunch will be served.
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.
Confirmed speakers:
- Robert Crandall, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
- Howie Hodges, Senior Vice President, Business Development and Government Affairs, One Economy
- Jonathan E. Nuechterlein, Partner, WilmerHale
- F.J. Pollak, President and CEO, TracFone Wireless, Inc.
- Gregory Rosston, Deputy Director, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research
July 24: Information and Privacy: What are the Tradeoffs?
B369 RHOB, 12 noon-2, lunch will be served.
Online advertising uses customer information to target messages to consumers’ interests. The resulting advertising revenues support an array of innovative new online services, which consumers can often use for free. But as the use of information online has increased, so have concerns about privacy. More privacy, however, would mean less information, less valuable advertising, and thus fewer resources available for producing new low-priced services. It is this tradeoff that Congress needs to take into account as it considers new privacy legislation. TPI has assembled a group of experts to discuss how policy makers should address the tradeoffs inherent in privacy policy.
Confirmed Speakers:
- Alessandro Acquisti, Associate Professor of Information Technology and Public Policy, Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University
- Alan Davidson, Director, Public Policy and Government Affairs, Google
- Leslie Harris, President and CEO, Center for Democracy and Technology
- Gerard Lewis, Vice President, Deputy General Counsel & Chief Privacy Officer, Comcast Cable
- Paul H. Rubin, Senior Fellow, Technology Policy Institute, and Dobbs Professor of Economics and Law, Emory University
- Thomas Lenard (moderator), Technology Policy Institute
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/
