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Information Economy Project Mini-Conferences
 
Since 2006, the Information Economy Project has brought together thought leaders in telecommunications to discuss important issues facing regulators and industry stakeholders.
Next Mini-Conference:
Coming soon. Please email iepgmu@gmail.com to receive announcements of upcoming events.
Past Mini-Conferences: |
The Gore Commission, 10 Years Later: The Public Interest Obligations of Digital TV Broadcasters
in Perfect Hindsight
A mini-conference • Friday, October 3, 2008, 8:30 a.m., National Press Club, 529 14th St. NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC
On December 18, 1998, the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of DigitalTelevision Broadcasters, commonly referred to as the “Gore Commission,” released its final report, recommending disclosure of “public interest activities” by commercial broadcasters; a voluntary standard of conduct crafted by the industry; a minimum standard of public interest requirements set by the FCC; a trust fund for public broadcasters to be established by Congress; and five minutes airtime per night for "candidate-centered discourse in the 30 days before an election," set to commence Sunday, October 5, 2008.
Have the recommendations been implemented? Has the approach worked? Are the standards and regulations advocated relevant in today’s media marketplace? What has experience taught us about broadcast regulation and public interest obligations? |
Speakers:
Gigi Sohn
President, Public Knowledge
Member of the Advisory Committee on Public Interest Obligations of Digital Television Broadcasters (“Gore Commission”)
Norman Ornstein
Resident Scholar, AEI
Co-Chair, Gore Commission
Henry Geller
Retired General Counsel, FCC, 1964-70
Assistant to FCC Chairman Dean Burch, 1970-1974
Administrator of NTIA, 1978-1981 |
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Consensus FCC Reforms and the Communications Agenda for the Next Administration
A mini-conference • Tuesday, September 16, 2008, 8:30 a.m.,
The National Press Club,
529 14th St. NW,
13th Floor, Washington, DC
Press coverage from the event:
Despite controversies swirling over issues such as Network Neutrality, media ownership and universal service, some policy observers believe that a range of reforms may attract bi-partisan consensus. These opportunities may be more likely to be realized if identified prior to the November 2008 election.
This conference of the Information Economy Project at George Mason University brings together two former chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission – William Kennard, who served under President Clinton, and Michael Powell, who served under President George W. Bush – with top former officials familiar with the agency's agenda, structure, and day-by-day operations to discuss just such possibilities for reform.
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Speakers:
William Kennard
Chairman, FCC, 1997-2001
Michael Powell
Chairman, FCC, 2001-2005
Amy Schatz
Reporter, The Wall Street Journal, Moderator
Peter Pitsch
Chief of staff to Dennis Patrick, FCC Chairman, 1987-1989
Robert Pepper
Former chief, Office of Plans and Policy, FCC, 1989-2005
Ken Robinson
Senior legal advisor to Al Sikes, FCC Chairman, 1989-1993
Blair Levin
Chief of staff to Reed Hundt, FCC Chairman, 1993-1997
Kathy Brown
Chief of staff to William Kennard, FCC Chairman, 1998-2001
Drew Clark
Assistant Director, Information Economy Project, Moderator
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Innovation, Technology & Spectrum Policy
A mini-conference • November 14, 2006, George Mason University School of Law
The 21st Century is emerging as the Wireless Era. With over 2.5 billion cellular subscribers, global markets and national economies are being reshaped by innovative mobile services. The advent of wireless broadband now promises further advances. Yet, radio spectrum – the key input into the wireless economy – continues to be parsimoniously dribbled out by regulators, allocated on administrative models of the 1920s. Each decision to make additional bandwidth available for the use of innovative technologies is subject to bureaucratic evaluation, process delays, and then often burdened (or buried) with numerous regulatory restrictions. Initiatives put forward to break-through this gauntlet now include Municipal Wi-Fi systems and Reallocating TV Band Spectrum for unlicensed device use. This Mini-Conference considers these proposals, and others, in the search for pro-consumer spectrum policies. |
Speakers:
Irwin M. Jacobs
Qualcomm Founder and Chairman
Conference Keynote
Dewayne Hendricks
Dandin Group
Coleman Bazelon
Brattle
Andrew Orlowski
The Register
Thomas Hazlett
GMU
Pierre deVries
USC
Andrew Kreig
Wireless Communications Association
Moderator
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Lessons From the Telecom Wars
A mini-conference • September 28, 2006, George Mason University School of Law
The policies introduced by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 have already witnessed generational turnover. Through 2004, policy makers struggled to craft network sharing mandates, giving local phone market entrants the 'stepping stones' needed to compete. But then those rules collapsed, over-turned by federal courts. In the wake of the "unbundling" mandates, some see market rivalry flourishing. Others defend the scrapped regulatory regime as a missed opportunity. How we assess the path we've traveled, and how we view the opportunities now unfolding, will help define the regulatory models we embrace for communications networks of the future. |
Speakers:
Nicholas Economides
New York University
Marius Schwartz
Georgetown
Robert Crandall
Brookings Institute
Paul Misener
Amazon.com
Thomas Hazlett
GMU
Drew Clark
Center for Public Integrity
Moderator
Brian Carney
The Wall Street Journal
Moderator |
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