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TPRC Program 2006 |
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2006 Program
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Search for TPRC Papers |
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Friday, September
29, 2006 |
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Registration |
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2:00 pm |
Panels |
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The Relationship Between Antitrust and Regulation after Trinko and Brand X |
| The Supreme Court's opinions in Verizon v. Trinko (2004) and NCTA v. Brand X (2005) contained sweeping language that, if read broadly, promises to sharply curtail the role antitrust can play in shaping communications policy. These decisions have spawned a vigorous scholarly debate over how expansively subsequent courts will interpret them. They have also highlighted questions about the different institutional capabilities and political accountability of antitrust courts and regulatory agencies and about the optimal allocation of jurisdictional authority between these two modes of governance. More subtly, these decisions raise questions about the proper allocation of power between federal and state regulatory authorities. These debates have taken on an international significance, as commentators attempt to assess the relevance/applicability of the balance struck in the U.S. for other countries. The panel will assess the positive and normative implications of these Supreme Court decisions. |
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Moderator: |
Christopher Yoo |
Vanderbilt University Law School |
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Panelists: |
Nicholas Economides |
New York University |
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James Speta |
Northwestern University |
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Municipal and Community Wireless Networks |
Wireless internet technologies are increasingly being adopted by community and municipal groups as inexpensive ways to extend broadband internet access to citizens.
While there are numerous potential technical configurations for wireless internet projects, municipal and community projects tend to organize their networks in one of three ways: as a series of independent or linked hotspots, as a hub-and-spoke system, or as a dynamic mesh. The choice to use one type of networking model over another depends upon the technical, social, and economic capacity in any particular local area. Community groups working with wireless internet technologies have sprung up in many North American cities. These groups have developed either independently or out of existing community networks, and have focused on the relatively flexible nature of commercially available Wi-Fi technology. Open-source software enthusiasts are active in the community Wi-Fi movement, attracted by the challenge of developing new functionalities and expanding connectivity. This is therefore an appropriate time to assess the accomplishments of Municipal and Community wireless network initiatives, identify shortcomings and explore their future options. This panel brings together some leading experts in the development and use of wireless networks by and for local communities. |
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Moderator: |
Sharon Strover |
University of Texas |
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Panelists: |
Leslie Shade |
Concordia University, Canada |
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Andrew Clement |
University of Toronto |
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Tom Hazlett |
George Mason Law School |
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Alison Powell |
Concordia University, Canada |
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Christian Sandvig |
University of Illinois |
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| 4:00 pm |
Panels |
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The Promise and Perils of Peer Production: Evaluating Benkler’s Wealth of Networks |
In The Wealth of Networks, Yochai Benkler develops the provocative thesis he has set out in a series of powerful articles—that ordinary users, relying on the open Internet, can produce valuable content and applications that will challenge those of large companies. At present, there is already a user-developed encyclopedia (Wikipedia) that some suggest rivals the Encyclopedia Britannica as well an increasing array of user-generated content available via youTube and other outlets. Is this development a threat to traditional media outlets? How will these developments impact our culture and political system?
To analyze the emerging form of peer production (or user-generated content), Phil Weiser (Professor of Law and Telecommunications, University of Colorado) will moderate a panel that will evaluate the future of peer production. This panel will include Julie Cohen (Professor of Law at Georgetown), Mark Cooper (Research Director, Consumer Federation of America), Gerald Faulhaber (Professor, Business and Public Policy Dept., Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania), and Eli Noam (Professor of Business, Columbia University). In analyzing the current landscape, the panel would evaluate whether these user-generated developments are likely to make a lasting impact and whether they are economically sustainable? Moreover, we would consider how they affect our current model of journalism and how will they influence our political system?
Finally, we will evaluate whether the technology to assess reputation and reliability will develop so that the best of breed will rise to the top or whether consumers will face a cacophony of voices.
After the panel’s discussion, Yochai Benkler (Professor of Law, Yale University) will explain the critical arguments he makes in his book and will answer objections and concerns raised by his critics. |
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Moderator: |
Phil Weiser |
University of Colorado |
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Panelists: |
Julie Cohen |
Georgetown University |
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Gigi Sohn |
Public Knowledge |
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Gerald Faulhaber |
Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania |
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Eli Noam |
Columbia University |
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Foundation Roundtable |
The purpose of this panel is to make the academic community aware of the work of policy foundations and research institutions as well as the potential funding possibilities that exist for policy research. There are several policy organizations in the policy field that are active in information and communication technologies. Given their focused objectives they can generate research and reports that influence policy, often much more effectively than scholarly publications.
Some of these foundations also have funding/research opportunities for academics. This is important because it is not common for policy research to receive much attention in government funding agencies.
The purpose of this panel is to determine how academic research can serve these organizations to influence policy and for scholars to learn about the activities of foundations and research institutions and how they can have an impact on future academic work. |
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Panelists: |
Benton Foundation |
Gloria Tristani, President |
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Markle Foundation |
Stefaan Verhulst, Chief of Research |
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Social Science Research Network |
Joe Karaganis, Program Director |
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Annenberg Research Network on International Communication |
Executive Director |
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| 5:30
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Reception |
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| 6:00
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Speakers |
Net Neutrality |
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David J. Farber |
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The Alfred Fitler Moore Professor of Telecommunication Systems at the University of Pennsylvania, holding appointments in the Departments of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. He was responsible for the design of the DCS system, one of the first operational message based fully distributed systems and is one of the authors of the SNOBOL programming language. He was one of the principals in the creation and implementation of CSNet, NSFNet, BITNET II, and CREN. He was instrumental in the creation of the NSF/DARPA funded Gigabit Network Testbed Initiative and served as the Chairman of the Gigabit Testbed Coordinating Committee. His background includes positions at the Bell Labs, the Rand Corp, Xerox Data Systems, UC Irvine and the University of Delaware. He is a member of the US Presidential Advisory Committee of Information Technology. |
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David D. Clark |
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Is at the MIT Laboratory for Computer Science, where he is currently a senior research scientist in charge of the Advanced Network Architecture group. Dr. Clark's research interests include networks, network protocols, operating systems, distributed systems, and computer and communications security. After receiving his Ph.D., he worked on the early stages of the ARPANET and on the development of token ring local area network technology. Since the mid-1970s, Dr. Clark has been involved in the development of the Internet. His current research area is protocols and architectures for very large and very high-speed networks. Specific activities include extensions to the Internet to support real-time traffic, explicit allocation of service, pricing, and new network technologies. |
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| 7:00 pm |
Dinner |
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