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TPRC Program 2007 |
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Search for TPRC Papers |
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Friday, September
28, 2007 |
| 1:00
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Registration |
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2:00 pm |
Panel |
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When is Local Local?: Media Ownership, Localism & the FCC |
In June 2003 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to significantly relax the ownership rules governing local television stations. The vote was along party lines (three Republican votes for the new rules and two Democratic votes against them) In essence, the new rules would have allowed for more consolidation of television ownership and the possibility of increased cross-ownership of television stations and newspapers within the same television market.
The new rules caused immediate and wide-spread concern in Congress, among media advocacy groups and public interest organizations across the political spectrum. The Prometheus Project (among others) appealed the decision and filed suit against the FCC. The case was assigned to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals which blocked the implementation of the rules. In June 2004, the Third Circuit ruled against the FCC and the FCC decided not to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The FCC Chairman resigned and one of the remaining four commissioners was elevated to the chairmanship. Effectively, then, the FCC determined that it would reconsider the rules at a later time.
That time has arrived. In June 2006 a new FCC commissioner was confirmed by the Senate to fill the vacant seat left by the former chairman. In that same month the new FCC Chairman announced that the agency would reconsider the ownership rules. The agency will consider such questions as: How many stations can one media firm own in one market? How many newspapers and television stations can one media firm own in one market? Under what conditions can that cross-ownership occur? How much of the American audience can one media firm be allowed to reach? |
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Moderator: |
Danilo Yanich |
School of Urban Affairs & Public Policy, Center for Community Research & Service, University of Delaware |
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Panelists: |
Dr. Mark Cooper |
Consumer's Federation of America |
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Keith Brown |
Consumer's Federation of America |
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Dr. Peter Alexander |
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Benton Universal Service Project |
We will discuss the thinking that led to the papers posted on the Benton website as a frame within which to craft a new universal service paradigm, particularly discussions of:
- The social contract implicit in telephony universal service versus the social contract implicit in broadband universal service.
- The shift from the assumption of static network externalities to the assumption of dynamic network externalities.
- Schools and libraries as support obligations in universal service.
- The exceptionalism of universal service in rural areas.
- The shift in universal service thinking at the federal level.
- The exceptionalism of disabilities as universal service targets.
- Implications of treating universal service as an evolving concept.
- Tradeoffs in transforming universal service funding from telephony to broadband.
- Principles that should underlie IP based approaches to universal service
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Panelists: |
Leslie Shade |
Justin Brown, University of Florida |
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Gene Crick |
TeleCommunity Resource Center (TCRC) |
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Rob Frieden |
Penn State University |
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Heather Hudson |
University of San Francisco |
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Nancy Kranich |
KS Associates |
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Jim Kohlenberger |
Benton Foundation |
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Sharon Strover |
University of Texas, Austin |
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Richard Taylor |
Penn State |
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Frank Bowe |
Hofstra University |
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Jorge Schement |
Penn State University |
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| 4:00 pm |
Panel |
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Standardization and Public Policy |
| Standardization is accomplished through various mechanisms including competition, regulatory activities, industrial policymaking and in voluntary consensus standards bodies. Standards development organizations (SDO) contribute to public policymaking that impacts innovation, sustainable national advantage and economic growth. This panel discusses academic research about standardization policy by examining SDO rules, participants and competition relating to issues such as laissez-faire standardization; similarities/differences in standardization between domains; the IP component in standards; the standardization life cycle; the design/sense-making/negotiation framework for SDO research; and antitrust aspects such as open vs. closed standards, RAND licensing and ex ante IP disclosure by SDO participants. |
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Moderator: |
John W. Bagby |
Pennsylvania State University |
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Panelists: |
Gavin Clarkson |
University of Michigan |
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D. Linda Garcia |
Georgetown University |
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Shane Greenstein |
Northwestern University |
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Sandeep Purao |
Pennsylvania State University |
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Timothy Simcoe |
University of Toronto |
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Technology Demonstration |
| The 35th Telecommunications Policy Research Conference is hosting a technology demonstration. You will be able to see and use software defined radios. For this panel we have invited three companies that have developed technology in this area. |
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The companies doing demonstrations are: |
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Vanu Inc. |
John Chapin |
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RadioFrame Networks |
Elliott Hoole |
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Shared Spectrum Company |
Dr. Mark McHenry |
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Peter Tenhula |
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Dr. Filip Perich |
| These companies are also sponsors of the conference. We are grateful for their support not only through the demonstration of these emerging systems but also for the financial support through which we were able to provide travel and accommodations resources to the winners of the student paper competition. |
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| 5:30
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Reception |
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| 6:30 pm |
Dinner |
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Speaker |
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Raj Singh , Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Telcom Ventures, L.L.C. |
Mobile Wireless technology has come a long way since the 1980’s. Dr Singh will trace its evolution and also project where the technology and services are heading over the next decade. He will illustrate the evolution of wireless technology by explaining his own role and of others in starting several businesses in the wireless areas. He played a key role in starting LCC International, several cellular mobile radio networks in various countries, Teligent, Aether Systems, XM Satellite Radio, Motient Satellite Ventures, and WCS Wireless. He will explain the technology and business concepts which assisted in the start of business.
Dr. Rajendra Singh is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and together with his family, the principal owner of Telcom Ventures, L.L.C., a private investment firm specializing in telecommunications and related information technologies. Dr. Singh is also a member of the Board of Directors of LCC International, Inc., a publicly-traded subsidiary of Telcom Ventures, and the one of the largest wireless telecommunications engineering consulting firms in the world. Dr. Singh and his wife, Neera Singh, co-founded LCC International in 1983. Dr. Singh received his Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from Southern Methodist University in 1980. He has a distinguished record of academic achievements beginning with his doctoral dissertation, Spectrum Efficient Schemes for Mobile Radio Communications, which was published in 1980. He has organized scientific panels investigating new cellular technologies, including TMDA and FDMA. |
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