THE FUTURE OF BROADBAND REGULATION A by-invitation experts’ workshop Organized by the Institute for Information Policy at Penn State University and co-sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission. To be held at the FCC in Washington, DC, May 28-30, 2014.
The U.S. National Broadband Plan envisions the transition of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure to a ubiquitous IP-based broadband network. While there is a vibrant discussion of how best to manage the transition, there is only a nascent discussion of what the policy framework should look like after it is completed. What is the long-term outlook (beyond the transition and into the next decade) for the broadband ecosystem, and how will the regulatory system have to adapt to a changed environment?
Advances in infrastructure technology and applications have, and will likely continue to push at the boundaries of current regulatory frameworks for telecommunications, media, and even intellectual property rights The Institute for Information Policy at Penn State (IIP), in collaboration with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), is pleased to announce this call for paper proposals addressing the multiple factors in thinking about regulation for post-transition broadband networks.
Authors of selected papers will be invited to present and discuss them during a 2-day by-invitation-only workshop designed to bring together up to a dozen experts to be held at the Federal Communications Commissions on May 28-30. The Workshop is designed to draw together the latest academic thinking on these questions and to give FCC staff the opportunity to suggest elements of a forward-looking research agenda that would contribute to the policy discourse around them. The workshop is part of a series of events focused on “Making Policy Research Accessible,” organized by the IIP, with the support of the Ford Foundation and the Media Democracy Fund. Presenters at the workshop will be invited to submit their completed papers to the Journal of Information Policy.
All disciplines are welcome. Invited topics of papers may include, but are not limited to:
* Will the dominant model for delivery of broadband services be fixed or mobile? How much competition will there be (especially wireline)? Will there be new technologies or entrants?
* What is the future of “over-the-top” content and CDNs?
* What will be the impact of the “internet of things”? What is its regulatory status?
* How is the “public interest” defined in the broadband ecosystem? What sorts of regulatory safeguards/interventions will be needed to advance the public interest?
* How do the FCC’s broadband promotion programs interact with efforts of other agencies, on both the demand and supply side?
* How should the concept of universal service evolve? What can the designers of universal service policies learn from efforts to stimulate demand for broadband?
* What are the implications for regulatory frameworks of technological and other changes in the broadband ecosystem?
* How should the division of labor between state and federal regulatory authorities change?
* Are there any regulatory challenges on the horizon that are not yet part of the mainstream broadband regulation debate?
Abstracts of up to 500 words and a short bio of the author(s) should be submitted to
pennstateiip@psu.edu by March 15, 2014. Please write IIPFCCPOST: YOUR NAME in the subject line. Accepted presenters will be notified by March 31, 2014.
