Organized by: Rutgers School of Law | Camden: Institute for Information Policy & Law

Location: New America Foundation, 1899 L St, NW, Washington, DC 20036

Please join us for engaging panels discussing the public interest in wireless and broadband in coordination with Rutgers School of Law | Camden: Institute for Information Policy & Law.

Register for this event at New America.

9:00am - 9:30am | Registration

9:30am - 9:45am | Keynote: Larry Irving, President & CEO, Irving Information Group

9:45am - 10:45am | Panel 1: The End of Scarcity? What, If Any Public Interest   Obligations Are Necessary in Broadband?

Broadcasters hold their licenses as "trustees" of the local community, with defined public interest obligations.  Although these have not always been robust or diligently enforced, there was a theory of the public interest based on values about diversity, localism, children’s special needs, access, and competition.  This theory was rooted in a particular market/technological structure of scarcity.  As spectrum moves from broadcast to wireless broadband use, is “scarcity” still a relevant concept?  How is it related to theories of the public interest?  What are the public interests in wireless broadband and what kinds of policy interventions do they require?  

Joaquin Alvarado, Chief Strategy Officer, Center for Investigative Reporting.
Mark Lloyd, Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer, FCC
Andy Schwartzman, Senior Vice President and Policy Director, Media Access Project
Kevin Werbach, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics

10:45am - 11:00am  |  Coffee Break

11:00am - 12:00pm | What is the Public Interest in Wireless?

Traditionally, mobile telephony has focused primarily on universal service as the key public interest obligation, similar to wireline voice service. As the rise of mobile broadband and smart devices enable new capabilities for communities, do we need to reexamine what it means to make sure that wireless licenses serve "the public interest, convenience and necessity?" What is the role of unlicensed wireless access? Is unlicensed itself a public interest value? Alternatively, does the fact that unlicensed spectrum is open to anyone mean that there are no special obligations attached to its use? If so, should we allow unlicensed wireless providers to benefit from subsidies such as lifeline and high cost that have usually been part of the quid pro quo for the obligation to serve the broader community?

Wally Bowen, Mountain Area Information Network, Founder and Executive Director
amalia deloney, Associate Director, Center for Media Justice
Amina Fazlullah, Public Policy Counsel, Benton Foundation
Benjamin Lennett, Policy Director, Open Technology Institute
Margaret McCarthy, Professional Staff Member, Office of Congressman Henry Waxman

This event is hosted in coordination with NAF's Open Technology Initiative, Public Knowledge, and the Rutgers School of Law | Camden: Institute for Information Policy & Law.

Organized by: Rutgers School of Law | Camden: Institute for Information Policy & Law

Location: New America Foundation, 1899 L St, NW, Washington, DC 20036

Please join us for engaging panels discussing the public interest in wireless and broadband in coordination with Rutgers School of Law | Camden: Institute for Information Policy & Law.

Register for this event at New America.

9:00am - 9:30am | Registration

9:30am - 9:45am | Keynote: Larry Irving, President & CEO, Irving Information Group

9:45am - 10:45am | Panel 1: The End of Scarcity? What, If Any Public Interest   Obligations Are Necessary in Broadband?

Broadcasters hold their licenses as "trustees" of the local community, with defined public interest obligations.  Although these have not always been robust or diligently enforced, there was a theory of the public interest based on values about diversity, localism, children’s special needs, access, and competition.  This theory was rooted in a particular market/technological structure of scarcity.  As spectrum moves from broadcast to wireless broadband use, is “scarcity” still a relevant concept?  How is it related to theories of the public interest?  What are the public interests in wireless broadband and what kinds of policy interventions do they require?  

Joaquin Alvarado, Chief Strategy Officer, Center for Investigative Reporting.
Mark Lloyd, Associate General Counsel and Chief Diversity Officer, FCC
Andy Schwartzman, Senior Vice President and Policy Director, Media Access Project
Kevin Werbach, Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics

10:45am - 11:00am  |  Coffee Break

11:00am - 12:00pm | What is the Public Interest in Wireless?

Traditionally, mobile telephony has focused primarily on universal service as the key public interest obligation, similar to wireline voice service. As the rise of mobile broadband and smart devices enable new capabilities for communities, do we need to reexamine what it means to make sure that wireless licenses serve "the public interest, convenience and necessity?" What is the role of unlicensed wireless access? Is unlicensed itself a public interest value? Alternatively, does the fact that unlicensed spectrum is open to anyone mean that there are no special obligations attached to its use? If so, should we allow unlicensed wireless providers to benefit from subsidies such as lifeline and high cost that have usually been part of the quid pro quo for the obligation to serve the broader community?

Wally Bowen, Mountain Area Information Network, Founder and Executive Director
amalia deloney, Associate Director, Center for Media Justice
Amina Fazlullah, Public Policy Counsel, Benton Foundation
Benjamin Lennett, Policy Director, Open Technology Institute
Margaret McCarthy, Professional Staff Member, Office of Congressman Henry Waxman

This event is hosted in coordination with NAF's Open Technology Initiative, Public Knowledge, and the Rutgers School of Law | Camden: Institute for Information Policy & Law.