Reforming the Federal Communications Commission

The world once known as “telecommunications” is changing dramatically. New technologies, new business models and new policy challenges lie ahead. The critical question for governmental policy in this sector is easy to state, but harder to answer: Is the Federal Communications Commission truly equipped to deal with immediate challenges that it will face?

Tags: Spectrum Policy / Technology Policy

The world once known as “telecommunications” is changing dramatically. New technologies, new business models and new policy challenges lie ahead. The critical question for governmental policy in this sector is easy to state, but harder to answer: Is the Federal Communications Commission truly equipped to deal with immediate challenges that it will face?

That question is being asked today by policymakers from Capitol Hill and around the country. And it is at the core of a growing chorus of commentators who call for reform of how the FCC operates.

To explore the future of the FCC, we will convene a leading group of academics, current and former FCC officials, and leaders from the public interest community. We will compare future visions, explore historical lessons and, though a series of papers specially written for this conference, offer a comprehensive set of recommendations for the creation of an FCC well-prepared to confront contemporary challenges.


Sessions

Welcome
  • Gigi B. Sohn
    Counselor to the Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Introductory Remarks
  • Hon. Michael Copps
    FCC Commissioner
The Future of the FCC as an Institution
  • Gigi B. Sohn — Moderator
    Counselor to the Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
  • Mark Cooper
    Research Director, Consumer Federation of America
  • JP de Vries
    Director Emeritus and Distinguished Advisor, Silicon Flatirons
  • Jessica Rosenworcel
    Senate Commerce Committee
  • Jonathan Sallet
    General Counsel, Federal Communications Commission
  • Michael Marcus
    Marcus Spectrum Solutions LLC
Break

The Past as Prologue: Lessons from History on the Road to Reform
  • Kathleen Q. Abernathy
    Executive Vice President, External Affairs, Frontier Communications
  • Kathryn C. Brown
    Senior Vice President, Public Policy & Corporate Responsibility, Verizon
  • Kyle Dixon
    Vice President, Public Policy, Time Warner, Inc.
  • Henry Geller
    Former Administrator, NTIA
  • Ellen P. Goodman
    Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
  • Nick Johnson
    Professor of Law, University of Iowa
Keynote Discussion
  • Reed Hundt
    Senior Advisor, McKinsey
  • Bill Kennard
    Managing Director, Carlyle Group
Presented By
Public Knowledge

Know What’s Next