The Challenges of Convergence

In the wake of the Internet’s growth as well as the migration to broadband connections, the different segments of the telecommunications industry (wired telephone, cable, wireless, etc.) continue to converge with one another. Almost all industry experts agree that at some point down the road, consumers will purchase access to the “network” and will use broadband connections to gain access to a number of bandwidth-rich applications. The challenges posed by convergence largely revolve around that period known as the “meantime” or the “transition” to a broadband, Internet-based marketplace. The transition period from the old world to the new will continue to present companies, policymakers, and technologists with difficult choices about the road ahead. This panel discussion will evaluate these choices, discussing, among other things, recent efforts to boast broadband penetration, spur wireless connections through open standards such as ultra-wideband and move towards a unified regulatory framework for a broadband era.