The transformation of telecommunications from an analog, narrowband network optimized for voice to a digital, broadband network optimized for data traffic has created a myriad of challenges for businesses, policymakers, and academics alike. In enacting the Telecommunications Act of 1996, Congress instituted a regulatory model based on the traditional technology used to deliver voice telephony-and largely did not grapple with the implications of the Internet. This failure, along with the challenges of reforming the legacy model of spectrum policy and “re-missioning” the Federal Communications Commission, have led many to suggest that it is time to re-write the Telecom Act.
This conference will examine the issues left largely unaddressed by the Telecom Act: how to grapple with the advent of broadband and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP); how to reform spectrum policy; and how (and whether) the FCC can re-adjust its institutional mission. With a thoughtful array of leaders from academic, industry, and governmental circles, we believe that this conference will continue the Silicon Flatirons’ tradition of encouraging “bolder thinking” in Boulder. Like its predecessors, the proceedings from this conference will be published in the Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law.
Sessions
Welcome
Overview Speakers
- Lawrence Lessig
Professor of Law, Stanford University - Vinton G. Cerf
Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
Overview Panel
- Dale Hatfield
Spectrum Policy Initiative Co-director and Distinguished Advisor, Silicon Flatirons - Lawrence Lessig
Professor of Law, Stanford University - Vinton G. Cerf
Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google
The Implications of Broadband and VoIP
- Peter Rohrbach
Partner, Hogan & Hartson - Scott Marcus
Senior Advisor for Internet Technology, FCC - Kevin Werbach
Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics, The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania - Bill Hunt
Vice President, Public Policy, Level 3 Communications - Douglas Sicker
Department Head, Engineering and Public Policy Professor, Engineering & Computer Science - Tim Wu
Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Columbia Law School
Spectrum Policy
- Mark Williams
Partner, Sherman & Howard, LLC - Gerald Faulhaber
Professor, Wharton School of Business - Ellen P. Goodman
Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School - James B. Speta
Professor of Law, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law - Preston Padden
Senior Fellow, Silicon Flatirons Center - Robert Pepper
Senior Director, Cisco Systems - Stephen F. Williams
Senior United States Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit
Introduction of Keynote Speaker
- Elizabeth Hoffman
Former President, University of Colorado
Keynote Address
- Richard Notebaert
Chief Executive Officer, Qwest Communications, Inc.
Reforming the FCC and Its Mission
- Norton Cutler
Senior Counsel, Perkins Coie - Alfred Kahn
Special Consultant, National Economic Research Associates, Inc. (NERA) - Bryan Tramont
Managing Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP - Molly Van Houweling
Assistant Professor, Boalt Hall - Mark Cooper
Research Director, Consumer Federation of America - Raymond Gifford
Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer, LLP - Jon Nuechterlein
General Counsel, Federal Trade Commission
The Digital Broadband Migration: The View from Colorado
- LeRoy Williams
Secretary of Innovation and Technogy, State of Colorado
The Digital Broadband Migration: Toward a New Telecom Act
- Michael Powell
President & CEO, National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA)
Sponsored By
Federal Communications Bar Association - Rocky Mountain Region
Association of Denver Telecommunications Professionals
Colorado Bar Association, Telecommunications Section
Interdisciplinary Telecom Program, University of Colorado