Richard Adler

[Commentary] The Telecommunications Act of 1996 turns 21. Signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Feb. 8, 1996, it was the first major revision of telecommunications regulation since the passage of the original Communications Act of 1934, which established the Federal Communications Commission and gave it jurisdiction over broadcasting and telephony.

Of course, two decades is a long time in the world of technology, and telecom is vastly different today than it was then. In 1996, just 16 percent of Americans had mobile phones, which only supported voice communications, with simple text messaging just beginning to appear. Apple’s iPhone, which kicked off the smartphone era in 2007, was still a decade away. There are a number of other big challenges that will require attention by policymakers in the immediate future. A new report from the Aspen Institute (which I authored), “Setting the Communications Policy Agenda for the New Administration,” based on a meeting of industry stakeholders, public interest advocates and other experts held this past summer, identifies several top priorities:

• Supporting the transition to 5G
• Providing more spectrum for mobile broadband
• Supporting innovation and modernization of telecom
• Expanding access
• Improving cyber security

[Richard Adler is a noted futurist and distinguished fellow at the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto (CA)]

[Commentary] For the past thirty years, the Aspen Institute has convened an annual conference that has focused on topics related to communications policy. Each year, participants, including regulators and other policymakers, scholars, and representatives of telecommunications companies and public interest groups, have met to address a specific issue and develop recommendations for constructive action around that issue. The 31st annual Aspen conference took place several months before the Presidential election that will bring a new administration to power. Given this timing, it seemed appropriate for the 2016 conference to explore the key communications issues that will face the incoming administration and develop an agenda for action on these issues. Of course, the two candidates have sharply differing views on a wide range of topics, and even though communications policy has not been the focus of much discussion during the campaign, their approach to this topic is likely to differ as well. Still, it was possible to identify some big issues that will demand attention in the near future no matter who wins the election, and to propose promising approaches for dealing with them. Participants developed recommendations related to three main topics: ensuring inclusion and expanding opportunity for all citizens; encouraging continued investment and innovation; and creating a trust environment online to protect citizen’s digital lives.

[Richard Adler is a Distinguished Fellow at the Institute for the Future. He is also president of People & Technology, a consulting firm located in Silicon Valley.]

Since the late-1970s wireless telephone communication has seen a steady progression in speed, bandwidth and services offered to the public. The next generation of wireless innovation, called 5G, promises a significant leap in what it will provide in capacity, speed and performance for wireless networks, massive machine communications and the Internet of Things. Many companies and organizations have already begun to create and test 5G technologies and have made commitments to early deployment. Yet, this shift in technology raises a number of legal and regulatory issues that will have to be resolved, both domestically and internationally, to realize the full potential of this technology.

To address these regulatory (and related) issues, the 2015 Aspen Institute Roundtable on Spectrum Policy (AIRS) met October 26-28, 2015 at the Aspen/Wye River campus on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Leading communications policy experts took a close look at the range of needs that 5G is intended to address, attempting to understand what the technological options are for meeting those needs. Participants then focused on defining the key policy issues raised by the move to 5G and recommended actions to address these concerns. Recommendations include:

1. Improving Spectrum Availability and Efficiency.
2. Accelerating Development and Deployment of 5G Networks.
3. Ways to Promote Wide Adoption of 5G Offerings.