From Broadcast To Broadband: New Theories of the Public Interest in Wireless

Public Knowledge, New America Foundation and Rutgers School of Law | Camden: Institute for Information Policy & Law
May 23, 2012
9:30 am - 12:00 pm

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?

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?