From Monopoly to Competition or Competition to Monopoly? U.S. Broadband Markets in 2013

Friday, April 19, 2013 - George Mason University, Arlington Campus, Founders Hall Room 111

Conference Agenda:

8:00 - 8:30 AM - Continental Breakfast

8:30 - 8:35 AM - Greeting and Introductions
Dean Daniel Polsby, Dean, George Mason University School of Law - Greeting
Professor Thomas Hazlett, Director, Information Economy Project - Introduction of Program

8:35 - 9:00 AM - Morning Keynote
Commissioner Joshua Wright, Federal Trade Commission - Broadband Policy and Consumer Welfare: The Case for An Antitrust Approach to Net Neutrality Issues

9:00 - 10:45 AM - Panel 1: Competition and Monopoly in Broadband Markets
Eli Noam (Columbia University Business School) - Concentration in U.S. Broadband Markets
Marius Schwartz (Georgetown University, former FCC Chief Economist) - VZW-SpectrumCo Agreements: Some Competitive Concerns
Babette Boliek (Pepperdine University School of Law) - Public Utility Regulation in Wireless: A Failed Experiment
Moderator: Ken Heyer, Deputy Director, Bureau of Economics, FTC

10:45 - 11:00 AM - Break

11:00 - 12:00 PM - Panel 2: The Value of Ultra-Fast Broadband
Robert Kenny (Communications Chambers, U.K.) - Ultra-Fast Broadband - A Solution in Search of a Problem?
Scott Wallsten (Technology Policy Institute) - Going Nowhere, Fast
Moderator: Justin "Gus" Hurwitz (University of Pennsylvania)

12:00 - 12:10 PM - Proceed to Lunch

12:10 - 12:40 PM - Lunch Keynote
Robert Crandall, Brookings Institution - Why Regulate Broadband?

1:30 PM - Adjourn