October 22, 2009
The Honorable Julius Genachowski
Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street, SW
Washington, DC 20554
Dear Chairman Genachowski:
The undersigned are a diverse group of academic researchers who study Internet policy. We applaud the Federal Communications Commission for launching the Open Internet proceeding. It is an essential step forward in the ongoing public debate over the future of [...]

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Along with other academic researchers who study Internet Policy, I am going to file a letter supporting the NPRM. I’ll post the letter tomorrow. I will also post some additional thoughts over the next week or so.
Here are various public docs:
NPRM: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-93A1.pdf
Press Release: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-294159A1.pdf
Genachowski Statement: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-93A2.pdf
Copps Statement: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-93A3.pdf
McDowell Statement: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-93A4.pdf
Clyburn Statement: http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-09-93A5.pdf
Baker [...]

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An incredible report with important data and comparative analysis of broadband policies across different countries. Remarkably, the report indicates that the U.S. might have prematurely given up on open access / functional separation. I need to read it carefully and digest, and should anyone interested in broadband policy.
“Next Generation Connectivity: [...]

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FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s recent remarks at the Brookings Institution — “Preserving a Free and Open Internet: A Platform for Innovation, Opportunity, and Prosperity” — call for the FCC to adopt network neutrality rules. It is a good speech — the webcast is here. He describes the Internet as “the most transformational communications breakthrough [...]

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Check out the blog symposium at Truth on the Market on Professor Michael Carrier’s (Rutgers) forthcoming book: Innovation for the 21st Century: Harnessing the Power of Intellectual Property and Antitrust Law. Comments welcome! I’ll link to the posts below the fold:
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Google Books is an amazing service. Many others have raved about it, and many others have analyzed the settlement agreement between Google and the The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. For very insightful analyses, see various posts here (a, b, c, d, e) and here, here, here, and here. [...]

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A second draft op ed, below the fold
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A draft op ed, below the fold
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So a little over a month ago, Robin Chase and I put together two op eds on infrastructure policy. Neither caught the attention of newspaper editors. Unfortunately, we delayed in posting them; we’ve both had a busy beginning to 2009. Both are relevant to the debates about the stimulus package, but neither [...]

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Rob Frieden has posted an interesting and provocative paper, Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics: Developing a Clearer Assessment of Market Penetration and Broadband Competition in the United States. It is well worth a read and is bound to spark a debate. Among other things, it challenges the FCC’s misuse of statistical evidence to [...]

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Susan Crawford and Kevin Werbach will head the Federal Communications Commission transition team.
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In this Slate piece, Tim captures the differences between the Obama and McCain “tech plans” incredibly well.
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The FCC issued its opinion and order in the Comcast dispute. There will certainly be a flurry of press and blog coverage over the next few days. Some will champion the decision, and others will attack it. There is plenty to digest. My initial thoughts are below the fold.
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This year, the TPRC will showcase a very strong program. Details below the fold.
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Scott Hemphill has posted an excellent, thoughtful paper on network neutrality. I’ll post the abstract along with a few comments on the paper below the fold:
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Last week, I was busy and so I tried to follow the discussion; in fact, I had a few discussions in “real space” with colleagues about some of the posts. But I did not post anything; so here goes, a little late.
It’s been a fantastic discussion on a wide array of [...]

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Query: Do those who rely heavily on error cost analysis also account for accuracy benefits? Should they?
Error costs are the costs of making a mistake. We generally would like to minimize them. But how do we minimize them? We might be more careful and invest more time or other resources [...]

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I’ve just posted an essay on ssrn that explores the economics of speech and the First Amendment. (The abstract is below the fold.) The essay is meant to be a work in progress, an exploratory essay, and potentially a seed for future work. [Do people still use ssrn for rough works in [...]

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Does the public choice critique of government boil down to the following (threat)?
“Don’t regulate me or I’ll capture you!” [This would be a nice title for an article, no?]
Of course, no one ever says this. It would be bad PR and antagonistic, perhaps raising the costs of capture, I suppose. It might [...]

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A few weeks ago, I gave a talk at the Fordham Intellectual Property, Media and Entertainment Law Journal symposium, Where Do We Go From Here? In fact, I gave two talks, one on a copyright panel and another on a trademark panel. But really, I gave one talk that extended across both panels. [...]

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