Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Spectrum Policy Property or Commons

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 23 Jan 2003 11:54:26 -0500

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 

Spectrum Policy:
Property or Commons?

Register

Location & Travel

Schedule

Speakers

Sponsors & Organizers

Resources

Who

Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society and the Manhattan Institute

What

Should spectrum be treated as property or a commons?

When

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Where

Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA, USA
[directions]

Why

"...[S]pectrum policy is a central component of the great digital migration for all Americans." -- Michael Powell

Spectrum policy is undergoing a fundamental reorientation in the United States and elsewhere. An emerging consensus holds that the traditional system of governmentally-allocated spectrum rights inhibits innovation and competition. The central question now facing policy makers is what form of spectrum management should replace the existing system. These issues will be discussed and debated at:

Spectrum Policy:

Property or Commons?

Stanford Law School

Stanford, California

Saturday, March 1, 2003

Sponsored by

Thomas Hazlett, the Manhattan Institute, and

Lawrence Lessig of the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society

Wireless innovations are changing the way we live.

We are evolving from the wired world to a wireless one, where information is exchanged seamlessly through the air we breathe. Wi-Fi, drive-by infofueling, location enabled systems and "mesh-style" networks—the possibilities are limited only by the limits on innovation.

An emerging consensus holds that one of the greatest limits on innovation is the government's method of allocating portions of electromagnetic spectrum. Since its discovery, small chunks of spectrum have been auctioned off to the highest bidder, or given away to commercial interests in exchange for their submission to government regulation. Laws prohibit the resale of spectrum, which means that unused spectrum cannot be transferred to others who want it, and is therefore wasted.

As a result, would-be innovators never know if spectrum will be available for their new inventions. Consequently, they can't factor it into a business plan, or build new wireless applications in their garage knowing that the necessary spectrum will be available to their future customers.

In an effort to encourage innovation, critics of the current model have proposed radical - and radically different -- reforms. Some say spectrum should be treated like 'property', giving purchasers the same rights afforded any property owner, including the right to exclude others from using it, and the right to transfer ownership. In contrast, proponents of a 'commons' model argue that spectrum is like a stream that belongs to all of us, and that current technological innovations allow sharing of the resource—a practical, not moral, argument.

Nobel Prize winning economist Ronald Coase criticized the FCC's spectrum policy in 1959, arguing that rules preempting private ownership of spectrum led to catastrophic inefficiencies in the market. Both the 'property' and 'commons' proponents claim that Coase's theory supports their model, and that each view best promotes market efficiency and innovation.

At "Spectrum Policy: Property or Commons?" leading figures in this debate will explain their views on today's wireless technology and market conditions, and discuss the complex implications of the competing models. Then they'll debate their positions before a blue ribbon panel of judges: FCC Chairman Michael Powell, renowned economist Harold Demsetz, and Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Alex Kozinski.

The aim of the day will be to explore both paradigms, their relationships to the work of Ronald Coase, and the vital unanswered questions facing the future of spectrum management.

Registration for the conference opens in January 2003. To be notified when registration opens, please submit your email address*:

Email:

*Your email address will not be shared, sold, or harmed in any manner.

Sponsors:

Stanford Center for Internet & Society

Crown Quadrangle, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, CA 94305-8610

phone: 650.723.5674 | email