Reforming the Federal Communications Commission
Holeman Lounge, National Press Club
Washington, D.C.
January 5, 2009
9am -- 12:30pm
The world once known as "telecommunications" is changing dramatically. New technologies, new business models and new policy challenges lie ahead. The critical question for governmental policy in this sector is easy to state, but harder to answer: Is the Federal Communications Commission truly equipped to deal with immediate challenges that it will face?
That question is being asked today by policymakers from Capitol Hill and around the country. And it is at the core of a growing chorus of commentators who call for reform of how the FCC operates.
To explore the future of the FCC, we will convene a leading group of academics, current and former FCC officials, and leaders from the public interest community. We will compare future visions, explore historical lessons and, though a series of papers specially written for this conference, offer a comprehension set of recommendations for the creation of an FCC well-prepared to confront contemporary challenges.
Welcome
9:00am - 9:10am
Gigi Sohn
President and Co-founder
Public Knowledge
Phil Weiser
Professor of Law
Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program
University of Colorado
Executive Director
Silicon Flatirons Center
The Future of the FCC as an Institution
9:10am - 10:20am
Mark Cooper
Director of Research
Consumer Federation of America
Pierre de Vries
Silicon Flatirons Senior Adjunct Fellow
University of Colorado
Jessica Rosenworcel
Senate Commerce Committee
Jonathan Sallet
Silicon Flatirons Senior Adjunct Fellow
University of Colorado
Partner
The Glover Park Group
Phil Weiser
Professor of Law
Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program
University of Colorado
Executive Director
Silicon Flatirons Center
Moderator
Gigi Sohn
President and Co-founder
Public Knowledge
Invited
Michael Copps
FCC Commissioner
The Past as Prologue: Lessons from History on the Road to Reform
10:35am - 11:45am
Kathleen Abernathy
Partner
Wilkinson Barker & Knauer
Former FCC Commissioner
Kathryn C. Brown
SVP of Policy
Verizon
Former Chief of Staff
FCC
Kyle Dixon
Partner
Kamlet Shepherd and Reichert, LLP
Former Media Bureau Deputy Chief
FCC
Henry Geller
Former Administrator
NTIA
Dale Hatfield
Adjunct Professor
University of Colorado
Former Chief Engineer
Federal Communications Commission
Moderator
Phil Weiser
Professor of Law
Interdisciplinary Telecommunications Program
University of Colorado
Executive Director
Silicon Flatirons Center
Invited
Nick Johnson
Former FCC Commissioner
Keynote Discussion
11:45am - 12:30pm
Reed Hundt
Senior Advisor
McKinsey
Former FCC Chairman
Bill Kennard
Managing Director
Carlyle Group
Former FCC Chairman