Smorodin Joins TPI as VP of Communications
March 9, 2010 - The Technology Policy Institute announced today that Amy Smorodin will join the organization as Vice President for Communications and External Relations effective March 15.
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March 9, 2010 - The Technology Policy Institute announced today that Amy Smorodin will join the organization as Vice President for Communications and External Relations effective March 15.
March 4, 2010 - The Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy and the Technology Policy Institute have convened experts from industry, academia and government to provide an early reaction to the FCC's National Broadband Plan, scheduled to be released on March 17.
March 2, 2010 - TPI President Thomas Lenard urged the FCC not to reclassify broadband as a Title II service, as the agency reportedly is considering. Such a step, he wrote in comments submitted to the FCC, would "adversely affect innovation, investment, and consumer welfare, and would undermine the Commission's goal of extending broadband penetration, particularly to underserved populations." Lenard said his "earlier comments on the Open Internet NPRM apply even more strongly to the proposal to reclassify broadband as a Title II service."
February 25, 2010 - The expansion of wireless broadband is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, but a shortage of liberally licensed spectrum rights could put a crimp on this expansion. The freeing up of spectrum from other uses would allow greater expansion of wireless broadband and would bring substantial gains - likely in the hundreds of billions of dollars - for U.S. consumers, businesses, and the federal treasury. Developing a plan to increase the amount of spectrum for wireless broadband is a high priority of the FCC's Omnibus Broadband Initiative, which is developing a national broadband plan. Failure to allocate sufficient spectrum will slow the rollout of broadband services, increase their prices, and cost consumers and taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. TPI has assembled a panel of experts to discuss the options.
February 12, 2010 - The growth of wireless broadband is a bright spot in the U.S. economy, but a shortage of flexibly licensed spectrum rights could put a crimp on this expansion, according to a new study released by the Technology Policy Institute. The study was coauthored by Thomas Lenard, president and senior fellow at TPI; Lawrence J. White, professor of economics at the NYU Stern School of Business; and James Riso, a research associate at TPI.
February 2, 2010 - The Technology Policy Institute will be holding its first annual Aspen Forum next August 22-24 on the topic "Innovation and Critical Policy Choices: Is the United States Losing its Edge." Innovation and technological change are crucial to the nation's long-run economic health and ability to improve standards of living, as well as to our ability to address national challenges in energy, the environment, health care and other priority areas. The United States has long been a leader in innovation, but there is growing concern that the U.S. is losing its edge.
January 13, 2010 - The Federal Communications Commission should not adopt its proposed Open Internet Rules, according to comments by TPI president and senior fellow Thomas Lenard. Lenard argues that "the Commission has not provided evidence showing that the rules would address a significant problem or market failure, has not identified harms to users that the proposed rules would remedy, and has not demonstrated that the benefits of the proposed rules would exceed their costs."
November 16, 2009 - The Technology Policy Institute will be holding its first annual TPI Aspen Forum next August 22-24 on the topic of "Innovation and Critical Policy Choices: Is the United States Losing its Edge.
November 9, 2009 - The broadband study prepared by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society to help the Federal Communications Commission develop a National Broadband Plan is "incomplete and not objective," according to TPI President and Senior Fellow Thomas Lenard. Lenard said the study "did not accomplish its intended purpose," in an analysis submitted in response to the Commission's request for comments on the study.
November 3, 2009 - TPI is co-hosting a workshop on the subject of network neutrality on November 18th at the Internet Governance Forum in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
October 14, 2009 - The way the government applies antitrust laws can significantly affect innovation and investment, for good or ill. IT firms have characteristics that make antitrust enforcement more complex, including significant amounts of intangible capital, supply- and demand-side economies of scale, and rapidly changing markets characterized by continuous innovation. The new administration has signaled a more proactive approach to antitrust enforcement, particularly with respect to high-tech and Internet-based markets. This Congressional Seminar will examine the proper application of antitrust policy to the IT sector and the direction the new administration is taking.
October 13, 2009 - British MP Ian Liddell-Grainger will present a new bi-partisan report of the All-Party Parliamentary Taxation Group that examines the UK's experience with "return-free" tax filing, under which the tax authority prepares individuals' income tax returns. Mr. Liddell-Grainger's presentation will be discussed by former Congressman Bill Frenzel, George Washington University economist Joseph Cordes, and Brookings economist William Gale. Frenzel, currently a Guest Scholar at the Brookings Institution, was ranking minority member on the House Budget Committee and a member of the President's Advisory Panel on Tax Reform during 2005. Cordes has held senior positions at both the Treasury Department and the CBO. Gale is co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
August 25, 2009 - The FCC has named TPI Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten economics director of its broadband task force, which is charged with developing the U.S. national broadband plan. Wallsten will take a temporary leave of absence from TPI to work on the plan, which is scheduled to be completed in February, 2010. He will return to his position at TPI after the task force has completed its work.
July 21, 2009 - Representative Cliff Stearns (R-Fl) will deliver opening remarks at TPI's July 24th event on Information and Privacy: What are the Tradeoffs? Stearns, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet, has been in a leader on online privacy issues for many years.
July 16, 2009 - The universal service program is coming under increasing pressure: expenditures for old-fashioned voice service, especially in the high-cost fund, are growing rapidly even as many policymakers are calling for the fund to also include broadband. Even without including broadband, consumers are already paying higher taxes for these increased expenditures. This seminar will address questions of how to reform the fund, including ways of controlling growth in the high-cost fund, such as reverse auctions, and how to incorporate broadband in an efficient and equitable manner.
July 14, 2009 - Online advertising uses customer information to target messages to consumers' interests. The resulting advertising revenues support an array of innovative new online services, which consumers can often use for free. But as the use of information online has increased, so have concerns about privacy. More privacy, however, would mean less information, less valuable advertising, and thus fewer resources available for producing new low-priced services. It is this tradeoff that Congress needs to take into account as it considers new privacy legislation. TPI has assembled a group of experts to discuss how policy makers should address the tradeoffs inherent in privacy policy.
July 9, 2009 - This new report compares broadband penetration, speeds, prices, and use across countries.
July 8, 2009 - The Obama Administration is increasingly looking at approaches other countries have taken as it continues to formulate its broadband strategy. This Congressional Seminar will address key questions of how the U.S. broadband market is developing, how competition in the U.S. compares to elsewhere, and how various policy prescriptions, such as open access and functional separation, would be likely to affect investment.
June 22, 2009 - Broadband Competition Policy: What Comes After the Stimulus?; Universal Service Reform; Information and Privacy: What are the Tradeoffs?
June 11, 2009 - Incorporating energy efficiency into a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) allows greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions goals to be achieved at lower cost, but is still a second-best solution, according to a new paper by TPI President and Senior Fellow Thomas Lenard. Such standards are part of climate change legislation now being considered in the Congress.
June 10, 2009 - Congress is writing major climate change legislation that includes a cap-and-trade program as well as renewable electricity and efficiency mandates. Cap-and-trade represents a market-based approach designed to leave choices about least-cost ways of achieving climate-change policy goals to individual producers and consumers. Renewable electricity and efficiency standards prescribe specific approaches. Are these policies consistent with each other? How should they be combined? TPI has assembled a group of experts to discuss these issues.
June 8, 2009 - The broadband market in the U.S. is working well overall, as evidenced by nearly ubiquitous coverage, rapid adoption, large investments, and increasing speeds, according to comments submitted to the FCC regarding a national broadband plan by TPI Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten and Oxford Visiting Senior Fellow Robert Hahn. However, the market is not working well for all people in all places, and Hahn and Wallsten offer two general and seven specific recommendations to address those issues.
June 5, 2009 - Thomas Lenard and Lawrence J. White submitted their recent study, "ICANN at a Crossroads: A Proposal for Better Governance and Performance," to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). The submission was in response to NTIA's Notice of Inquiry on the upcoming expiration of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers ICANN). Lenard is President and Senior Fellow at TPI; White is Arthur E. Imperatore Professor of Economics at NYU's Stern School of Business.
June 4, 2009 - ICANN should be reformed "in a way that makes it truly accountable and clearly defines its scope of operations," according to testimony delivered by TPI president and senior fellow Thomas Lenard at a hearing of the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. Lenard said, "The expiration of the Joint Project Agreement (JPA) with the Department of Commerce this September provides a much-needed opportunity for a thorough evaluation of the structure, governance, and mission of ICANN."
May 18, 2009 - Commercial use of information on the Internet benefits consumers, according to a new study by TPI scholars Thomas Lenard and Paul Rubin. The new study examines the role of information in improving the ability of markets to deliver the goods and services individuals want.
May 12, 2009 - The debate over broadband policy transcends national boundaries and has become even more important in the current economic environment as the financial crisis leads the U.S. to include broadband in its economic stimulus efforts and the EU to consider something similar. Since the mid-1990s information and communications technologies have contributed substantially to economic growth, productivity improvements, and, thus, higher living standards on both sides of the Atlantic.
May 1, 2009 - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) controls extremely important aspects of the Internet. Since 1998, it has operated under various agreements with the U.S. Department of Commerce. The current agreement expires later this year. Before then, a public policy decision must be made about ICANN's future. ICANN would like to be fully "privatized," but that decision raises significant questions about ICANN's structure, mission, and performance. Does ICANN's governance structure provide sufficient accountability? If not, what type of structure would, and to whom should ICANN be accountable? How should reforms address ICANN's status as a de facto regulator? How should reforms address the intellectual property issues associated with domain names? This conference will discuss these issues and a recent TPI study on the subject coauthored by TPI president Thomas Lenard and NYU Stern School of Business economics professor Lawrence J. White.
April 13, 2009 - 71 economists explain why the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and The Rural Utilities Service should use competitive procurement auctions to allocate the broadband stimulus grants. The economists, in comments submitted to the NTIA and RUS, explain "why procurement auctions are more efficient and more consistent with the stimulus goals of allocating funds quickly than a traditional grant review process."
The signatories are economists who have studied telecommunications, auctions, and competition policy and include two Nobel Laureates and three winners of the John Bates Clark medal for the best economist under 40.
The comments were coordinated by Paul Milgrom, Gregory Rosston, and Andrzej Skrzypacz of Stanford University, and Scott Wallsten of the Technology Policy Institute. Thomas Lenard of TPI is one of the signers of the comments.
April 8, 2009 - DSL unbundling is negatively correlated with new fiber investment, according to new research by TPI Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten. Similarly, platform competition (cable and facilities-based DSL providers) is positively correlated with fiber deployment. Wallsten's paper uses a new dataset to examine empirically the effects of unbundling on investment in new fiber networks in Europe.
April 1, 2009 - Renewable Energy Mandates: Costs, Benefits, and Alternatives; and ICANN at a Crossroads: Privatization, Reform, Both, or Neither?
March 26, 2009 - Washington, D.C. - The Technology Policy Institute (TPI) today announced Carly Fiorina's appointment as Chair of the organization's Board of Directors. Ms. Fiorina succeeds Ray Gifford, who was TPI's founding board chairman and will remain on the board.
March 24, 2009 - The recently enacted $7 billion broadband stimulus plan presents a unique opportunity to learn what kinds of broadband subsidies can make a difference, Technology Policy Institute Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten explains in a new article.
March 18, 2009 - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has control over extremely important aspects of the Internet, but is largely accountable to no one, according to a new study coauthored by Thomas M. Lenard and Lawrence J. White. ICANN's governance structure should be dramatically reformed to make it more accountable before the current tie with the U.S. Department of Commerce is allowed to expire. Lenard is President and Senior Fellow at TPI; White is Professor of Economics at the NYU Stern School of Business.
March 13, 2009 - On March 12, 2009 TPI Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet on reforming the universal service high cost fund. Subsidies from the high-cost fund to rural telecommunications providers have increased from $1.7 billion in 1999 to nearly $5 billion today. Wallsten recommended moving from the current inefficient system to one that awards subsidies through competitive bidding. Such reverse auctions for universal service have been used successfully in other countries and could reduce subsidies and benefit consumers.
March 6, 2009 - Lifting restrictions on high-skilled immigration would reduce the federal deficit, according to a new study by TPI senior fellow Arlene Holen. The new study will be discussed at a March 10 TPI conference at the National Press Club from 12-3. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will deliver a keynote address. The conference agenda and registration information can be found here on our website.
February 26, 2009 - Immigration is a contentious issue, particularly in an economic downturn. But even now, employers in critical sectors ranging from information technology to finance are seeking highly skilled immigrants. These workers are in limited supply because foreign applicants face stringent caps on green cards and temporary work visas. Legislators and other policy makers need to make decisions on this issue on the basis of the overall effects of high-skilled immigrants on economic growth and innovation, the wages and employment of domestic workers, and the effects on government budgets, which are less well understood.
February 11, 2009 - Accurate measurement of digital divides is important for policy purposes, but existing methodologies and data have limited our ability to examine the issue. James Prieger and Wei-Min Hu compare the performance of alternative methods using a large dataset on DSL subscription, paying particular attention to whether women, blacks, and Hispanics catch up to others in broadband adoption. Duration analysis, which sheds light on how groups progress along adoption curves, reveals the most useful information about digital divides and how they change over time. Policymakers can use the information to identify groups for which a divide is widening rather than closing. Their results support the collection of broadband statistics in panel form, where the same households are followed over time.
February 6, 2009 - Podcast and Presentations now available.
January 28, 2009 - Kellogg School of Management Professor Shane Greenstein estimates that broadband adds about $10 billion per year in new GDP and another $5 billion in unmeasured consumer surplus. These are large effects, but smaller than some previous estimates. The reason for the difference is that most studies attribute all gains from the Internet to broadband, rather than just the gains that came from upgrading to broadband from dialup. Professor Greenstein's research, based on the economics of new goods, will help give policymakers a more accurate estimate of the benefits of broadband subsidies.
January 5, 2009 - TPI senior fellow and Emory University professor Paul Rubin writes in the Wall Street Journal that, while the Internet has greatly increased the efficiency of markets, it may also have facilitated the formation of bubbles. He suggests that "regulators have a difficult task: It will be very hard for them to eliminate the downside of the Internet and other improvements in financial markets without simultaneously eliminating the benefits."
November 14, 2008 - The Technology Policy Institute has posted three new Publications of Note by outside authors on subjects of interest to our audience:
October 30, 2008 - The Technology Policy Institute announced today a new research project that will delineate the budget and economic benefits provided by highly skilled immigrants working in the United States. TPI's research will be underwritten by a grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the largest private-sector funding source for economic research in the United States.
October 9, 2008 - Expert Panel Will Include Policy Advisers to Presidential Candidates Obama and McCain
October 8, 2008 - TPI vice president for research and senior fellow Scott Wallsten finds in a new paper that the government's DTV coupon program has increased the price of digital-to-analog converter boxes by $21-$34, meaning that the subsidy is primarily benefiting retailers rather than consumers. The $40 coupons made available to all households means that consumers pay $0 for any retail price less than $40 for eligible boxes, thus diminishing price competition among retailers. Given the increase in prices, the coupon program may not provide much additional incentive for consumers to purchase converter boxes.
October 8, 2008 - TPI Senior Fellow Arlene Holen has prepared the attached comparison of the technology policies of the two presidential candidates.
September 20, 2008 - Washington, D.C.-Regional transmission organizations have not produced lower wholesale prices for electricity and the states in these RTOs have higher average prices than regulated states, according to a study released today by the Technology Policy Institute, a Washington-based think tank.
September 16, 2008 - Scott Wallsten will be a guest on the Kojo Nnamdi Show WAMU 88.5 FM on Tuesday, September 16 from noon - 1pm to discuss net neutrality and network management in the U.S.
September 10, 2008 - The Technology Policy Institute is hosting a conference to discuss this country's energy future, highlighted by a preview of the next Administration's policy options from Douglas Holtz-Eakin representing the McCain campaign and Jason Grumet representing the Obama campaign.
August 7, 2008 - TPI Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow Scott Wallsten discusses international broadband statistics at Pike & Fischer's Broadband Policy Summit IV.
August 5, 2008 - The Technology Policy Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Jane Creel as vice president for finance and operations.
June 5, 2008 - Technology Policy Institute president and senior fellow Thomas Lenard filed comments today with the Federal Communications Commission on its proposal to auction the 2155-2175 MHz band (AWS-3) subject to rules that would require the winner to offer a basic tier of free wireless broadband service that virtually the entire U.S. population could access. The service conditions are similar to those contained in a 2006 application by M2Z to obtain this spectrum for free.
June 3, 2008 - Transatlantic Perspectives on Broadband Policy, Inter- versus Intra-Platform Competition, A Centre for European Policy Studies-Technology Policy Institute Event, Monday, June 9, 2008, 8:30-11:00 AM, National Press Club, Washington, D.C.
May 19, 2008 - The OECD Broadband Rankings are a flawed and misleading basis for policy making, according to Technology Policy Institute vice president for research and senior fellow Scott Wallsten.
May 12, 2008 - The Technology Policy Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Arlene Holen as senior fellow. "Arlene has a wealth of experience in high-level government positions working on a broad range of economic and budget issues," said TPI president Tom Lenard. "She is precisely the right person to help us get our Health IT project off the ground. I am thrilled she has decided to join us."
May 8, 2008 - The Technology Policy Institute released a summary of the event on "Network Management: The Latest Battle over Net Neutrality" that took place on February 29, 2008. The panelists discussed the controversy surrounding Comcast's network management practices and evaluated the economic, legal, and engineering aspects of network management based on evidence from the United States and Japan. They also discussed the potential impacts of possible proposed regulations.
May 5, 2008 - Reverse auctions can be an effective tool for reducing universal service subsidies and distributing them more efficiently, according to a new paper released by Technology Policy Institute vice president for research and senior fellow Scott Wallsten. The FCC's action last Thursday capping the USF increases the pressure to find ways to do more with the available universal service funds. Reverse auctions are at the top of the list of available policy measures.
May 1, 2008 - The Technology Policy Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Paul H. Rubin as senior fellow. "Paul Rubin is one of the country's most talented law and economics scholars," said TPI president Tom Lenard. "His expertise in the economics of advertising, consumer protection, and competition will be invaluable to TPI. He has been at the forefront in studying information and privacy issues in both the offline and online worlds. I am thrilled he will be working with us."
April 28, 2008 - Washington, DC - TPI is a think tank that focuses on the economics of innovation, technological change, and related regulation in the United States and around the world. Its mission is to advance knowledge and inform policymakers by producing independent, rigorous research and by sponsoring educational programs and conferences on major issues affecting information technology, communications, and energy policy. TPI was founded in 2007.
February 5, 2008 - Washington, DC - iGrowthGlobal president Thomas Lenard today filed comments with the National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) on the Midterm Review of the 2006 Joint Project Agreement (JPA) that NTIA has with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). NTIA is requesting comments on whether ICANN is making progress toward fulfilling its responsibilities under the JPA, and on the continued transition to the private sector of the technical coordination and management of the Internet's domain name and addressing system.
January 24, 2008 - Washington, DC - While the United States has moved away from unbundling regulations in recent years, the European Union has increasingly adopted them in order to stimulate broadband investment. A new paper by Scott Wallsten assembles a unique panel dataset to test the effects of different types of unbundling regulations on broadband penetration and speeds across OECD countries. Wallsten finds that unbundling regulations do not promote broadband investment and may even reduce it. He also finds, however, that rules that make it easier for an entrant to interconnect are positively correlated with broadband penetration and speed.
January 14, 2008 - Washington, DC - Economist Scott Wallsten will join iGrowthGlobal ( www.igrowthglobal.org) January 14th as Vice President for Research and Senior Fellow. In this capacity, he will help coordinate and supervise iGG's research program and also conduct his own research.
November 13, 2007 - Washington, DC - iGrowthGlobal, in partnership with the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC), Keidanren, Packet Clearing House (PCH) and the World Information Technology Alliance (WITSA), is sponsoring a workshop on "Qualifying, Quantifying, and Meeting the Challenge of Internet Access Costs" at the IGF meeting in Rio.
November 5, 2007 - Washington, DC - iGrowthGlobal (www.igrowthglobal.org) announced today the appointment of Dr. Thomas Lenard as president and senior fellow. He succeeds Garland McCoy, who will hold the title of founder and chief development officer.