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Open Airwaves, Open Networks forum on 21 October 2008

The New America Foundation is organizing an event entitled “Pervasive Connectivity: Open Airwaves, Open Networks” at the Googleplex in Mountain View on 21 October 2008 from 10:00 to 13:30. You can RSVP online at http://www.newamerica.net/events/2008/pervasive_connectivity. Please do so by 17 October 2008.

Description of the forum, agenda and speakers:

As Internet access moves increasingly to mobile platforms, control over access to the public airwaves will determine whether wireless broadband networks are closed, costly and channelized – or open, affordable and innovative.  The conventional wisdom in Washington is that spectrum is scarce and must be auctioned as exclusive licenses. The reality is emerging technologies and business models that allow shared, opportunistic and unlicensed access to an abundance of bandwidth for all.

This forum will review the technologies and policy debates at the center of this battle over the airwaves. The FCC will decide this fall whether to open the vacant TV channels in each market for shared, unlicensed use. But there is far more unused “white space” across the spectrum that can be unlocked with ’smart’ radios and smarter policies.  Among the benefits of open spectrum is more open networks – as well as facilitating a
movement toward community networking that can greatly narrow digital divides in rural and disadvantaged areas.

AGENDA

9:30 am – Registration

10:00 am – Welcome

10:15 am – Open Airwaves: Technologies & Policies for Opportunistic
Spectrum Sharing

Michael Calabrese
Director, Wireless Future Program, New America Foundation

Paul Kolodzy
Kolodzy Consulting, Former Chair, FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force

Mark McHenry
CEO and Founder, Shared Spectrum Co.

11:00 am – Open Networks: Technologies & Policies for Consumer Choice
and Innovation

Tim Wu
Professor, Columbia Law School & Chairman, Free Press

Larry Alder
Product Manager, Google

Sascha Meinrath
Research Director, Wireless Future Program, New America Foundation

11:45 am – Community Networking: Digital Inclusion, Unwired

Rey Ramsey
CEO & Co-Founder, One Economy Corp

Mark Ansboury
SVP & Chief Technology Officer, OneCommunity

Sascha Meinrath
Research Director, Wireless Future Program, New America Foundation

12:30 pm – Implications for 2009 Policy Agenda

Andrew Jay Schwartzman
President & CEO, Media Access Project

12:45 pm – Lunch & Tech Demo in No Name Café

The policy forum is co-sponsored by Google and the New America Foundation/Wireless Future Program.

Location:

Google, Building 43, Tunis Room
1600 Amphitheater Parkway
Mountain View, CA
(Directions: www.newamerica.net/files/google_driving_directions.pdf)

Related posts:

  1. Public Interest Groups to FCC: Save Our Spectrum
  2. Policy Forum: Wireless Future — best way to bring ubiquitous broadband access
  3. Report on U.S. Spectrum Policy
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