Note to Editors: Members of the press are welcome to attend without charge. Most of the conference participants, including FCC Chairman Michael Powell, will be available for interviews. To arrange, contact Zachary Lange at (303) 735-5633 or zachary.lange@colorado.edu.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell will headline a group of telecommunications leaders who will discuss the possibility of a new telecommunications act Feb. 13-14 at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Law's fifth annual conference on regulatory policy in the Internet age.
Sponsored by the university's Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program, the conference called "The Digital Broadband Migration: Rewriting the Telecom Act," will be held in the Lindsley Memorial Courtroom in the Fleming Law Building on the first day and at Folsom Field's club level on the second day.
The conference meets from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 13 and from 8:45 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Feb. 14. Seating is limited. Participants are asked to register in advance at . Various fees apply.
Joining Powell will be Internet founder Vint Cerf, Stanford University law Professor Lawrence Lessig, Qwest CEO Dick Notebaert, noted regulatory figure Alfred Kahn and a number of leaders from government, industry and academia.
"The Telecommunications Act of 1996 is coming apart at the seams, as changes in technology -- such as the widespread use of wireless devices like cell phones and wireless-enabled laptops, as well as voice over Internet protocol -- continue to undermine the regulatory categories adopted by that act," said Phil Weiser, executive director of the Silicon Flatirons program. "This conference will provide a valuable forum for examining possibilities for reforming the act and facilitating new innovation in the telecommunications marketplace."
Powell, who announced last month that he will step down as FCC chairman, will address whether it is time to rewrite the Telecommunications Act. Critics of the act charge that its regulatory model is based on traditional technology that did not grapple with the implications of the Internet, said Weiser.
The law school's Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law will publish the conference proceedings.
Established nearly five years ago, the Silicon Flatirons Telecommunications Program examines cutting-edge issues involving telecommunications technology, business, law and policy by holding regular events on such topics. Its next event, "Open Source, Open Standards and the Future of the Internet," is scheduled for March 3.
The law building is located south of Fiske Planetarium off Regent Drive. The club level is located on the east side of Folsom Field.
For more information contact Zachary Lange at (303) 735-5633 or e-mail zachary.lange@colorado.edu.