Media and Communications Policy at a Critical Juncture University of Wyoming Joel Kelsey, Policy Analyst September 25 th, 2008

“communications”? “mass-media”?

Foundation Broadly speaking, communications policy and regulation has been broken up into three major categories: –Common carriage (telegraph) –Interconnection requirements (telephone) –Scarcity management (radio, wireless) All had different starting points, ultimately culminating in “the Act” (1934 Communications Act). All deal in some way – or provide some insight – into regulating gatekeepers to a networked communications environment

At a Crossroads Deregulation of 80’s and 90’s Broadband + Digital Technology = Game Changer New “communications network” is shifting conventional wisdom about “mass media”

Justice Issues Exposed Community Media New Digital Tools Skills Training Open Distribution Network Open, Affordable, Accessible Networks Neutrality IP and Copyright of Source Code Reaching an Audience: Access to Infrastructure Access to Comm Infrastructure Access to Knowledge Networked Environment Freedom to speak / be heard IP threats

New Era Investment in Infrastructure FCC v. Brand X (2005) - the United States Supreme Court upheld the FCC’s right to categorize cable broadband providers as “information services.” The practical import of these technical classifications has been to release broadband services from most anti-discrimination, common carriage or line-sharing obligations. Net Neutrality Debate

NETWORKED ENVIRONMENT CONNECTIVITY AND CODE LAYER Protocol used to transmit or transport communications signals over the network. APPLICATIONS LAYER Software that allows end users to access, store, navigate content. *FROM GLOBAL PARTNERS AND THE FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION PROJECT CONTENT LAYER Material that the network transmits. PHYSICAL LAYER Network hardware and infrastructure that transmits signals and is required by end users and ISPs.

Policy Pressure Points Comcast-BitTorrent Complaint and Petition Text Message Petition Net Neutrality Legislation (S.215 and H.R.5353) 700 MHz Spectrum Auction Broadcast White Spaces Universal Service Reform Oversight of mergers –Verizon / Alltell –Google / Yahoo! –Microsoft / Yahoo! –Sprint / Clearwire

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