In case you missed it, the Progressive Policy Institute this week held a conference here in Washington at the National Press Club on the economic implications of the wireless boom. AT&T’s Jim Cicconi delivered remarks that focused on the outdated regulations that stand to affect the growth and innovation of the wireless market. Check out the videos below to hear more from Jim on modernizing current communications laws to better fit the ever changing marketplace, and other panelists talking about the wireless boon.
Here, Jim talks about how the regulatory structure in this country is designed to oversee a wireline voice monopoly, which does not exist today.
And here, Jim talks about how the Telecom Act is out of date and that there’s a need to take a fresh look at modernizing the function of the FCC as well.
Roger Enter of Recon Analytics discusses his new study, “The Wireless Industry: The Essential Engine of U.S. Economic Growth,” and the impact the wireless industry has on job creation and GDP.
Tom Hazlett, Professor of Law & Economics at the nearby George Mason University, talks about the wireless innovation wave and that it is just beginning.
Mike Mandel, Chief Economic Strategist of the Progressive Policy Institute, addresses how while investment by the government has been falling in recent years, investment by wireless providers is very strong. Are they “investment heroes”?
The following statement may be attributed to AT&T’s Executive Vice President-Federal Relations Tim McKone:
“We congratulate Committee Chairman Upton and Subcommittee Chairman Walden for their leadership in crafting this important, common-sense effort to reform current FCC practices, many of which predate the agency’s current leadership. Passage by the House is a needed step forward, and is also an important signal of support for modernizing telecom regulation. It has become increasingly clear that, for America to have the world-class broadband infrastructure it needs, all of us must rethink outmoded regulations and outdated mindsets. The US broadband industry is today investing and innovating at Internet speed. The legislation passed today by the House challenges the FCC to keep pace.”
On Tuesday, AT&T’s Jim Cicconi spoke at the Free State Foundation’s Telecom Policy Conference and addressed government regulation of the Internet. He discussed the steps some international policymakers have taken to impose onerous regulations on the industry. And while President Obama and his Administration has strongly opposed such measures, the US Government’s policies don’t always synch up with the actions of the Federal Communications Commission. These conflicts are not lost on international policymakers, according to Cicconi, and we cannot succeed with a “do as I say, not as I do” approach. “Getting more Internet infrastructure in this country should be our Government’s number one priority, whether it’s wireless spectrum or last-mile fiber,”
