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Telecom Workshop: Agenda

Workshop Information

On November 29, 2007, the Antitrust Division hosted a public symposium to discuss competition in telecommunications services and video programming delivery, including the prospects for additional competition and whether regulatory changes or other government action would promote more competition. For more information, see the workshop information page.

Agenda

9:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks
Thomas O. Barnett
Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division

 

Morning Session: Cable TV and Telephone Company Competition

Consumers are beginning to benefit from new facilities-based competition. Cable television systems are beginning to offer voice telephony in addition to video and broadband, and telephone companies are beginning to offer video in addition to voice and broadband.

  • How widespread is this facilities-based competition now, and how extensive is it likely to become?
  • What regulatory or other obstacles do entrants still face?
  • What are the ramifications for competition and antitrust analysis of this entry and how has bundling impacted the nature of competition?
9:30 a.m.

Panel I: Entry into Multichannel Video Services

Speakers:
John Goodman, Executive Director, Broadband Service Providers Association
Jane Lawton, Administrator of the Office of Cable and Communications Services, Montgomery County, Maryland
Grier Raclin, General Counsel, Charter Communications, Inc.
Hal J. Singer, President, Criterion Economics
John Thorne, Deputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Verizon Communications Inc.

Issues: This panel will explore whether there are significant regulatory (federal, state, and local) or other constraints on video entry and how competition has changed as a result of the telephone companies' entry into offering video services.

  • How widely are telephone company video services likely to be offered in the future?
  • How have telco entry and bundling affected competition?
11:00 a.m.

Break

11:15 a.m.

Panel II: Entry into Telecommunications Services

Speakers:
Jill Canfield, Senior Regulatory Counsel, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association
Sean C. Lindsay, Associate General Counsel, Qwest Communications International Inc.
Stephen T. Perkins, General Counsel, Cavalier Telephone LLC
Simon J. Wilkie, Executive Director, Center for Communication Law and Policy, USC Gould School of Law
Alexandra Wilson, Vice President of Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Cox Enterprises, Inc.

Issues: This panel will explore whether there are significant regulatory (federal, state and local) or other constraints on voice entry and how competition has changed as a result of the cable companies' entry into telephony.

  • To what extent are various modes of entry used now and how likely are they to be used in the future?
  • Are there areas unlikely to see competition?
  • What effect have subsidies had on competition?
  • How have entry by cable TV companies and bundling affected competition?
12:45 p.m.

Lunch

 

Afternoon Session: Alternative Technologies to Reach the Consumer

Some observers have predicted that most telecommunications and entertainment services will at some point be delivered to all consumers over a single connection to their homes. Will consumers have a wide selection of alternative providers for that connection?

2:15 p.m.

Panel III: Wireless Technologies

Speakers: (other speakers are expected to be added)
Thomas W. Hazlett, Professor of Law and Economics, George Mason University School of Law
Hank Kafka, Vice President, Architecture, AT&T Inc.
R. Gerard Salemme, Executive Vice President of Strategy, Policy and External Affairs, Clearwire Corporation
Bin Shen, Vice President, Broadband Product Management and Partnership Development, Sprint Nextel Corporation
William F. Wallace, Chairman, Digital Bridge Communications Corp.

Issues: This panel will focus on the extent to which wireless broadband systems are current and future competitive alternatives to cable modems and DSL.

  • What regulatory or other issues could delay rollout?
  • What are the prospects for municipal broadband networks?
  • How are advanced wireless services likely to impact competition?
3:45 p.m.

Break

4:00 p.m.

Panel IV: Other Alternative Broadband Technologies Including Satellite and Broadband over Power Line

Speakers:
David Brown, Vice President and General Counsel, WildBlue Communications Inc.
J. Brendan Herron, Jr., Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategy, Current Group, LLC
Evan R. Grayer, Vice President Broadband, DirecTV Group, Inc.
Blair Levin, Managing Director, Stifel Nicolaus

Issues: This panel will focus on whether other technologies such as satellite and broadband over power lines can compete for customers.

  • What is the current and predicted subscriber base for these services, and what is necessary to attract more subscribers and providers?
  • Will these services be competitive everywhere or only in
5:15 p.m.

Closing Remarks
Deborah A. Garza
Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division

Updated June 7, 2023