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| navigate: home: magazine: fall 1999: article | |
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Telecommunications conference Helping Pennsylvania become telecommunications technology friendly By Celena E. Kusch | |||||||
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According to a recent Penn State study, telecommunications laws, regulations and policies—both public and private—are lagging well behind sweeping business and technological changes. “In the absence of language reflecting the new realities, we continue to debate competition, regulation and public interest by assuming a terrain that is now behind us,” the report warned. Penn State’s Institute for Information Policy (IIP) in the College of Communications produced the study titled The New Global Telecommunications Industry and Consumers. This research institute is dedicated to highlighting and implementing information technology to further improve democratic discourse, social responsibility and quality of life in the United States and in the world. Last spring, the institute co-sponsored a conference to address these needs. The Telecommunications Policy Act of 1996: Assessing its Impact on Pennsylvania Businesses and Consumers drew more than 75 broadcasters, regulators, educators and members of the telecommunications industry. Dr. Richard D. Taylor, co-director of the Institute for Information Policy and Palmer Chair in Telecommunications Studies, and Dr. Anne Hoag, assistant professor of telecommunications studies and IIP research associate, co-chaired the conference. “This is our first conference of its kind in the institute,” Taylor said. “Our ultimate goal was to improve choice and quality and lower the prices of communications services for consumers in Pennsylvania. Our means was to use the conference to educate Pennsylvania regulators and businesses about key issues in state telecommunications policy leading to that goal. The conference engaged regulators and competitors in an open dialogue on how to serve the public interest.” Federal and state telecommunications policies have a direct impact on businesses and consumers in Pennsylvania and nationwide. The implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Policy Act, intended to bring the benefits of competition, appears to have raised as many problems as it resolved, Taylor noted. That is why the Commonwealth’s telecommunications, cable and broadcasting industries have agreed to co-sponsor this outreach program with Penn State’s Institute for Information Policy and The Dickinson School of Law of The Pennsylvania State University. More than a dozen faculty from the College of Communications participated in the conference. “Dr. Peter G. Glenn, dean of the Dickinson School of Law, was particularly helpful in identifying issues that would be of interest to Pennsylvania attorneys,” Hoag added. The conference focused on how the implementation of the provisions of the 1996 Telecommunications Policy Act in Pennsylvania affect the availability of services to businesses and consumers; the development of the economy in all areas of the state; the price, quality and choice of video entertainment services for consumers; the independence, financial stability and diversity of the broadcast media; and the impact of the Internet and Internet-based services. Competition and regulation were central topics for the conference, including issues related to the development of digital television and universal service principles. Presentations by the Commonwealth’s two top information technology experts outlined what the state government is doing to use its buying power to create an advanced digital network in all parts of the state. Charles F. Gerhards, Pennsylvania’s chief information officer and deputy secretary of information technology, delivered the opening address on the “Importance of Telecommunications and Information Technology to Pennsylvania.” He said, “With this conference, the College of Communications has provided an essential forum on a topic important to all of us. I am delighted to give a Pennsylvania perspective on information technology and on telecommunications in particular.” In his presentation, Gerhards invited dialogue and collaboration in making state telecommunications policy. “We are witnessing the arrival of a new Pennsylvania—a Pennsylvania gaining global reputation as an emerging technology state. Government and industry must both work hard to encourage continued growth in technology. We in the administration view telecommunications as the heart of a knowledge-based economy, and Gov. [Tom] Ridge’s economic development programs have made Pennsylvania a more inviting place for business. Nonetheless, a public-private partnership is needed to stimulate competition, building the demand needed to ensure and sustain the growth in this network and industry and to build a 21st century telecommunications infrastructure for Pennsylvania.” Other conference keynote speakers included Dr. Eli Noam of Columbia University’s Center for Tele-Information, who spoke about “The Future of State Telecommunications Regulation”; Nick Giordano, Office of Information Technology, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who discussed “Telecommunications and Economic Development in Pennsylvania”; and State Sen. Jake Corman, vice chair, Senate Communications and High Technology Committee. Discussion panels featured representatives from the Governor’s Office, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry and state and national legal and regulatory experts. Presidents of Bell Atlantic-Pennsylvania and AT&T of Pennsylvania and vice presidents of Hyperion Telecommunications, the Pennsylvania Telephone Association and Tele-Beam Inc. were among the conference speakers, as well. “Our objective was to bring together groups that don’t normally have a chance to converse; that is, broadcasters, telecommunications and cable operators, policymakers, big corporate consumers of telecommunications services, as well as advocates for the interests of individual consumers,” Hoag explained. “We believe that more creative, collaborative, economically beneficial outcomes can result when all parties have an opportunity—in a relatively informal venue—to speak and listen.” Taylor and Hoag agreed the conference had been a success. “Right now, there are a number of very important policy issues pending before the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC),” Taylor noted. “Among the conference attendees were four lawyers from the PUC staff. They were highly complimentary and said the conference was very helpful in informing their understanding of the issues, and they would be better prepared to deal with them as a result. Consequently, we are more likely to have an effective regulatory environment which will lead to the fulfillment of the overall goal and better services for all Pennsylvania consumers.” An outreach program of the College of Communications | ||||||
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