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	<title>Communications Insights: Trends and Cool Stuff &#187; Optimal level of regulation</title>
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	<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff</link>
	<description>The Musings of an Expatriate in European Communications</description>
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		<title>Defining the Open Internet</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/11/defining-the-open-internet/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/11/defining-the-open-internet/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Nov 2010 19:50:32 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Broadband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FCC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Network Neutrality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=232</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Earlier this week I was contacted by Seth Johnson who was organizing a response to the FCC’s Further Inquiry into Two Underdeveloped Issues in the Open Internet Proceeding.  Seth asked if I would consider signing on in support of joint comments which urge the FCC to consider appropriate distinction between the open Internet and “specialized services” in light of changes in the market. As I said in previous Cool Stuff, both basic packet Internet and specialized services are important components of a robust and diverse market place.  I jointed the statement along with 31 other distinguished experts in this field.

Both the open Internet and specialized services exist in the market, and have for some time.  However, this is an important juncture to define: 1) where one begins and the other ends and 2) what are the appropriate measures necessary to preserve competition and fair play.  I joined on the comments because it does not advocate a particular policy outcome.  Rather, we urge the FCC that by “addressing this distinction in itself enables the analysis and pursuit of policy goals to proceed with a profound new level of clarity.”  This is of particular national importance.  The Internet is an American invention.  It is and will continue to be an important ingredient to economic development and global competitiveness.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/11/defining-the-open-internet/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Spoon</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/05/the-spoon/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/05/the-spoon/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 05 May 2010 19:42:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Optimal Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wireless Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FCC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Part 15]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Policy Development]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spectrum]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=163</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Treating radio operations as spectrum or airwaves or property is a false paradigm.  Electromagnetic energy behaves simultaneously like a wave and like a particle, carried by photons.  So, while we are regulating the airwaves, who is regulating the photons?  I raise this issue now because just last week the FCC established the Spectrum Task Force.  Honestly, I am not exactly sure what implications for radio policy of considering the dually of electromagnetic radiation as both a wave and a particle might be; however, going forward perhaps the STF should undertake critical rethinking of this crucial policy area from the basics up.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/05/the-spoon/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Uncommon Unlicensed – A Licensed Commons</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/03/the-uncommon-unlicensed-%e2%80%93-a-licensed-commons/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/03/the-uncommon-unlicensed-%e2%80%93-a-licensed-commons/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:00:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Optimal Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TV White Spaces]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wireless Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FCC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kevin Werbach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Part 15]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spectrum policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unlicensed wireless devices]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wi-Fi]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=139</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There is a significant challenge to the successful opening up of the TV white spaces. Under the White Spaces order, any unlicensed device which will operate in the band has to query a database and obtain permission before it can start transmitting.  When a white spaces device has to query a database and obtain permission before it can operate, it is, by definition, no longer an unlicensed device.  Rather, the regime is a licensed commons.  This grant of permission is in fact a form of a license, albeit a light one.  

This fact is one of the reasons the unlicensed PCS was never successful.  For unlicensed PCS, the FCC created a regime under which unlicensed users had to get permission from a non-profit firm called UTAM before they could start using their unlicensed PCS devices.  In doing so, the FCC inadvertently delegated to UTAM the power to grant licenses.  

In order for the White Spaces Order to be successful must offer device manufacturer and device users more benefit than they could achieve by using the existing Part 15 rules.  Device manufacturers can make devices to operate under the less restrictive parts of the Part 15 rules (the U-NII and spread spectrum rules).  So, they never made any successful products for U-PCS.   The same will be true for the White Space rules.  In order for the White Space database system to work, it will have to offer greater flexibility, more power, wider tuning ranges, more suitable frequency bands, etc. than the current Part 15 rules allow.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/03/the-uncommon-unlicensed-%e2%80%93-a-licensed-commons/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Network Neutrality and the Samurai</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/01/network-neutrality-and-the-samurai/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/01/network-neutrality-and-the-samurai/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Jan 2010 12:24:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Broadband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cool Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Network Neutrality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=128</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The sankin kōtai laws of the Tokugawa Shogunate imposed a rule of prioritization on the Tokaido and Nakaseido roads between Edō and Kyoto, as well as on other "kaido" emanating from the capital.  Access to Japanese roads was prioritized by social status, with only the Samurai class having access to the center of the road as their procession called a daimyo gyoretsu passed.   We think it is unfair to give preferential treatment to certain customers.  At the same time, we also think it is economically inefficient to mandate a single Internet access options for everyone, including those who are willing to pay more for premium services.  When the network (or Tokkaido Road) is congested, prioritization can make users better off.  Prioritization can be accomplished based on economic characteristics, arrival order, processing load, urgency, or even social status.

Since all messages on an IP-based network travel at the same speed (the speed of light), in discussions of Network Neutrality, it is never who gets to go faster, rather which packet, or which samurai, gets to go first.  Such prioritization must be done in a way which is socially permissible and economically desirable. ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2010/01/network-neutrality-and-the-samurai/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Next Generation Spectrum Regulation</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/12/next-generation-spectrum-regulation/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/12/next-generation-spectrum-regulation/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:03:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Broadband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cool Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wireless Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[next generation spectrum policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Really Cool Stuff!]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spectrum]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spectrum policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[unlicensed wireless devices]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=122</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have just completed a major study on next generation spectrum regulation which can serve as the basis for removing certain barriers to spectrum access, allowing more effective sharing and efficient allocations.  I can think of no reason why a properly designed auction could not determine not only who gets the spectrum rights, but what those rights are.

You cannot see, touch, taste, smell, or hear radio spectrum.  Spectrum is not a thing; it is an idea – a legal and engineering construct that explains a physical phenomenon and helps us arrange our behavior accordingly.  That fundamental physical phenomenon is the fact that when electromagnetic waves are: (1) harmonic in frequency; (2) incident in time; and (3) alight on the same reception device, the ability of those waves to be used as information carriers is degraded.  This deleterious effect is known to us as interference.  Without some form of intervention, it is impossible to exclude or limit the use of a common resource such as spectrum. Without exclusion, users consume the spectrum without regard to fact that their usage causes the deleterious effect of interference for other would-be users.  Policies which help to mitigate inference with the least amount of effort will be the most socially beneficial.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/12/next-generation-spectrum-regulation/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Japan Communications&#8217; New Business Model</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/10/japan-communications-new-business-model/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/10/japan-communications-new-business-model/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:16:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Broadband]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cool Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Network Neutrality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wireless Communications]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Japan Communications Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JCI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RCS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spectrum policy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wholesale Access]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[wireles]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=117</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Japan Communications Inc. just launched a new product for Hewlett-Packard. HP will now sell netbooks in Japan which come with 100 minutes of mobile wireless connectivity. Consumers can buy connectivity on a pay-as-you-go basis from Japan Communications, but branded as an HP service. While Japan Communications negotiated with DoCoMo to get on its network, it was only able to do so because the Japanese Ministry for Communications and Information created which rules opened the networks of three largest wireless operators to wholesale.

This created for Japan Communications a really cool new business model with implications for carriers, devices manufacturers, and application service providers around the world. It remains to be seen whether the Europe and the US should follow suit.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/10/japan-communications-new-business-model/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Neutralità della rete e aspetti socio-economici</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/05/neutralita-della-rete-e-aspetti-socio-economici/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/05/neutralita-della-rete-e-aspetti-socio-economici/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 May 2009 18:12:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Network Neutrality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[keynote]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=75</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The conceptual foundations and the economics Network Neutrality Remarks as Prepared for Delivery Good Morning and thank you for that warm introduction.  It is truly a pleasure for me to speak to you this morning.  Before I begin, I would like to thank Stefano Quintarelli for inviting me and the Fondazione Ugo Bordoni for hosting [...]]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/05/neutralita-della-rete-e-aspetti-socio-economici/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>4</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Lobbyist-to-English Phrasebook</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/03/lobbyist-to-english-phrasebook/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/03/lobbyist-to-english-phrasebook/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 14 Mar 2009 12:17:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Optimal Regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lobbyists]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Network Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Public Policy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=69</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When network operators claim that certain policies will harm investment in networks, these claims have to be examined critically.  Implicit in this investment-for-certain-policies argument is that certain policies might increase the capital required for network investment or lower the cashflows associated with the investment, lowering the rate of return.  This is a fair argument.  However, in order to properly evaluate that argument, the carrier has to provide regulator with its financial model for its network investment decisions, including all assumptions.  Otherwise, this argument should be rejected out of hand for being unsubstantiated.  It is foolish for the regulator to assume that its actions have no consequences on the profitability of the firms it regulates.  However, it must examine the trade-offs inherent in its actions to obtain the best possible outcome. In the final analysis, there are better vehicles for stimulating investment in networks such as intellectual property rights, tax policy, grants, loan guarantees, and industrial policy.  In most cases, the telecoms regulator has no authority to pursue these policies.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/03/lobbyist-to-english-phrasebook/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>1</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Obama&#8217;s Inaugural Address and the Optimal Government</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/01/obamas-inaugural-address-and-the-optimal-government/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/01/obamas-inaugural-address-and-the-optimal-government/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:46:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cool Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Policy Development]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/?p=58</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[If Mr. Obama truly adopts this approach to government, then it represents a major step forward for the United States and the welfare of its people.  This efficiency frontier for government is something I have written about before in Cool Stuff.  Defining the contours of this efficiency frontier is the next generation of policy research and debate.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2009/01/obamas-inaugural-address-and-the-optimal-government/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Transition</title>
		<link>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2008/10/the-transition/</link>
		<comments>http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2008/10/the-transition/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:44:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Kenneth Carter</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Cool Stuff]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Optimal level of regulation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Really Cool Stuff (RCS)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Roadable Airplane]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://kennethrcarter.com/CoolStuff/2008/10/the-transition/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I receive any number of email newsletters, touting the next futuristic thing. This one caught my attention: The Transition. Its designers tout the Transition as not being not a flying car. Rather it is a &#8220;roadable aircraft.&#8221; With a pair of 10-foot-wide foldable wings, it is a single-engine, pusher-prop airplane which can drive on the [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
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