This panel will examine the current changes in the market for transmission capacity. Bandwidth is being transformed from a static network resource to a commodity. This change will have far-reaching implications on the way people and firms purchase and use communications. Topics addressed include the future ramifications of new technologies, new business models, and regulation.

Two years after the Telecommunications Act, the fierce competition in local telecommunications services predicted by many has yet to materialize. The race is on between traditional carriers and new entrants. An important aspect of this area of communications is the model by which telecommunications carriers calculate the cost of services they provide. New cost models are challenging the TELRIC model. The panel examines the future implications of the push to stimulate competitive local markets and to deliver basic service to all users.

One of the most important new technologies is the ability to transmit voice over packet-switched networks. This technology is reshaping the demand for voice service and will transform the role which traditional carriers play in providing service. Internet telephony may replace POTS. The panel addresses pricing and compensation as well as international access charges.

This panel looks at how telecommunications services are converging into a single service medium based on data networks. Will this trend continue, or is there still value in networks designed to provide a single type of service? The role of advanced television services and HDTV is discussed. The panel also addresses how converging technologies should be regulated by converging international and supranational institutions.

 
Session 1: The Supply and Demand for Bandwidth
Chair:
Harumasa Sato, Professor of Economics, Konan University

Opening Remarks and Trends and Implications
Eli Noam, Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

The FCC Perspective
Robert Pepper, Chief, Office of Plans and Policy, FCC

Competitive Infrastructure
Bruce Egan, Senior Affiliated Research Fellow, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Session 2: Local Competition, Interconnection, and Universal Service
Chair:
Harumasa Sato, Professor of Economics, Konan University

The Japanese Situation Before TELRIC
Harumasa Sato, Professor of Economics, Konan University

After TELRIC
Robert Pepper, Chief, Office of Plans and Policy, FCC

After Cost Models
Bruce Egan, Senior Affiliated Research Fellow, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

After the 1996 Act
Eli Noam, Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Session 3: Internet Telephony
Chair:
Kenneth Carter, Associate Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Arbitrage, Pricing, and Reciprocal Compensation
Kenneth Carter, Associate Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Business Development and E-Commerce
Bruce Egan, Senior Affiliated Research Fellow, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Impact on Traditional Carriers
Eli Noam, Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Access Charges and International Implications
Robert Pepper, Chief, Office of Plans and Policy, FCC

Session 4: Convergence, Network, Service, Regulation, and Digital Services
Chair:
Kenneth Carter, Associate Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Legal Regimes and Institutions
Kenneth Carter, Associate Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Regulation Convergence
Robert Pepper, Chief, Office of Plans and Policy, FCC

The Digitalization of TV: IP-TV
Eli Noam, Director, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Cost of Competing Infrastructures
Bruce Egan, Senior Affiliated Research Fellow, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information

Organized by

Eli Noam, Professor and Director
Harumasa Sato, Professor of Economics, Konan University