Manhattan Institute's Stealth Spectrum-as-Property Conference

It's curious when a public organization such as the Manhattan Institute holds a "conference" that it doesn't bother to list on its own web page. But that seems to be the case with Avoiding a Tragedy of the Telecommons: Finding the Right Property Rights Regime for Telecommunications, sponsored by MI's Center for the Digital Economy.

The conference will be held on Monday, May 17, 2004 from 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 1330 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC.

Because there is no web source one can reference for this conference (apparently notice was given only on MI mailing lists), here is the revised schedule:

[Begin excerpt of MI announcement.]

8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
Registration

9:00 AM - 9:05 AM
Introductory Remarks
Peter W. Huber, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute

9:05 AM - 10:25 AM
PANEL I: FITTING TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATION INTO THE PROPERTY LAW PARADIGM
Moderator: Drew Clark, Senior Writer, National Journal's Technology Daily
Richard A. Epstein, Professor, University of Chicago Law School
Michael Heller, Professor, Columbia University Law School
Eric Claeys, Professor, St. Louis University Law School

Panel Respondent:
Matt Brill, Senior Legal Advisor to FCC Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy

10:25 AM - 10:40 AM
Break

10:40 AM - 12:00 NOON
PANEL II: HOW ARE REGULATORY INCENTIVES AFFECTING COMPETITION AND INVESTMENT?
Moderator:
Tim W. Ferguson, Editor, Forbes Global
Thomas W. Hazlett, Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute for Policy Research
Henry E. Smith, Professor, Yale University Law School

Respondent:
Jay P. Lefkowitz, Former Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP

12:00 NOON - 12:30 PM
Reception

12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
Luncheon

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
Kathleen Q. Abernathy, Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission

[End excerpt of MI announcement.]

In fairness, the Manhattan Institute makes no pretense of fairness, balance, or impartiality (and, most notably, the basic science of electromagnetic spectrum) in its worldview of spectrum allocation policy. Nonetheless, it's remarkable that MI has not wavered on its "spectrum as property" stance, despite astonishing recent successes using license-exempt spectrum.

Steve Stroh

Copyright (c) 2004 by Steve Stroh (except for MI announcement text). This article originally appeared on Corante / Broadband Wireless Internet Access.