CASPER
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SkyFILES: The Changing Times
by Michael Hopkins
Whether it was talking shop on the sun-filled deck of the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, or conversing in the deep basement of the swanky hotel in this Colorado mountain town, one topic was on the mind of most attendees at this year's Aspen Summit presented by the Progress and Freedom Foundation.
And it wasn't the robe-wearing hotel guests scurrying past the various summit luncheons to the pool and hot tub.
Most attendees at the summit are certain that more regulation is coming for the communications and multiplatform industries. Yep, the times could be changing for these businesses and others in the near future.
But it could be more than a regime switch at the White House that ushers in a new regulatory reality. Some at the summit suggested that individual states could tackle some of the regulatory issues impacting the various media and telecom industries.
For example, what would stop a state government from addressing network management issues?
Regardless of what happens, those at the conference still lamented the amount of government intervention that's happening today. That may not come as a surprise, given that the summit crowd leans on the idea that market forces should dictate how companies compete in the multiplatform business.
One specific opinion on today's regulatory landscape: Meredith Attwell Baker, acting assistant secretary of Commerce and director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, voiced concern about recent movements to regulate network management, suggesting that a better approach should be voluntary, collaborative efforts led by the private sector.
In fact, most suggested that forming collaborate efforts among different stakeholders could be a way to keep regulators out of their crosshairs. Get content creators talking with broadband service providers about how to curb piracy. Other examples are the groups formed to address peer-to-peer file sharing on broadband networks.
Such partnerships may keep the regulator out of their day-to-day operations. Or it may not … and these businesses and others would have to contend with a new regulatory framework they haven't encountered for several years.
by Michael Hopkins
Whether it was talking shop on the sun-filled deck of the St. Regis Resort in Aspen, or conversing in the deep basement of the swanky hotel in this Colorado mountain town, one topic was on the mind of most attendees at this year's Aspen Summit presented by the Progress and Freedom Foundation.
And it wasn't the robe-wearing hotel guests scurrying past the various summit luncheons to the pool and hot tub.
Most attendees at the summit are certain that more regulation is coming for the communications and multiplatform industries. Yep, the times could be changing for these businesses and others in the near future.
But it could be more than a regime switch at the White House that ushers in a new regulatory reality. Some at the summit suggested that individual states could tackle some of the regulatory issues impacting the various media and telecom industries.
For example, what would stop a state government from addressing network management issues?
Regardless of what happens, those at the conference still lamented the amount of government intervention that's happening today. That may not come as a surprise, given that the summit crowd leans on the idea that market forces should dictate how companies compete in the multiplatform business.
One specific opinion on today's regulatory landscape: Meredith Attwell Baker, acting assistant secretary of Commerce and director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, voiced concern about recent movements to regulate network management, suggesting that a better approach should be voluntary, collaborative efforts led by the private sector.
In fact, most suggested that forming collaborate efforts among different stakeholders could be a way to keep regulators out of their crosshairs. Get content creators talking with broadband service providers about how to curb piracy. Other examples are the groups formed to address peer-to-peer file sharing on broadband networks.
Such partnerships may keep the regulator out of their day-to-day operations. Or it may not … and these businesses and others would have to contend with a new regulatory framework they haven't encountered for several years.