Networks and Infrastructure

Wireless

Wireless networks allow users to access telecommunications and the Internet while on the move. The wireless devices operate on the electromagnetic spectrum, which is a finite resource. The allocation and assignment of spectrum, particularly given the burgeoning demand for wireless access to the Internet, poses a unique set of policy decisions for regulators worldwide.

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Research Articles

Title	Author	Year
Pipelines, Platforms, and the New Rules of Strategy Many businesses are “pipelines” that channel goods or services to consumers. Today, pipelines face competition from a new business model, the platform. Platforms provide opportunities for consumers and producers to interact, just as Uber connects drivers and passengers.	Geoffrey Parker, Marshall Van Alstyne, Sangeet Paul Choudary	2016
Reflecting on the 1996 Act The 1996 Telecommunications Act was intended to open communications markets to competition. Legislators did not foresee the role that the Internet and wireless service would play in increasing competition; instead, they emphasized the importance of local telephone networks.	Gregory L. Rosston, Bradley Wimmer	2016
Unlocking Spectrum Value through Improved Allocation, Assignment, and Adjudication of Spectrum Rights Future demand for wireless services will be hard to satisfy, as little unused spectrum remains. Wireless services must use spectrum more intensively. Reform is needed to facilitate intensive use, freeing wireless firms to negotiate deals with neighbors and resolve disputes.	Pierre de Vries, Philip J. Weiser	2014
The Wasteland: Anticommons, White Spaces, and the Fallacy of Spectrum This article analyzes the advantages of allowing public access to broadcast frequencies between commercial stations.	Kevin Werbach	2011
Using Spectrum Auctions to Enhance Competition in Wireless Services This paper looks at how regulators can support more competition between different wireless services.	Gregory L. Rosston, Peter Cramton, Evan Kwerel, Andrzej (Andy) Skrzypacz	2011
Dr. Generative or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the iPhone This paper reviews Jonathan Zittrain's 2008 book, The Future of the Internet -- And How to Stop It	James Grimmelmann, Paul Ohm	2010
An Antitrust Analysis of the Case for Wireless Network Neutrality This article asks whether wireless firms should be regulated to improve competition.	Gregory L. Rosston, Michael Topper	2009
Modular Confines of Mobile Networks: Are iPhones iPhony? This paper assesses a regulatory proposal for wireless phones.	Thomas Hazlett	2009
Winning Play in Spectrum Auctions This looks at why bidders pay different prices for similar rights in FCC auctions for rights to use wireless spectrum.	Jonathan Levin, Jeremy Bulow, Paul Milgrom	2009
Competition vs. Regulation in Mobile Telecommunications This paper discusses the benefits, detriments and effects of different regulation schemes on the mobile telecom sector.	Thomas Tangeras	2008

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TAP Academics

Kevin Werbach
University of Pennsylvania
Networks, the Internet, and Cloud Computing, Internet, Networks and Infrastructure, Broadband, Wireless, Net Neutrality

Tim Wu
Columbia University
Intellectual Property, Copyright and Trademark, Networks, the Internet, and Cloud Computing, Networks and Infrastructure, Wireless, Net Neutrality

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TAP Blog

Woodrow Hartzog Discusses How Contact-Tracing Apps Could Reshape Surveillance

In an op-ed article for the Los Angeles Times, Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law and Computer Science at Northeastern University, shares his insights into Google and Apple’s contact tracing project, and he discusses the “three concerns to keep in mind about relying on technology to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis.”

TAP Staff Blogger

May 26, 2020

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Upcoming Events

TPRC48: Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy

September 25, 2020, Washington, DC

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Fact Sheets

Wireless and Mobile Communications

Wireless or “mobile” devices send information one-to-one (like mobile phones), one-to-many (like AM or FM radio), or many-to-many (like Wi-Fi Internet access). Wireless devices send and receive signals along the electromagnetic spectrum in the form of waves similar to visible light or sound.

Quote

Contact Tracing – The Privacy Vs Urgency Dilemma for Governments in the Fight Against COVID-19

“Either you have a system unlikely to help people navigate their world, to leave their house and feel safe, or you have privacy trade-offs.”
— Ryan Calo, Professor of Law, University of Washington

M. Ryan Calo
South China Morning Post
June 4, 2020

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