Across the spectrum
: Lawrence Lessig announces a conference on the future of spectrum governance:
More on the conference here.:If that sounds boring, then you really need to pay a bit more attention to the next extraordinarily important policy issue affecting innovation and growth. There is about to be a very significant shift in how spectrum is managed. One school says it should be propertized; another says it should be treated as a commons. Read: auctions vs. WiFi; or more auctions vs. mesh networks.
He’s right: This is incredibly important. And it will be fun to watch the torn self-interest of Repblicans. Big biz boys will want to own and profit from spectrum (read: networks, Microsoft, railroads, telcos and other giants of the past). Believers in the power of the open market, on the other hand, will favor a free commons with everyone profiting (see the Wild West, gold rushes, Linux, the Internet, and other ungoverned wealth machines). Big biz boys who say they believe in the power of the unfettered marketplace will be acting quite schizo.
