America’s $480 Billion Spectrum Giveaway

Spectrum has become one of the most valuable natural resources of the Information Age. Unlike other comparably valuable natural resources such as land and oil, it is owned by the public and allocated exclusively by the federal government. Also, unlike those resources, it is invisible both literally and figuratively: the general public does not understand—and consequently does not care about—its allocation. This combination of huge amounts of money at stake and public ignorance creates the classic conditions for special interest politics.

J.H. Snider, Research Director of the New America Foundation’s Wireless Future Program, describes the causes and consequences of this special interest politics in his new report, The Art of Spectrum Lobbying: America’s $480 Billion Spectrum Giveaway, How it Happened, and How to Prevent it from Recurring. At this brownbag lunch forum, Dr. Snider will present the findings of his study. This will be followed by a discussion by a distinguished panel of experts on natural resources, good government, and spectrum policy. The report is timely, as the FCC is currently considering auction reform in the 700 MHz band and numerous “minor” modifications worth tens of billions of dollars in the broadcast and satellite bands.

Attachments

• MP3 Audio Recording of this Event

• The Art of Spectrum Lobbying: America’s $480 Billion Spectrum Giveaway, How it Happened, and How to Prevent it from Recurring
  Report by J.H. Snider, Wireless Future Program Research Director
• Speaker Bios

Location

New America Foundation

1630 Connecticut Ave, NW 7th Floor

Washington, DC, 20009

See map: Google Maps

Participants

• J.H. Snider
  Research Director, Wireless Future Program
  New America Foundation
• Bob Edgar
  President
  Common Cause
• Gary Bass
  Executive Director
  OMB Watch
• Drew Clark
  Manager, Telecommunications and Media Project
  Center for Public Integrity
• Michael Calabrese
  Director, Wireless Future Program
  New America Foundation

Click here for speaker bios.