[11740] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
April 21 talk on Internet Economics
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (James Love)
Sat Apr 16 09:20:48 1994
Date: Fri, 15 Apr 1994 22:25:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: James Love <love@essential.org>
To: Telecomreg <telecomreg@relay.adp.wisc.edu>
Cc: com-priv@psi.com
Understanding the Economics of the Internet
(for technofiles and technophobes)
The Telecommunications Policy Roundtable cordially invites you to a
question and answer session with Professor Hal Varian who will
discuss and answer questions about his recent paper: "Economic
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) About the Internet,"
(co-authored by Jeffrey K. Mackie-Mason).
Thursday, April 21, from Noon to 2 pm at the
Carnegie Institute
1530 P St. NW
Washington, DC
-----------------
Across the country the Internet is the most talked about new
information technology -- a here and now information superhighway,
not built upon pay-per-view or home shopping, but a space for
debates, discussion groups, information sharing, socializing,
networking, and organizing. The Clinton Administration and
Congressional efforts to shape a new telecommunications
infrastructure seem oddly disconnected from this very successful
model for a communications infrastructure. The Internet is also
undergoing profound changes as the federal government is undertaking
a privatization of many key Internet facilities, turning over many
of the strategic routing and backbone assets to telephone companies
such as Pac Bell, Ameritech, Sprint, MFS and MCI.
The workshop will allow congressional staff, press and members of
the public interest community to discuss a wide range of basic and
more advanced issues about what the Internet is, how it works, why
prices for Internet access vary so much by community, and whether
or not it will be possible to sustain the current internet pricing
mechanisms following the privatization of the Internet backbone and
routing services.
-----------------
Hal R. Varian is the Reuben Kempf Professor of
Economics and a Professor of Finance at the
University of Michigan. He has taught at MIT,
Berkeley, Stanford, Oxford, and several other
universities. He has served as Co-Editor of
the American Economic Review, and is currently
on the editorial boards of several journals.
Professor Varian is also the author of the
popular graduate textbook, Microeconomic
Analysis and the undergraduate textbook,
Intermediate Microeconomics.
Groups co-hosting the event include: Center for Civic
Networking, Center for Media Education, Center for Policy
Alternatives, Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility,
EPIC, Essential Information, Media Access Project, Office of
Communications - United Church of Christ, People for the American
Way, Taxpayer Assets Project, United Cerebral Palsy Associations.
If you have any questions or would like a copy of Prof. Varian's
paper contact Ned Daly (ndaly@essential.org) or Michael Ward
(mike@essential.org) at (202/387-8030.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
James Love, Taxpayer Assets Project; internet: love@essential.org
P.O. Box 19367, Washington, DC 20036; v. 202/387-8030; f. 202/234-5176
12 Church Road, Ardmore, PA 19003; v. 610/658-0880; f. 610/649-4066
please note change in area code for Ardmore......
