TPRC53: Shaping Policy in the Age of Space and AI

The 53rd Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (TPRC53) set a new milestone this year, welcoming over 300 attendees, 39 sponsors, and 90 papers, including four student paper winners. Panels, posters, and the half-day student workshop—hosted for the sixth year at American University Washington College of Law—brought together thought leaders and rising scholars. The conference also recognized the long-standing service board members Robin Mansell and Alan Inouye and welcomed newly elected board members Lara Marion, Amazon and Marcela Gomez and Martin Weiss, both at the University of Pittsburgh.

Laying the Groundwork for AI

Jase Wilson of Ready.net opened the conference with a breakfast talk, “America’s Fragile Infrastructure in the Age of AI,” emphasizing that AI depends on a foundation of secure, reliable physical infrastructure. The conference explored AI across multiple paper sessions covering privacy, copyright, production, maps, censorship, automation, and transportation, with case studies from South Korea, Japan, China, and African nations. Two dedicated panels addressed AI governance and regulation, reflecting TPRC’s role as a hub for critical, forward-looking policy discussions.

Space

FCC Space Bureau Chief Jay Schwarz, a TPRC board member, delivered a keynote on the emerging “space industrial revolution,” Schwarz urged a shift away from a command-and-control regulatory to policy that facilitates innovation. He made a call to action to the TPRC community for more space research. His address highlights a strategic contest underway among competing actors to establish space governance including but not limited to NASA, the Space Force, private companies, and other nations state actors like China seeking supremacy. At least a dozen papers explored space and satellite topics with sessions on low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, 6G, Starlink, emergencies, sovereignty, connectivity, and spectrum management.

Spectrum

As always, spectrum animates TPRC sessions, with discussions on 6G, the 6 GHz band, sharing, Wi-Fi management, competition, and auction design. Papers on  spectrum competition and the panel on what’s next after neo-Brandeisian competition policy were well attended. A fireside chat with NTIA Administrator Arielle Roth provided a vivid analogy of spectrum allocation: “It’s like seating six children in a minivan—everyone should get a set and enjoy a safe, comfortable ride.” Roth’s remarks were complemented by a panel Finding Win Win Paths to Unlocking Federal Spectrum featuringleaders from CTIA, the House Energy & Commerce Committee, and, for the first time, a Department of War official in the research & engineering function who offering candid insights on defense-related spectrum priorities. Christopher Yoo, Professor of Law, Communication, and Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania Law School expertly moderated the luncheon sessions.

Broadband

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin, an AU alumna and the first woman to lead the organization in 160 years, underscored the global imperative of closing the digital divide. She noted that one-third (2.6 billion people) of the world remains offline and that the estimated cost to connect and close the remaining digital divide is USD $2.8 trillion. A related panel explored the upcoming 2027 World Radio Conference (WRC-27). Many TRPC panels and papers examined broadband including the interplay of technologies, ACP, BEAD, game theory, international policy comparisons, and case studies from remote regions. The Universal Service Fund reform panel featuring two former Senate staffers, a digital inclusion leader, and a rural broadband provider from Kansas reviewed the history and status of the issue in Congress and the fund’s importance to rural America, low-income persons, and anchor institutions, facilitating internet access in some way for one-third of America’s population.

Expert Reflections

In a conversation on the 2025 Policy Research Agenda, Eli Noam, Columbia University media theorist and founder of the Columbia Institute for Tele-Information, reflected on TPRC’s evolution with Pat Aufderheide of AU’s Center for Media and Social Impact. Noam traced TPRC’s roots to the Nixon Administration’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, noting that while Congress once regularly sought TPRC expertise, the growth of corporate, independent, and partisan voices has reduced academic influence. Lee McKnight, Syracuse University, offered a counterpoint, sharing examples of congressional staff actively seeking academic input, especially from students conducting hands-on research. Internet pioneer David Clark reviewed the state of the art in internet measurement—once the domain of technical experts—is now accessible through modern tools like CAIDA’s Ark, enabling users, researchers, and policymakers to assess performance, security, and reliability, foster collaboration, and make better-informed decisions. He invited the community to participate in the project. 

TPRC 2025 confirmed its relevance as a forum at the intersection of AI, space, spectrum, security, and broadband policy, highlighting the ongoing challenge of translating research into actionable policy while inspiring the next generation of academic and policy experts.

Get Involved

TPRC is an exciting, growing community, and there are many ways to get involved. Attend the annual conference. Submit a paper, panel, or poster. Become a sponsor (packages start at $500). Review the conference archives (going back to 1972).

For more coverage of TPRC53, see Broadband Breakfast.

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