TPRC53 Panel Sessions

*Panel descriptions and speakers will be added as they are received.

Friday, September 19, 2025 2:05pm

Washington College of Law, Washington DC

Finding Win-Win Paths to Unlocking Federal Spectrum

The growth in demand for mobile broadband has accentuated the need to reallocate more spectrum to this service at a time when the FCC’s auction authority has lapsed and the spectrum pipeline is dry. After years of stalemate, federal spectrum users seem more open to exploring ways they can use spectrum more efficiently and reallocate it to or share it with commercial users. The time seems ripe to for a conversation about new strategies with an eye toward finding approaches that create benefits for every key stakeholder group.

Panelists:
Arielle Roth, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
Umair Javed, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, CTIA

Organizers: Christopher Yoo, University of Pennsylvania and Gus Hurwitz, University of Pennsylvania

Competition Policy: What’s Next After the Neo-Brandeisian Movement?

The Trump Administration is widely expected to pivot away from the Biden Administration’s neo-Brandeisian approach to antitrust policy and enforcement. This panel will explore what comes next. Antitrust policy and enforcement in the first Trump Administration focused on deregulation, but notably featured populist skepticism toward some industries, particularly in media and technology. Panelists will discuss perspectives of the current Trump Administration and offer insight into how the Administration will approach antitrust in general, as well as whether media and technology sectors are likely to benefit from a deregulatory approach or find themselves in the antitrust authorities’ crosshairs.

Panelists:
Kelse Moen, Deputy Director, Bureau of Competition, U.S. Federal Trade Commission
Aurelien Portuese, Research Professor & Founding Director of the GW Competition & Innovation Lab, GW Institute of Public Policy, The George Washington University
David Lawrence, Policy Director, Antitrust Division, U.S. Department of Justice
Joseph Coniglio, Director, Schumpeter Project on Competition Policy, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation
Elizabeth Chernow, Associate Vice President, Public Policy, Comcast (moderator)

Saturday, September 20, 2025 12:45pm

"Talking about the 2025 Policy Research Agenda" 

A luncheon panel moderated by Sharon Strover, University of Texas at Austin with Eli Noam, Columbia University and Pat Aufderheide, American University to discuss the research agenda.

Saturday, September 20, 2025 3:45pm

The Regulatory Challenge of Artificial Intelligence

The character of generative AI technologies present unique challenges to traditional regulatory paradigms. The panel participants have been conducting research in this field and will report briefly on their recent findings to provoke discussion among the panel members and audience.

Topics include: The intersection of intellectual property rights with AI; the framing of AI Ethics in terms of their social, economic and political contexts, the regulatory ramification of the potential existential risk of AI systems, current regulatory models in the U.S. and Europe and a view of AI as distributed computing.

Organizers:
Russ Neuman, New York University
Christopher Yoo, University of Pennsylvania
Christos Makridis, Stanford University
Chloé Bakalar, Meta
Milton L. Mueller, Georgia Institute of Technology

Shaping Global Connectivity: Preparing for WRC-27

This panel will explore key spectrum management issues in the lead-up to the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference. With the rapid expansion of satellite communications—particularly in aeronautical, maritime, and space-based services—competition for radio frequencies is intensifying. Panelists will address challenges and opportunities in spectrum regulation, including spectrum allocation for mobile telecommunications, radiolocation services, satellite-to-satellite links, and satellite gateways. Emphasis will be placed on practical strategies to manage interference and ensure efficient, equitable spectrum use.

In addition, the panel will examine regulatory needs for emerging space activities, such as lunar missions and space exploration, where clearer international policies are urgently required. The protection of passive services like radio astronomy and space weather monitoring will also be discussed, along with approaches to shield them from harmful interference. Featuring diverse perspectives from government, industry, and international bodies, the session will offer attendees grounded insights and practical solutions for shaping an effective and forward-looking spectrum framework ahead of WRC-27.

Panelists:
Dominique Lazanski, University of Pittsburgh, panel organizer and moderator
Dr. Martin Weiss, Director for FutureG Applied Research, and Technical Lead for Resilient and Open Commercial Solutions U.S. Department of Defense (OUSD R&E)
Nicholas Degani, Chief Strategist, Digital Policy Institute, former Ajit Pai advisor, FCC
Colby Harper, Founder, Pathfinder Wireless and 6G Working Group
Matt Pearl, Director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)

Electoral Implications of Broadband and Universal Service in Rural America

This panel will explore the intersection of broadband, Universal Service (USF), and voting patterns in rural America, analyzing both the policy and electoral implications of these key issues. It will cover the quantitative and qualitative aspects of rural broadband deployment, focusing on the role of digital technologies in transforming rural communities and empowering people through access to high-speed internet.

Organizer: Roslyn Layton, Aalborg University

Panelist:
Joel Thayer, Digital Progress Institute

Saturday, September 20, 2025 4:45pm

Governing Generative AI

As generative AI pervades and disrupts, policy scholars should assess the need for new law/regulation. This interdisciplinary panel will explore policy responses to generative AI. Panel members will identify reasons for governance and address whether existing legal/regulatory frameworks are applicable to challenges posed by these disruptive technologies. Technological, social, and market-level approaches to shaping responsible/trustworthy AI governance will be considered, as will modes of governance for different layers of the AI stack (e.g. training data, model/application marketplace, implementation, and user interface). 

Panelists:
Erik Bohlin, Western University/Chalmers University of Technology
Paul T. Jaeger, University of Maryland
Nicol Turner Lee, The Brookings Institution
Madelyn Sanfilippo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Organizers:
Jonathan Obar, York University
Madelyn Sanfilippo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Christoph Lutz, BI Norwegian Business School
Johannes Bauer, Michigan State University

Spectrum Auctions, Scoring and Auction Design

Amid renewed momentum in U.S. spectrum policy, this panel of leading experts in telecommunications, policy, and economics will assess the evolving post-reauthorization spectrum landscape. Recent legislation has reinstated the FCC’s spectrum auction authority through 2034 and directed the identification and auction of at least 800 MHz of mid-band spectrum. Notably, previously restricted bands—such as 6 GHz—are now being actively studied for potential exclusive licensed use, marking a significant shift in policy.

These developments are poised to reshape the future of wireless innovation by accelerating spectrum availability for 5G and emerging technologies. At the same time, they introduce complex new considerations around interagency coordination, federal spectrum reallocation, and national security tradeoffs. The panel will explore how auction design, scoring models, and timelines may need to evolve in light of these pressures, particularly as commercial interest intensifies and federal incumbents face increasing displacement.

The discussion will also address critical questions around the Spectrum Relocation Fund, cost estimation methodologies, and how policymakers should balance relocation incentives with broader national objectives. With billions of dollars in auction revenue at stake and heightened demand for next-generation connectivity, this conversation comes at a pivotal juncture for U.S. spectrum strategy.

Organizer: Paroma Sanyal, The Brattle Group

Panelists:
Coleman Bazelon, Principal, The Brattle Group
Giulia McHenry, Senior VP of Public Policy, AT&T
Matt Pearl, Of Counsel, Jenner & Block

The Enduring Need for Connection: Building and Sustaining the Human Infrastructure of Broadband

This panel will introduce the concept of the human infrastructure of broadband (HIB) and examine its critical relationship to physical broadband infrastructure. Panelists will highlight why HIB is essential for maximizing return on investment (ROI) from the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program and explore strategies for sustaining it beyond infusions of federal funding. The panel aims to catalyze a growing body of research that characterizes the impacts of HIB, complementing existing studies on physical infrastructure investment.

Dr. Revati Prasad (Moderator), Executive Director, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Dr. Caroline Stratton, Research Director, Benton Institute for Broadband & Society
Dr. Kira Allmann, Chief Policy Analyst, Joint Commission on Technology and Science, Commonwealth of Virginia
Dr. Roberto Gallardo, Director, Purdue Center for Regional Development and Associate Professor, Agricultural Economics, Purdue University
Ariane Schaffer, Head of US Federal & State Policy, Google Fiber