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.

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.

Organizer: Elizabeth Chernow, Comcast

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 focus on discussing key issues related to spectrum management that will be addressed during WRC-27. The growth of satellite communications, especially aeronautical and maritime satellite services, has increased competition for radio frequencies. Panelists will explain the main challenges and opportunities in spectrum management and regulation, offering insights useful for governments, industries, and international organizations attending WRC-27.

Key topics will include the allocation of spectrum for aeronautical and maritime satellite communications. Panelists will discuss how regulations can effectively support these expanding services while managing interference risks. Satellite gateways, satellite-to-satellite communications, and frequency management for mobile telecommunications and radiolocation services will also be addressed, highlighting practical solutions for spectrum sharing.

Another focus will be the regulation and management of spectrum related to space exploration and lunar missions. As more organizations engage in space missions, clear and practical policies are needed to ensure safe and cooperative use of the radio spectrum.

Protection of passive services such as radio astronomy and space weather monitoring will also be a priority. The panel will explore methods to safeguard these vital scientific activities from interference caused by increased satellite traffic.

The session will feature panelists representing diverse viewpoints, including government regulators, industry experts, technology developers, and international organizations. This variety ensures a balanced discussion on effective spectrum management, providing attendees with practical knowledge for navigating the upcoming regulatory environment of WRC-27.

Overall, the panel aims to clearly explain important spectrum management issues and propose practical solutions for a balanced and effective regulatory framework suitable for current and future challenges.

Organizer: Dominique Lazanski, University of Pittsburgh

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

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

A panel of leading experts in telecommunications, policy, and economics will explore the post-reconciliation spectrum landscape. The spectrum provisions in the Senate version of the reconciliation bill will significantly reshaped U.S. spectrum policy by restoring the FCC’s auction authority through 2034 and mandating the identification and auction of 800 MHz of mid-band spectrum z. Notably, the bill removed previous exclusions on key bands such as 6 GHz, opening the door for potential reallocation and study for exclusive mobile use. The panel will discuss how these changes are expected to accelerate spectrum availability for 5G and future technologies, create new dynamics between federal and commercial users, and introduce fresh challenges in relocation policy, auction timelines, and interagency coordination. The discussion will also examine the potential relocation costs, the role of the Spectrum Relocation Find, and the complex challenge of weighing those costs against considerations of national security—a factor that defies easy valuation but remains central to policymaking. With billions in auction revenue projected and increased pressure to support next-generation connectivity, this conversation will come at a critical moment for spectrum policy and wireless innovation in the U.S.

Organizer: Paroma Sanyal, The Brattle Group

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