NEWS FCC Bandwidth Forum: Announcement of Agenda Date: Thursday, January 23, 1997 Location: Commission Meeting Room Federal Communications Commission 1919 M Street NW, Washington, DC Time:Forum: 9:00 - 4:00 Demonstrations: 12:00 - 5:00 Bandwidth is both the enabler and the limiting factor of the Internet and other interactive services. Driven by skyrocketing demand, several technologies promise dramatically higher bandwidth to end users. More bandwidth will, in turn, facilitate new applications in areas such as education, health care, entertainment, and business. Underlying these developments are the technological shift toward packet switching, and the movement from regulated monopolies to unfettered competition in all communications markets. This forum will illuminate some of the emerging issues about new communications technologies in a world of digitization, competition, and deregulation. The opening of the local exchange market to competition may facilitate not only the entry of new providers of traditional voice services, but also the optimization of the telecommunications network for data technologies. By bringing together experts in the field, we hope to identify policy approaches that will unleash market forces to build the networks of the future. AGENDA 9:00 - 9:15 Introductory Remarks Reed Hundt, Chairman, FCC 9:15 - 9:45 The Bandwidth Bonanza -- Technology Overview and Demonstration Brief description of ISDN, cable modems, xDSL, wireless, satellite, and other technologies. Summary of current deployment, trends in usage, and potential applications. Demonstrations of new technologies. Stagg Newman, Bellcore 9:45 - 9:50 Break 9:50 - 11:20 Panel I: Competing Models for Higher Bandwidth How can industry overcome the limitations of current network access arrangements? Why are existing high-bandwidth technologies not more widely available to end users? Which technologies are most likely to succeed, and why? Les Vadasz, Intel John Curran, BBN Pat White, Bell Atlantic Doug Morgan, Winstar David Reed, CableLabs 11:20 - 12:50 Panel II: The Internet and the Public Switched Telephone Network How does the emerging packet-switching paradigm put pressure on the circuit network? What pricing structures and changes in regulation would best facilitate deployment of advanced technologies, and make the existing network more compatible with packet switching? How will local competition and the interconnection rights of new entrants affect data services and incentives for network investment? Lee Bauman, Pacific Telesis James Love, Consumer Project on Technology Matt Korn, America Online Mike Trest, ATMNet Keith Fox, Cisco 12:50 - 2:15 Lunch 2:15 - 3:45 Panel III: Affordable Access How should universal service funding mechanisms operate in the context of new packet-switched technologies? What are the challenges and opportunities in providing affordable access to higher bandwidth connections, especially for rural areas? What are the most effective policies and technologies for providing connectivity to schools, libraries, and rural health care facilities? Glee Harrah Cady, Netcom Peter Harter, Netscape Daniel Weitzner, Center for Democracy and Technology 3:45 - 4:00 Closing Remarks 12:00 - 5:00 Technology Demonstrations Room 845 Ongoing interactive demonstrations including: * ISDN/ xDSL (MFS UUNet) * Internet telephony gateways (Vocaltec) * Internet audio broadcasting (Progressive Networks) * Streaming video (VDONet) * Wireless Internet access (National Digital Network) Live audio coverage of the forum may be obtained for a fee from National Narrowcast Network's "Hearings-On-The-Line" at (202) 966-2211. Questions about obtaining video or audio tapes of the forum should be directed to the FCC's Audio-Visual Office at (202) 418-0460. - FCC -