3.18.2004

Following the success of the Wireless Future conference at SXSW Interactive, David Deans has written a report about Austin's ambitious wireless sector. [Link]

posted by jon lebkowsky on 7:12 PM | ~permalink~

3.13.2004

Kevin Werbach has posted a link to his SXSW presentation here.

posted by jon lebkowsky on 10:45 AM | ~permalink~

3.6.2004

Just one more day to register for the Wireless Future Conference at http://www.wirelessfuture.org! Registration ends at midnight on Sunday, March 7. Complete program here.

Wireless Future explores the technical and policy landscape that will shape the wireless industry over the next 5-10 years, focusing on cellular wireless, WiFi, and emerging wireless technologies. It is the culmination of the extremely successful Wireless Future economic development project coordinated by IC² Institute at the University of Texas in Austin.

Programming covers spectrum policy and open spectrum, lessons learned from the history of cellular in the U.S., the future of wireless technology, community wireless, development for wireless devices, digital media, security, and grassroots innovation. Don't miss this important event! March 13-16, Austin Convention Center, Austin, Texas.

posted by jon lebkowsky on 11:27 AM | ~permalink~

3.4.2004

The latest issue of the Austin Chronicle features an article by Brad King on wireless in Austin, including a pointer to the Wireless Future Conference. [Link]

While the Music Festival partygoers will reap the benefits of free wireless access, the IC2 Institute's Wireless Futures presentations during the SXSW Interactive Conference will be focusing on how everyday people can harness the power of always-on connections to change the world in which they live. After all, innovation never stops, particularly when new technology is turned over to the masses.

"Smart mobs enable us to organize in a collective action," says Howard Rheingold, who will deliver his keynote address on Monday, March 15. "I want to zoom back and give people a bigger picture about technology. Not just about the industry, but the context of how technology changes society."

posted by jon lebkowsky on 10:06 AM | ~permalink~

3.2.2004

Kevin Werbach, who's delivering the opening presentation at the Wireless Future conference on March 13, has a paper in the March 2004 Texas Law Review. The paper, "Toward a Unified Theory of Wireless Communication", in which he considers how a supercommons approach might refocuse wireless regulation away from spectrum and toward the devices used for communication.

There is a vast new communications space emerging, whose full extent is unknown. Proposals based on spectrum as a physical asset denominated by frequencies artificially constrain mechanisms that exploit this "supercommons," producing inefficient outcomes. A better approach is to draw analogies to legal domains that do not presuppose ownership, such as tort. A universal communication privilege, allowing anyone to transmit anywhere, any time, in any way, should be the baseline rule for wireless communication. Liability backstops and safe harbor mechanisms can effectively prevent ruinous interference, while efficiently resolving boundary disputes.

posted by jon lebkowsky on 8:00 AM | ~permalink~