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This April, many Summit
panels will be talking
about the impact of
these new technologies
and legal developments.
But there are several
extra-special deep
dives into the legal
issues themselves, in
combination with the
technical trends. At the Summit, the legal eagles
and hawks, including former FCC regulator (and
current Broadband Communities writer) Carl
Kandutsch, Sean Stokes and Casey Lide of Baller
Herbst, and half-dozen others from the MDU and
vendor communities will discuss such issues as:
• The current state of the union as it relates
to OTT. Are we seeing an appreciable
increase in cord cutting as Netfix, Hulu+
and others generate original content to
accompany their libraries of reruns?
• Netfix and Google alone account for
half of all Internet trafc. At the moment,
the FCC is mulling how it might meet court
objections to its attempt to regulate net
neutrality. How will carriers use their new
legal powers, and what does it mean to
MDU owners and managers, and to end-user
customers? How will it afect the business
case for ultra-broadband?
• Aereo – the law has always allowed
consumers to place an antenna for good
reception of over-the-air TV signals.
Lower courts have ruled that the consumer's
antenna can be a postage-stamp-sized
device at the far end of a broadband
connection. Aereo's case now goes to the
Supreme Court. What does that mean for
network builders and MDU managers?
A NEW CROP OF
LEGAL ISSUES
It's been almost 20 years since the last comprehensive
telecommunications act was signed into law. That's left the
FCC, the courts, and state regulators somewhat like cats battling
a ball of yarn. Since the last Summit, we've seen net neutrality
fall, consumers favoring over-the-top video through plain
vanilla Internet connections, and a devilishly clever assault
on over-the-air broadcasting by Aereo.
Don't miss
these special
legal sessions
by the top
pros!
Free, 3-Hour Workshop – Key Legal and
Regulatory Issues Afecting Community
Broadband Projects. Drawing on their
experience with dozens of community
broadband projects, lawyers Sean Stokes
and Casey Lide will share their insights on
how community leaders can navigate the key
legal issues as productively, painlessly, and
inexpensively as possible.
Topics include state restrictions on community
broadband initiatives; developing the best
business models; acquiring pole attachments
and other infrastructure issues; complying
with applicable federal, state, and local
requirements; taking advantage of universal
service and other incentive programs;
acquiring video programming and other
content; reaching customers in multiple-
dwelling and multi-tenant environments;
countering predatory or discriminatory
actions by incumbents; and much more.
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