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Broadband: What works around the world? Presentation: Taylor Reynolds, Communication Analyst and Economist, OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry Discussants: Eric Werner, Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, National Telecommunication and Information Administration and Dennis Weller, Chief Economist, Verizon.

Event Description:

Taylor Reynolds, an OECD economist working for the Committee for Information, Computer and Communications Policy (ICCP), will discuss the most recent OECD data on the current state of broadband in the United States and other developed countries of the world.  He will discuss how the United States compares with other countries with regard to such key factors as broadband penetration, coverage, prices and speeds, as well as share the OECD analysis of key international trends in broadband policy and market structure.

Mr. Reynolds also will discuss the OECD Ministerial Conference on “The Future of the Internet Economy” that will take place in Korea in June 2008.  The Ministerial will focus on the guiding principles for the Internet economy over the next decade, with an emphasis on innovation and growth.

Discussants Eric T. Werner and Dennis Weller will provide comments.

Biographies:

Taylor Reynolds works as a communication analyst and economist at the OECD. He analyzes trends in information and communication technologies, policy and market structure, with a particular focus on broadband. His recent research has focused on the growth of broadband worldwide, emerging wireless technologies and network neutrality. Before joining the OECD, Reynolds worked as a policy analyst for the International Telecommunication Union, as a consultant at the World Bank, and for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (United States). Reynolds holds B.A. degrees in Economics and Asian Studies from the University of Utah. In addition, he has a Ph.D. in Economics from American University in Washington, D.C.

Eric T. Werner is a Senior Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, providing general and strategic advice on policy matters affecting all sectors of the telecommunications industry with particular emphasis on broadband, public safety interoperability, cyber security, and continuity communications. Prior to his arrival at NTIA, Mr. Werner served as Acting Associate General Counsel for National Protection and Programs at the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  Mr. Werner also served as principal legal  counsel to the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) and the National Infrastructure Advisory Counsel (NIAC). Before joining DHS, Mr. Werner served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the Commerce Department’s Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office (CIAO) where, as liaison to the President’s Critical Infrastructure Protection Board (PCIPB), he contributed to the development of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace and the National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets. He received his B.S. from Miami University and his Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, where he also earned the Certificate from the Institute for Communications Law Studies.

Dennis Weller is Chief Economist of Verizon.  Mr. Weller did his graduate study in economics at Stanford University, and performed economic research at the Hoover Institution under grants from the U.S. Department of Justice.  Mr. Weller began his career in telecommunications at AT&T, where he developed the pricing strategy and new service offers with which AT&T responded to competition in long distance.  As Chief Economist of GTE, Mr. Weller proposed new approaches to universal service, and negotiated an industry agreement which cut access charges in the United States in half.   At Verizon, Mr. Weller is now focused on policies for next generation networks.