On December 16th, 2004, the Phoenix Center again held its annual U.S. Telecoms Symposium in Washington, D.C.

Right off the bat, delegates were treated to a remarkable ninety-minute unscripted lecture by Senator John Sununu (R-NH) on a wide range of issues, including VoIP, universal service and inter-carrier compensation.

After Senator Sununu’s speech, the conference began in earnest with the traditional “economists’ panel.  This year, this panel included Dr. Martin Perry, Chief Economist – Federal Communications Commission; Dr. Jerry Ellig, Senior Research Fellow – Mercatus Center; Dr. John W. Mayo, Professor of Economics – Georgetown University; and Dr. George Ford, Chief Economist – Phoenix Center.  As always, the panel was moderated by Honorary Phoenix Center Chief Economist Emeritus Jerry Duvall.

The second panel of the day, moderated by Phoenix Center Adjunct Fellow Dr. Kent Nilsson, examined policy implications and market realities of VoIP.  Panelists included Larry Irving, Internet Innovation Alliance; David G. Belanger, Chief Scientist – AT&T Labs; Rick Whitt, Senior Vice President for Law and Policy – MCI; and Russell Hanser, Special Counsel to the Chief, Competition Policy Division, Wireline Competition Bureau Federal Communications Commission.

The last panel of the day, moderated by Phoenix Center Resident Scholar Tom Koutsky, examined the thorny issue of inter-carrier compensation.  Panelists included Dorothy Attwood, Senior Vice President – SBC; Jason Oxman, General Counsel – ALTS; John Jones, Vice President for Federal Relations – CenturyTel; and the Hon Allen Freifeld, Commissioner – Maryland Public Service Commission.

The Symposium ended with the presentation of the Phoenix Center’s Annual Jerry B. Duvall Public Service Award to Congressman John Conyers (D-MI), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee.