Author Archives: George Ford

What is the Effect of the Mobile Internet on the Economy?

Posted on by

What is the effect of the mobile Internet on the economy?  This question is an important one, and one that has drawn significant attention by researchers, policymakers, and even the President.  What makes answers to this question difficult to come by is that while the Internet may influence things like income, education, depression, and so forth, Internet use may in turn be influenced by income, education, depression, and so forth.  Establishing the causal direction of the relationship, and its magnitude, can be challenging. Due to the present economic woes, the effect of the Internet on job creation is an empirical Continue Reading »

Final Thoughts on CES: The Rise of the Network Agnostic Device…

Posted on by

While attending the Consumer Electronics Show last week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski observed in his speech to the assembled technology glitterati that “… virtually every new product on the CES floor is fueled by broadband Internet—by connectivity and bandwidth, wired and wireless.  If you shut off the Internet, virtually nothing on the CES floor would work.”  Certainly, the rapid innovation in edge devices is a wonderful thing.  But, such innovation may not be traveling alone.   That is, economic theory suggests this rapid increase in the number and sophistication of edge devices may be accompanied by an increase in the intensity Continue Reading »

Julius Genachowski’s Speech at CES Part 2…

Posted on by

Most industry experts and pundits agree that the U.S. needs more spectrum in the hands of commercial mobile broadband providers.  To this end, Congress should be commended for their efforts to pass legislation to give the Federal Communications Commission the authority to hold voluntary incentive auctions to help facilitate the transfer of prime spectrum from broadcasters to mobile broadband providers.  As noted yesterday in Larry’s post, however, last week at CES FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski blasted a bill currently working its way through the House Energy and Commerce Committee because the proposed legislation would eliminate the FCC’s ability to preclude Continue Reading »