Tech policy a major focus at CES
Though many who are attending this year's Computer Electronics Show will wander the aisles, sampling the plethora of tech gadgets displayed in booths on the show room floor, there is also a large focus on tech policy and the growing role the government plays in regulating it.
The government officials speaking at the show include Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowsk, Obama administration's Deputy Chief Technology Officer Andrew McLaughlin, and Anna Gomez, deputy assistant secretary at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
"The participation of tech policy leaders at the event highlights the growing connections between Silicon Valley and Washington," writes the Washington Post. "Stimulus funds for broadband, proposals for net neutrality, more wireless spectrum, investigations of competition in the wireless and video industries kept the two regions closely engaged over the past year."
“Policy issues are front and center this year at CES,” said Jason Oxman, senior vice president of the Consumer Electronics Association. “Broadband capabilities are in more devices than ever before. It will be hard to find a TV without broadband connectivity at the show and everything wireless connects to the Internet so broadband and spectrum policy issues are very important to the (consumer electronics) industry.”
Indeed, universal broadband and its policy implications have been a major theme of the show. In a panel titled, "Making Nationwide Deployment and Adoption of Broadband a Reality,” the panelists tried to outline what one should reasonably expect from a national broadband plan.
The FCC's Carlos Kirjner argued that we need universal broadband to enable the country to compete going forward and allow greater civic engagement, to cope with new applications, and to encourage the next generation of innovators.
Susan Crawford, a former White House adviser, said that there's a relationship between broadband access and job creation and we "need new spectrum to help" as well as making more efficient use of the spectrum we already have.
At a CES press conference, Aneesh Chopra and Gary Shapiro head of the Consumer Electronics Association, said that "more airwaves, or spectrum, should go to commercial wireless companies so consumers will be able to tap into the Web over a flood of new wireless devices, including tablet computers, home appliances and cars."
The two agreed that broadband Internet access for all Americans is a key to getting people to adopt more technologies and solve issues such as health-care information technology and smart energy.
“The building blocks of innovation are critical to economic success,” Chopra said.
But Shapiro and Chopra disagreed on the role of federal regulators and lawmakers in spurring what they both called the “innovation economy.”
“The government is often a barrier,” Shapiro said. “High taxes and regulatory bureaucracy is a barrier."
There are also several legislators speaking on panels as well. With many of today's computer electronics offering Internet connectivity -- from smart phones to even camera memory cards that upload photos directly to the web -- the government's approach to broadband and the wireless spectrum will become increasingly important in the years to come.