The annual Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy (commonly referred to as TPRC based on its historical name Telecommunications Policy Research Conference) promotes interdisciplinary thinking on current and emerging issues in communications and the Internet by disseminating and discussing new research relevant to policy questions in the U.S. and around the world. It serves researchers, policymakers, and members of the private sector and civil society, from students to well-established practitioners.

Purpose and organization

The purpose of the conference is to acquaint those active in the policy-making field with the best of recent research and to familiarize researchers with the knowledge requirements of public policymakers and the various affected industries. The conference consists of panelists who present papers selected based on abstracts, as well as discussion panels and keynote speakers; the Program Committee of TPRC is responsible for the selection of all papers and presenters. The Conference is organized by TPRC, Inc., a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

incorporated in the

District of Columbia Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

. TPRC is governed by an international board of Directors, consisting of individuals from the academy, industry, government, and non-profit sectors. The conference program is organized by a Program Committee.

Topics

TPRC welcomes legal, economic, social, and technical research affecting every aspect of national and international policy on communications, information, and the Internet, including but not limited to: voice, video, and data communications using wireline and wireless networks; traditional

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

including radio and television broadcasting, cable- and satellite-delivered communication; the growth and evolution of the Internet ecosystem; technological convergence and its implications for statutes, regulations, and treaties; intellectual property; electronic commerce; privacy and cybersecurity; and the role of communications, information, and the Internet in economic development. The conference program includes papers, posters, panels, keynote speeches, a Student Paper Competition, the Graduate Student Consortium, and the Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Award.

Publication and archiving of papers

TPRC papers since 1997 have been archived at Social Science Research Network (SSRN), and can be found by searching there. Selected papers have been published from time to time in special issues of ''Telecommunications Policy'' and ''The Journal of Information Policy''.

Timeline for paper submission and selection

A call for papers is typically circulated in January of each year. Abstracts are due in March and authors chosen to present are notified in June. To encourage participation by young and emerging scholars, TPRC also holds an international student paper competition with cash and in-kind prizes for the top three papers as selected by the Program Committee. This competition is based on full papers, typically due at the end of April.

TPRC 2019 (47th Anniversary)

The 2019 conference took place September 20–21, 2019 at the

Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northw ...

, Washington, DC.

Board of directors

The Board has between twelve and 20 members. Fernando Laguarda is 2018-2019 chair. Past board chairs include * Carleen Maitland * Joe Waz * Johannes Bauer * John Horrigan * Harold Furchtgott-Roth * Mike Nelson * Ben Compaine

Program Committee Chairs

Current and former chairs of the Program Committee * 2018: Rob Alderfer,

CableLabs Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs) is a nonprofit corporation promoting innovation as a research and development lab founded in 1988 by American cable operators. System operators from around the world are eligible to be members. T ...

* 2017: Jon Gant,

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliati ...

* 2016: Janice Hauge,

University of North Texas The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public university, public research university located in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its main campus is in Denton, Texas, Denton, with a satellite campus in Frisco, Texas, Frisco. It serves as the ...

* 2015: Jane Bambauer,

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

* 2014: Carleen Maitland,

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

* 2013: Fernando Laguarda,

American University Washington College of Law The American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL or WCL) is the law school of American University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. It is located on the western side of Tenley Circle in the Tenleytown section of northw ...

* 2011-2012: Pierre de Vries,

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

and

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

* 2010: James B. Speta,

Northwestern University Law School The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. The law school is located on the univer ...

* 2009: Douglas Sicker, University of Colorado at Boulder * 2008:

L Jean Camp Linda Jean Camp is an American computer scientist whose research concerns information security, with a focus on human-centered design, autonomy, and safety. She has also made important contributions to risk communication, internet governance, and ...

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

* 2006-2007: Martha A Garcia-Murillo,

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

* 2005: John Horrigan, Pew Internet & American Life Project * 2003-2004: Robert Cannon,

FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains ju ...

History

TPRC was founded in 1972 by a group of regulators, governmental researchers and representatives of diverse academic communities who met at the first Telecommunications Policy Research Conference (subsequently renamed TPRC) organized by the Office of Telecommunications Policy in the White House. As communications policy has grown in importance to where the very term “telecommunications” is inadequate, the conference has evolved and expanded. TPRC saw the birth of the discourse on spectrum auctions. TPRC offered the first panel on the social and political implications of e-commerce in 1994. Conference topics have increasingly emphasized the interaction among disciplines, including network science and engineering, economics, law, and social sciences.

References

External links

*{{official, url=http://tprcweb.com/ Telecommunication conferences Telecommunications policy