ITS 5019 - Information and Telecommunications Policy I

Study of regulatory systems and policy issues with a focus on U.S. markets. Topics covered include the institutions associated with government oversight of markets and policy making; basic policy development at state and federal levels; service quality; universal connectivity; interconnection issues; and spectrum management.

Requisites:
Credit Hours: 4
Repeat/Retake Information: May not be retaken.
Lecture/Lab Hours: 4.0 lecture
Grades: Eligible Grades: A-F,WP,WF,WN,FN,AU,I
Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to describe and evaluate the practices and history of U.S. telecommunications regulation and policy making.
Students will be able to describe and evaluate the legal foundations of regulation and policy as identified in the U.S. Constitution, Federal Communications Commission Orders, and in U.S. case law.
Students will be able to describe the economic underpinnings of the motivation for regulation in telecommunication and information technology markets.
Students will be able to describe the motivations for regulating companies that control “bottleneck inputs” and proposed solutions to the economic problems presented by the characteristics of broadband market
Students will be able to describe the motivations for public telecommunications resource management, and solutions to the economic problems presented by public resource management.
Students will be able to describe economic and policy issues associated with network interconnection, and how interconnection differs in the Public Switched Telecommunications Network and Internet.
Students will be able to describe and evaluate theories of how policy makers perform their responsibilities.
Students will be able to describe and analyze policy debates in the United States that exemplify a broad range of historical and contemporary concerns associated with telecommunication and information technol
Students will be able to advocate for policy choices, from the perspective of various industry actors, and/or policy makers, using the knowledge and skills gained in this course.