09
December 2015
Past Event
A Century of Spectrum Overregulation and the Quest to Liberate Wireless Technologies

A Century of Spectrum Overregulation and the Quest to Liberate Wireless Technologies

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
December 09, 2015
09
December 2015
Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Speakers:
Thomas W. Hazlett

Chair, Economics Department, and Director, Information Economy Project, Clemson University

harold_furchtgott_roth
Harold Furchtgott-Roth

Senior Fellow and Director, Center for the Economics of the Internet

With the FCC’s relentless drive to regulate new technologies, a look back at the history of the federal government’s spectrum regulation can shed light on how to encourage innovation and competition in the wireless industry.

On Wednesday, December 9th, Professor Thomas Hazlett discussed his forthcoming book, __The Political Spectrum: From Marconi to the iPhone, The Quest to Liberate Wireless Technologies of Freedom__, in which he offers a revealing account of regulators’ suppression of competition and innovation over the past century, debunks the popular myth that regulators rescued the airwaves from chaos, and argues that the wireless market’s full potential can only be unleashed through spectrum deregulation.

Thomas Hazlett holds the H.H. Macaulay Endowed Chair in Economics at Clemson University, where he also serves as Director of the Information Economy Project. Professor Hazlett previously served as Chief Economist of the Federal Communications Commission. Professor Hazlett’s widely published research focuses on regulation of telecommunications and the information sector. Professor Hazlett’s forthcoming book, __The Political Spectrum: From Marconi to the iPhone, The Quest to Liberate Wireless Technologies of Freedom__, will be published in the spring of 2016 by Yale University Press. Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth moderated the event.

Click here to view Dr. Hazlett's slides.

Related Events
16
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
CCP Committee Chairman John Moolenaar on the State of US-China Relations
Featured Speakers:
Congressman John Moolenaar
David Feith
Getty Images
16
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
CCP Committee Chairman John Moolenaar on the State of US-China Relations

Congressman John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, will join Hudson Senior Fellow David Feith to discuss how Washington should approach the US-China relationship in an era of rising geopolitical competition.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Congressman John Moolenaar
David Feith
16
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Can the US and Brazil find Common Ground?
Featured Speakers:
Márcio Coimbra
Eduardo Fayet
Mark Langevin
Anya Prusa
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
President Lula da Silva speaks at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on September 17, 2025. (Getty Images)
16
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Can the US and Brazil find Common Ground?

Join Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle and an expert panel as they assess whether current political dynamics could allow the Western Hemisphere’s two largest powers to forge a more constructive partnership, and what it would take to bridge their considerable differences.

President Lula da Silva speaks at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on September 17, 2025. (Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Márcio Coimbra
Eduardo Fayet
Mark Langevin
Anya Prusa
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
17
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
What Is North Korea’s Strategy?
Featured Speakers:
Dr. Glenn Chafetz
In-bum Chun
Bruce Klingner
Dr. Taerim Lee
Moderator:
Patrick M. Cronin
Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un after a meeting in Beijing on September 3, 2025. (Getty Images)
17
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
What Is North Korea’s Strategy?

What is driving North Korea’s closer cooperation with Russia and China, and how does Kim view cooperation among the CRINK states? What are Kim’s ultimate aims with his nuclear program? How has North Korea developed such vast cyber capabilities? Is North Korea preparing for war? And how should the US and its allies respond?

Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un after a meeting in Beijing on September 3, 2025. (Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Dr. Glenn Chafetz
In-bum Chun
Bruce Klingner
Dr. Taerim Lee
Moderator:
Patrick M. Cronin
03
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Congressman Rich McCormick on Securing American AI Leadership
Featured Speakers:
Congressman Rich McCormick
Jason Hsu
Representative Rich McCormick speaks during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on January 11, 2024. (Getty Images)
03
November 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Congressman Rich McCormick on Securing American AI Leadership

Senior Fellow Jason Hsu will host Congressman Rich McCormick (R-GA), a member of the House Armed Services Committee and Foreign Affairs Committee and a former member of the bipartisan Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, for a conversation on securing American AI leadership.

Representative Rich McCormick speaks during a House Committee on Foreign Affairs hearing on January 11, 2024. (Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Congressman Rich McCormick
Jason Hsu