Rob Frieden

Pioneers Chair and Professor of Telecommunications
The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania,
UNITED STATES

Biography

Robert M. Frieden holds the Pioneers Chair in Cable Telecommunications. In addition to his teaching and research, he provides corporate training, legal counsel and consulting services in such diverse fields as personal and mobile communications, facilities interconnection, satellites and privatization. He is a leading analyst in the field of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure and has authored many comprehensive works on international telecommunications, cable satellite television and communications law. He recently published Managing Internet-Driven Change in International Telecommunications. He also authored the International Telecommunications Handbook (Artech, 1996), a comprehensive book on the law and policy of international telecommunications. He is the co-author of The Cable and Satellite Television Industry (Allyn & Bacon, 1998) and contributed three chapters to a comprehensive treatise on communications law (West Publishing, 1999). Prior to joining Penn State, Frieden was Deputy Director, International Relations, Motorola Satellite Communications, Inc., where he managed the regulatory and international liaison efforts for Motorola's IRIDIUM low earth orbiting satellite project. He has held senior level policy making positions in government and worked in the private sector as an attorney. His portfolio included transactional, regulatory, corporate affairs, and liaison work for satellite, fiber optic, and microwave carriers; cable television systems; broadcasters; high volume telecommunications users; cellular radio carriers; teleport operators; information service providers; and equipment manufacturers. Mr. Frieden's government employment provided the opportunity to establish a close working rapport with the First Secretaries (Science and Technology) at the embassies of several nations, representatives to INTELSAT/INMARSAT, and key policy making players at the Federal Communications Commission, Department of State, U.S. Trade Representative, and foreign regulatory administrations. He prepared Congressional testimony and briefed senior Committee staff involved in foreign affairs and telecommunications issues. With a State Department counterpart, Frieden co-chaired a Working Group of the Senior Inter-Agency Group on Communications that reported to a cabinet-level committee at the White House. Frieden has served on several telecommunications and trade delegations and has authored numerous articles and papers that have appeared in law reviews, trade journals, and proceedings of major conferences. He is a frequently invited speaker to forums hosted by organizations such as the American Bar Association, the Annenberg-Washington Program, the International Telecommunication Union, the United Nations and the World Bank.

EDUCAUSE Publications

Internet 3.0: Identifying Problems and Solutions to the Network Neutrality Debate
- January 1, 2006
- Briefs, Case Studies, Papers, Reports
The paper identifies best practices in lawful discrimination that should satisfy most network neutrality goals without creating disincentives that might dissuade ISPs from building the infrastructure needed for Internet 3.