‘Will the FCC or the Justice Department Be Tougher on the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger?’ Find Out this Tuesday, May 17th, 2011 at the Broadband Breakfast Club

WASHINGTON, Friday May 13th, 2011 – The internet and intellectual property policy news and events service

will hold its May 2011 Broadband Breakfast Club event, “Will the FCC or the Department of Justice be Tougher on the AT&T/T-Mobile Merger” this Tuesday, May 17^th, 2011, from 8 am – 10 am, at Clyde’s of Gallery Place, 707 7th St. NW, Washington, DC 20001.

Registration can be found at:

AT&T came to an agreement in March to purchase wireless competitor T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom for $39B.  If the deal goes through, AT&T would become the largest wireless carrier in the nation and three carriers would control more than 80 percent of the market.  How will the FCC and Dept. of Justice view the acquisition?  If approved, how would competition in the wireless marketplace change for consumers and competitors?  What are the potential benefits of the transaction and how are the sides stacking up?  Find out more – Join the Conversation!

Telecommunications advocates, policy-makers, journalists, top officials and the general public, all seeking to trade insights on these important issues, are invited to attend this event of the Broadband Breakfast Club, which includes full American and Continental breakfasts, for as little as $45.00, plus a modest online registration fee.

This event is on the record and open to the public.

Panelists for the event include:

Caressa D. Bennet, General Counsel, Rural Telecommunications Group

Ms. Bennet is General Counsel to the Rural Telecommunications Group, Inc. (RTG). RTG is a trade association representing rural wireless carriers who each serve less than 100,000 subscribers. RTG’s members have joined together to speed delivery of new, efficient, and innovative telecommunications technologies to the populations of remote and underserved sections of the country. RTG’s members provide wireless telecommunications services, such as cellular telephone service and Personal Communications Services, among others, to their subscribers. RTG’s members are small businesses serving or seeking to serve secondary, tertiary and rural markets. Our membership is comprised of both independent wireless carriers and wireless carriers that are affiliated with rural telephone companies.  Ms. Bennet’s experience spans all aspects of communications law and policy.  Carri has provided expert testimony to the FCC on rural wireless issues and speaks regularly at industry trade shows and legal seminars.

Ernesto Falcon, Director of Government Affairs, Public Knowledge

Ernesto Falcon came to PK from the office of Rep. Bart Stupak (D-MI), where he worked for three years as the senior legislative assistant dealing with issues related to the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.  Ernesto previously worked on Capitol Hill for Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) for three years as a technology manager and legislative assistant.  He originally came to Washington D.C. on an internship with Congressman George Miller (D-CA) in early 2004 shortly after graduating from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo with a degree in Political Science.

Debbie Goldman, Telecommunications Policy Director & Research Economist, Communications Workers of America

At CWA Debbie Goldman is responsible for regulatory affairs and telecommunications policy. She currently coordinates the union’s Speed Matters campaign promoting affordable high-speed Internet for America. CWA is the union representing 700,000 workers in communications, media, airlines, manufacturing, and public service. Ms. Goldman has advocated before the Federal Communications Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, state regulatory commissions, and the U.S. Congress on a broad range of communications policy issues, including broadband policy, media ownership, universal service, and mergers and acquisitions.Ms. Goldman holds Masters degrees in History (University of Maryland), Public Policy (University of Maryland) and Education (Stanford University).  She earned her B.A. Magna Cum Laude from Radcliffe College (Harvard University) in 1973, majoring in History.

Justin Hurwitz, Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, George Mason University

Justin (Gus) Hurwitz is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Law at George Mason University and will be a Research Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Law School Center for Technology, Innovation, and Competition starting this summer. He has previously worked at the Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Telecommunications and Media Enforcement Section, where he helped investigate merger and non-merger activities in the telecommunications sector, and has been a researcher at Los Alamos National Lab, where he worked on telecommunications and supercomputing projects that have been recognized by the Federal Laboratory Consortium, R&D Magazine, Los Alamos National Lab, and the IEEE and ACM, amongst others. He received his J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School and is receiving his M.A. in Economics from George Mason University this spring.

Alan Pearce, Ph.D., President, Information Age Economics

Dr. Alan Pearce founded IAE I 1979 following a senior-level policy career in the US Government from 1971-79.  He was one of the prime architects of public policy at the FCC in the 1970s where he served as Chief Economist for five years.  He then served in similar capacities for the US Congress (where he was Chief Economist of the House Telecommunications & Internet Subcommittee), and then in the Executive Office of the President. Since leaving the government, Pearce has provided professional and research services to every branch of the T-I-E industry, and also consulted for a wide variety of governments at the international, federal, state, and local levels. Dr. Pearce is a prolific researcher, author, and lecturer, and currently serves on the part-time faculty at the McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University, in Washington, DC.  He holds bachelor and master degrees from The London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of London, and a doctorate in business and telecommunications from Indiana University.

The event will be moderated by Jonathan Charnitski, Managing Editor, BroadbandBreakfast.com. Jonathan began his career as a journalist before turning his focus to law and policy. He is an attorney in Texas and the District of Columbia and has worked previously as a political reporter, in political campaign communications and on Capitol Hill. He holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Washington and a J.D. from Villanova Law School, where he focused his studies on Internet and intellectual property law and policy.

is sponsored by ICF International, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) and U.S. Telecom. The Broadband Breakfast Club meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Registration for the May event can be found at

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