David Isenberg is again putting on his eclectic Freedom to Connect conference in Washington, D.C. next month, and if you’re interested or involved in the regulatory and political issues surrounding communications policy in this country, this is a “must attend” show. Some of my favorite bloggers have already written eloquent posts about the importance of this event, and I know I can’t say it better than Martin Geddes or Cynthia Brumfield.

Freedom to Connect is unique in that it’s not beholden to anyone’s commercial interest, and comes nearest to being the forum for discussing the public interest.

Telecom’s changing. Danish, Irish, French and Dutch regulators over here are getting out the sharp electric carving knife from on top of the cupboard to hack up more of their infrastructure. The developing world is abuzz with wireless connectivity. Spectrum restrictions that impose a small number of gatekeepers to the form of online speech are being loosened. New “Capitalism 2.0” means of network production are being created.

–Martin Geddes, Telepocalypse

Unlike most DC-based events, F2C aims not to lobby or position or spin or score political brownie points. It aims to illuminate and educate. This year’s line-up of speakers includes some big names who have fundamentally changed the way people think about communications, including the incomparable Bruce Sterling, among whose many achievements is the spawning of cyberpunk science fiction, and Yochai Benkler, whose “Wealth of Networks” is must-reading for anybody serious about understanding the communications industries.
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I just think that if folks really want to know where broadband policy is headed, they should start with F2C.

–Cynthia Brumfield, IP Democracy