Current and former journalists defended their profession at a discussion about a report that news coverage of technology gradually has become more negative. Some panelists speculated one reason the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation study found increased negativity was greater sophistication about tech.

Current and former journalists defended their profession at a discussion about a report that news coverage of technology gradually has become more negative. Some panelists speculated one reason the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation study found increased negativity was greater sophistication about tech.

The FCC “and other stakeholders” should “work together to ensure the hasty deployment of [incentive auction] spectrum so that consumers and the entire economy can reap the benefits as quickly as possible,” said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Telecom Policy analyst Doug Brake in a statement Monday. “While the $19.63 billion bidding total might not be as eye-popping as some had imagined, this auction was a success and transferred a significant amount of spectrum to highly valued mobile broadband services.” To reap the benefits of the auction, broadcasters have to be repacked, and “the faster this repacking process takes place, clearing this fresh spectrum to be put into service, the sooner we see the true benefits of this historic auction,” Brake said.

“Broadband populists” seek to overregulate the internet through “a series of tactical skirmishes,” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Monday. Policymakers instead should embrace a private-sector model that’s working, ITIF said. “From net neutrality and zero rating to mergers, broadband populists are using each of these smaller debates as a way of inching toward their broader goal of establishing a heavily regulated utility system or even full-blown government ownership,” President Robert Atkinson, the report’s lead author, said in a news release. “This death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy distracts policymakers and the public from the real debate we should be having about the type of broadband industry we should have in this country: one where private companies compete to offer the best services using different technologies, or one that is heavily regulated and run by the government.”

“Broadband populists” seek to overregulate the internet through “a series of tactical skirmishes,” the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation reported Monday. Policymakers instead should embrace a private-sector model that’s working, ITIF said. “From net neutrality and zero rating to mergers, broadband populists are using each of these smaller debates as a way of inching toward their broader goal of establishing a heavily regulated utility system or even full-blown government ownership,” President Robert Atkinson, the report’s lead author, said in a news release. “This death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy distracts policymakers and the public from the real debate we should be having about the type of broadband industry we should have in this country: one where private companies compete to offer the best services using different technologies, or one that is heavily regulated and run by the government.”

More investment in "hybrid infrastructure" -- tying physical structures with technology such as water mains embedded with internet-connected sensors to detect leaks or smart traffic lights to create more efficient transportation -- is "likely to have bigger productivity payoffs than simply pouring more concrete or laying pipe," the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a Tuesday report. Written by Peter Singer, a policy adviser at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Washington office, the ITIF report said studies showed "investments in IT-enabled infrastructure can have 60 percent greater productivity impacts than investments in roads alone." The report said a smart infrastructure is one part of an "innovation infrastructure" that President-elect Donald Trump, who emphasized investing in physical infrastructure during his campaign, should adopt. That means expanding public and private R&D investments, advanced technology like exascale computing, scientific infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, it said.

More investment in "hybrid infrastructure" -- tying physical structures with technology such as water mains embedded with internet-connected sensors to detect leaks or smart traffic lights to create more efficient transportation -- is "likely to have bigger productivity payoffs than simply pouring more concrete or laying pipe," the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a Tuesday report. Written by Peter Singer, a policy adviser at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Washington office, the ITIF report said studies showed "investments in IT-enabled infrastructure can have 60 percent greater productivity impacts than investments in roads alone." The report said a smart infrastructure is one part of an "innovation infrastructure" that President-elect Donald Trump, who emphasized investing in physical infrastructure during his campaign, should adopt. That means expanding public and private R&D investments, advanced technology like exascale computing, scientific infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, it said.

More investment in "hybrid infrastructure" -- tying physical structures with technology such as water mains embedded with internet-connected sensors to detect leaks or smart traffic lights to create more efficient transportation -- is "likely to have bigger productivity payoffs than simply pouring more concrete or laying pipe," the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation said in a Tuesday report. Written by Peter Singer, a policy adviser at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Washington office, the ITIF report said studies showed "investments in IT-enabled infrastructure can have 60 percent greater productivity impacts than investments in roads alone." The report said a smart infrastructure is one part of an "innovation infrastructure" that President-elect Donald Trump, who emphasized investing in physical infrastructure during his campaign, should adopt. That means expanding public and private R&D investments, advanced technology like exascale computing, scientific infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, it said.

President-elect Donald Trump was sent advice from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation about how his administration can boost competitiveness, innovation and productivity in 2017. ITIF proposed 36 policies that can be achieved via executive authority and legislation in a 14-page open memo to Trump, the group said in a Wednesday news release. President Robert Atkinson said it means going beyond "outdated" economic theories and addressing "quarterly capitalism." He said it proposed "relatively easy, bipartisan steps" that Trump can take. For example, ITIF said Trump should create a digital infrastructure council of federal agency representatives to discuss how artificial intelligence, data analytics and the IoT can improve power grids, roads, water systems and other infrastructure. The group said that the Department of Agriculture's rural broadband support mechanisms should be updated and that access, permitting and leasing of federal land for fiber and wireless network buildouts should be streamlined.

President-elect Donald Trump was sent advice from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation about how his administration can boost competitiveness, innovation and productivity in 2017. ITIF proposed 36 policies that can be achieved via executive authority and legislation in a 14-page open memo to Trump, the group said in a Wednesday news release. President Robert Atkinson said it means going beyond "outdated" economic theories and addressing "quarterly capitalism." He said it proposed "relatively easy, bipartisan steps" that Trump can take. For example, ITIF said Trump should create a digital infrastructure council of federal agency representatives to discuss how artificial intelligence, data analytics and the IoT can improve power grids, roads, water systems and other infrastructure. The group said that the Department of Agriculture's rural broadband support mechanisms should be updated and that access, permitting and leasing of federal land for fiber and wireless network buildouts should be streamlined.