| Daniel Fryxell,
Broadband Local Access Networks: An economic and public policy analysis
of cable modems and ADSL
Committee: Alex Hills (EPP/SCS), Steve Lanning (Aerie Networks), Jon Peha
(EPP/ECE), and Marvin Sirbu - chair (EPP/ECE/IA)
This
thesis analyzes the economics and policy dimensions of providing broadband
access networks for households and small businesses using asymmetrical
digital subscriber line (ADSL) and cable modem technology. Results show
that cable is a more cost-effective solution than ADSL both for the hybrid
and integrated architectures and its advantage extends across all density
zones. Sensitivity analysis showed this finding to be robust across a
wide range of assumptions.
Co-location of DSLAMs at Central Offices
and the use of unbundled loops leased from the incumbent can be the basis
for competitive choice to consumers in broadband access. However, for
ADSL networks with remote terminals in the loop, an analysis of unbundling
opportunities showed that the best competitive model to involve leasing
the entire access link from the incumbent on a wholesale basis. This competitive
model is the only viable alternative for cable networks.
Since competition is not easily created
at the infrastructure level, a truly open-access infrastructure is required
in order to promote a competitive service environment. With respect to
USF, the evolution of the local access infrastructure to integrated broadband
architectures and the eligibility of broadband Internet access for universal
service subsidies will preserve and even magnify the flow of subsidies
from urban states to rural states. Cable companies should be elected for
subsidies or at least the amount of the subsidies should be determined
based on the cost of cable architectures. This may lead to a dramatic
reduction in the percentage of the USF subsidies flowing to rural ILECs.
Work supported by Program Praxis XXI administered by Fundacao para a Ciencia
e a Tecnologia, Portugal under contract Praxis XXI/BD/9390/96.
Murrin Macey
Shares Expertise
Denise
Murrin Macey, Business Manager in EPP for the past sixteen years, is sharing
her knowledge and practical experience with new academic managers. With
Donna Marano, Director of Finance and Administration in Carnegie Mellon’s
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, she has been co-teaching
the Fundamentals of Research Administration class at many meetings conducted
by the Society of Research Administrators, including the annual meeting.
She has also presented a session on Ethics for the Research Administrator.
Denise is a member of the advisory board for Carnegie Mellon’s Research
Administrators Council and has taught the fundamentals class through the
Council. Last year she attended a series of presentations that qualified
her to take both the Carnegie Mellon Internal Research Administrators
“University Research Administrator” exam and the “National
Research Administrator” exam. She passed both exams and is in the
first class of seven people at Carnegie Mellon to be certified in research
administration. As such, she joins the ranks of only 350 national certified
research administrators. |
|
Henry Willis,
Ecological Risk Perception and Ranking: Toward a method for improving
public participation in environmental decision making
Committee: Michael Dekay - chair (Heinz/EPP), Baruch Fischhoff (SDS/EPP),
Granger Morgan (EPP/ECE/Heinz), and Louis Pitelka (Univ. of Maryland)
This
dissertation reports a series of studies on lay perceptions of environmental
hazards that were motivated by the goal of developing a procedure for
risk ranking. The thesis is in three parts. Part 1 reports results from
two psychometric studies of environmental risk perceptions. Factors from
traditional aggregate-level analysis were found to do a relatively good
job of explaining individuals’ ecological riskiness judgments. Part
2 reports results of psychometric studies involving four groups commonly
holding different views on environmental regulatory issues: the general
public, environmentalists, government, and industry. Relative to the other
three groups, the general public appears to place less weight on ecological
impacts and more weight on aesthetic impacts and scientific understanding.
Finally, Part 3 reports the results of three risk ranking sessions conducted
with participants from the general public. The results provide evidence
that the proposed ranking method is a useful tool for informing decision
makers about the public’s concerns regarding environmental and public
health hazards.
Results from Parts 1 and 2 provide
a strong basis for choosing a comprehensive set of attributes for describing
environmental hazards. Part 2 shows that although members of different
stakeholder groups perceive environmental hazards very similarly, they
may relate the characteristics of hazards to riskiness judgments in slightly
different ways. Finally, Part 3 demonstrates how using this attribute
selection approach as part of a comprehensive risk-ranking method leads
to valid hazard rankings that can be used to advise risk-management decision
making. Work supported by the National Science Foundation grant SES-9975200
and the Environmental Protection Agency grant R8279200-1-0.
SOME POLICY RELEVANT WEB
SITES:
The
American Geophysical Union maintains a web site on “science and society”
at http://www.agu.org/sci_soc/
sci_soc.html.
Information on the public affairs
activities of the American Physical Society can be found at http://www.aps.org/
public_affairs/.
The web site of the Environmental
Change Institute at Oxford University can be found at http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/.
A web site designed to provide information
on information and computer technology to Members of the European Parliament
and Members of National Parliaments can be found at http://www.epri.org/navigation/
static_set_1_3_ ENG.htm.
You can test the speed of your interconnect
connection by going to http://www.dslreports.com
and selecting “Our Tools.”
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