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Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Former Staff

Information Technology and Innovation Foundation

Richard Bennett has a 30 year background in network engineering and standards. He was vice-chair of the IEEE 802.3 task group that devised the original Ethernet over Twisted Pair standard, and has contributed to Wi-Fi standards for fifteen years. He was active in OSI, the instigator of RFC 1001, and founder, along with Bob Metcalfe, of the Open Token Foundation, the first network industry alliance to operate an interoperability lab. He has worked for leading applied research labs, where portions of his work were underwritten by DARPA. Richard is also the inventor of four networking patents and a member of the BITAG Technical Working Group.Richard frequently speaks at network industry gatherings and policy conferences in the United States and abroad, such as FutureNet, State of the Net, Supernova and eComm. He appeared before the FCC’s en banc hearing at the Harvard Law School as an expert witness on network management, and has been cited in numerous FCC submissions. His experience with legislative bodies spans two decades, beginning with expert witness testimony before multiple committees of the California Legislature in the ’90s and continuing to recent testimony before Congress on Internet privacy. He has served on boards and commissions in California overseeing various parts of state government and has advised governments on broadband policy. Richard has published articles and book chapters in the academic and tech press, major newspapers, IEEE Spectrum Online, and has appeared on radio and television. Additionally, Richard has been appointed to a two-year term on the Singapore Infocomm Development Authority’s (IDA) Regulatory and Economist Panel.Richard’s written work on wireless networks and the Internet’s structure and regulation forms a central part of the broadband policy debate, framing often emotional issues on a dispassionate and technically sound basis.

Richard Bennett has a 30 year background in network engineering and standards. He was vice-chair of the IEEE 802.3 task group that devised the original Ethernet over Twisted Pair standard, and has contributed to Wi-Fi standards for fifteen years. He was active in OSI, the instigator of RFC 1001, and founder, along with Bob Metcalfe, of the Open Token Foundation, the first network industry alliance to operate an interoperability lab. He has worked for leading applied research labs, where portions of his work were underwritten by DARPA. Richard is also the inventor of four networking patents and a member of the BITAG Technical Working Group.

Richard frequently speaks at network industry gatherings and policy conferences in the United States and abroad, such as FutureNet, State of the Net, Supernova and eComm. He appeared before the FCC’s en banc hearing at the Harvard Law School as an expert witness on network management, and has been cited in numerous FCC submissions. His experience with legislative bodies spans two decades, beginning with expert witness testimony before multiple committees of the California Legislature in the ’90s and continuing to recent testimony before Congress on Internet privacy. He has served on boards and commissions in California overseeing various parts of state government and has advised governments on broadband policy. Richard has published articles and book chapters in the academic and tech press, major newspapers, IEEE Spectrum Online, and has appeared on radio and television. Additionally, Richard has been appointed to a two-year term on the Singapore Infocomm Development Authority’s (IDA) Regulatory and Economist Panel.

Richard’s written work on wireless networks and the Internet’s structure and regulation forms a central part of the broadband policy debate, framing often emotional issues on a dispassionate and technically sound basis.

Recent Publications

August 27, 2013

95% of America’s Young Adults Use Broadband at Home

Pew Research Center reveals 95% of America’s young adults use broadband at home.

August 21, 2013

Crawford Misuses the Survey Data

In the second post in a two part response to Susan Crawford’s attack on his New York Times op-ed “No Country for Slow Broadband,” Richard Bennett deconstructs Crawford’s analytical errors.

August 7, 2013

Public-Private Partnerships will Close Rural Broadband Gap

As America prepares to retire the public telephone network that served us so well for nearly 100 years, we need to take stock of the broadband networks that have taken its place.

July 31, 2013

Crawford Misses the Mark

An 8,000 word blog post by Susan Crawford attempting to rebut my New York Times op-ed is riddled with analytical and factual errors. See part one of a two part response.

July 29, 2013

A Progressive Broadband Agenda

“Is the Internet an enabler of rich new networks and applications or simply a faster telephone network? Progressives need to choose a vision to animate public policy.”

July 25, 2013

The State of (Rural) Wireline Communication

Thursday’s “State of Wireline Communications” hearing proves that Senators should take a fresh look at the Internet and how it should be regulated.

July 25, 2013

America’s Broadband Success Story

In this Letter to the Editor for the LA Times, Bennett notes critics who harp on yesterday's broadband problems retard needed progress.

July 8, 2013

Post-Sandy Telecom Melodrama

The replacement of copper telephone wire destroyed by superstorm Sandy with an wireless equivalent is drawing overblown criticism from some quarters.

June 28, 2013

Europe Promises More Than it Delivers

Europe has a truth in advertising problem: SamKnows says DSL users in the UK get 44.7% of advertised speed during peak hours, and users in France only get 40.4%.

June 26, 2013

Rationalizing Government’s Spectrum Use

Richard Bennett lays out the three key issues that should be addressed in the House spectrum hearing Thursday: harmonization, relocation, and mobility in Rationalizing Government's Spectrum Use.

June 18, 2013

Broadband Policy Contest: US vs. EU

The average cell phone/broadband bill is lower in the EU, but the quality is so much lower that the value per dollar tilts in favor of the U.S.

June 17, 2013

No Country for Slow Broadband

America's broadband networks are better than those in Europe in terms of speed and coverage, despite the widespread belief to the contrary.

More publications by Richard Bennett

Recent Events and Presentations

June 12, 2013

2013 Start!Forum

Richard Bennett will discuss the transition to all-IP networks as part of the panel discussion "Knowledge and Power - The Information Theory of Capitalism."

May 17, 2013

The IP Transition: An Engineering Perspective

Richard Bennett will present on a panel on the IP transition.

April 25, 2013

What's on the Agenda for the New FCC?

A panel of experts and stakeholders examine the issues and offer their recommendations for the next FCC Chairman's agenda.

February 12, 2013

The Whole Picture: Where America’s Broadband Networks Really Stand

Examining the state of international broadband comparisons.

September 21, 2012

Does the PCAST Report Move Spectrum Policy in the Right Direction?

Panel debate over the implications of the recent PCAST spectrum report.

September 21, 2012

Internet TV: What Must Congress Do About It? Television Regulations Coming To Your Laptop Soon?

Richard Bennett will present at the Congressional Internet Caucus Advisory Committee event "Internet TV: What Must Congress Do About It? Television Regulations Coming To Your Laptop Soon?"

May 15, 2012

My Kingdom for a Hertz: Can Washington Keep the Mobile Revolution Going?

An expert panel searches for practical solutions to the spectrum crunch.

April 18, 2012

Internet Platform Competition and Market Convergence

How does competition work in the mobile Internet economy?

April 18, 2012

House Science Committee Testimony on Spectrum

Richard Bennett will testify before the House Science Committee on April 18, 2012 on spectrum use before the innovation subcommittee.

January 18, 2012

Collision Course: Entertainment Media and Bandwidth Constraints

Senior Research Fellow Richard Bennett will present at the State of the Net Conference on bandwidth constraints.

December 8, 2011

Caribbean Telecommunications Union’s Ministerial Seminar and Investment Partner's Forum

Senior Research Fellow Richard Bennett to give keynote Caribbean Telecommunications Union’s Ministerial Seminar and Investment Partner's Forum.

September 23, 2011

Measuring Broadband Performance

An examination of the recent FCC report analyzing U.S. broadband performance.

More Events & Presentations by Richard Bennett

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