ICS 11 / Economics 11
The Internet and Public Policy
Winter quarter 2009, TuTh 3:30-4:50pm

Enrollment (as of 11/26): The course was filled and closed at a max of 65. However, in an attempt to balance the distributions of majors a bit, we will allow another 15 students to enroll. These additional students will be limited to majors in ICS, Engineering, Physical Sciences and Biological Sciences. To enroll online for these last 15 slots, you will need an authorization code which you can obtain from the ICS Student Affairs Office.

Overview:

The course will focus on 4 case studies concerning the federal government’s role in regulating and encouraging the Internet that illustrate how technology, economics, politics and law are combined to form public policy --

• Digital Rights Management – Do music and video content providers have the right to limit your ability to copy music and video files? Are these measures effective? How will the law affect your ability to record digital tv broadcasts?
• Municipal Broadband – Should cities offer wireless Internet service, or is this an intrusion on capitalism?
• Universal Service – You currently pay a small fee on your telephone bill to reduce the cost of phone service in rural areas. Why? Should you also help subsidize broadband Internet in rural areas?
• Net Neutrality – Should Internet providers be allowed to prioritize some Internet traffic over others? Should they be allowed to slow down your file-sharing traffic? Should they be allowed to favor some websites over others?

In order to address these case studies, you’ll also learn some basics about the Internet, economics, and law --

• Learn how the Internet works – How does your computer find where a webserver is located? What do those IP numbers mean? How do packets find their way? How does the Internet control how fast you can send? What was Senator Ted Stevens talking about when he called the Internet a “series of tubes”?
• Learn basic microeconomics – How do consumers decide how much to buy? How do companies decide how much to sell? How are prices chosen? How can monopolies manipulate prices to maximize profit? Why do you have more choices for wireless providers than for wired phone providers?
• Learn how telephone, wireless, cable tv, and the Internet are regulated – Are there limits to what your telephone and cable companies can charge? Why can’t you purchase only the cable channels you want? Is your Internet provider allowed to look inside all your packets to see what you are doing on the Internet?

Degree requirement credit: You can choose to count the course toward General Education requirements under either category II (Science and Technology) or category III (Social and Behavioral Sciences) but not both. (Note: The General Education requirements apply to students who entered UCI Fall 2008 or later. Students who entered earlier may fulfill either the Breadth requirements in the catalogue at the time they entered UCI, or the new General Education requirements. Please consult your student affairs office for details.) This course may or may not count toward major requirements; please consult your student affairs office for details.

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Lecture: TuTh 3:30-4:50 in Bren Hall 1500

Professor: Scott Jordan, sjordan at uci dot edu, Office Hours: I can be found most days in my office in 3214 Bren Hall. Please stop by, or email me a list of a few days/times that you can meet.

Teaching Assistant: To be determined, Office Hours: to be determined

Announcements:

• Welcome to the course. You might want to review the course outline and course policies below (which are currently tentative) to see what you're committing to.
• By January 8, you must electronically agree to allow me to use Turnitin.com (***link to be added by January 6).
• By January 8, you must form groups for case studies. Follow this link for instructions.

Course Outline

Course Policies

Problem Sets

Case Studies

Lecture Slides

Useful Links