William Melody
WILLIAM MELODY, a native of Hamilton, Ontario, was the founder of LIRNE.NET and the World Dialogue on Regulation for Network Economies (WDR) and continues to advise both initiatives. He is Visiting Professor at the Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CICT), Technical University of Denmark; Media@LSE, London School of Economics; LINK Centre, University of Witwatersrand, South Africa; Distinguished Visiting Professor (2004), Law School, University of Toronto; and Emeritus Professor, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands. Melody was awarded the honorary degree of doctor technices, honoris causa, in recognition of his “outstanding research contributions on the interaction between technology, economics and regulation in the area of communications, with emphasis on telecommunications,” by the Technical University of Denmark (2001).
Former Chief Economist, US FCC, and adviser and expert witness for the US Department of Justice in US v. AT&T, Melody has a PhD in Economics (Nebraska, 1966), and has held academic appointments leading new multidisciplinary programme development in seven countries: University of Pennsylvania 1971-76; Simon Fraser University 1976-85; Economic and Social Research Council and Oxford University 1985-89; Centre for International Research on Communication and Information Technologies, Melbourne 1989-94; Technical University of Denmark 1995-97; Delft University of Technology 1997-02.
Melody is a contributor to the research and policy literature with more that 150 publications, and former editor, Telecommunications Policy, and Policy Review editor, info. His edited volume, Telecom Reform: Principles, Policies and Regulatory Practices (1997), is used in training programs in more than 100 countries. He is a periodic consultant and advisor to universities and research centres around the world, for UN and other international organisations, government and corporate organisations.
