New developments in the Internet and other technology enable new forms of innovation, content production and political participation that have the potential to significantly transform our economy, society and democratic system. This transformation will not happen automatically. Technical, legal and economic choices will affect whether the Internet can realize its potential or not. Communications law – the law that governs both the physical infrastructures for communication services such as cable and telephone networks as well as the communication services which are provided over these infrastructures – has become one of the most important arenas in which choices affecting the future of the information society are made. This course aims at providing students with the substantive and methodological knowledge they need to participate in the communications field - as scholars, legislators, regulators, lawyers, or informed citizens. The course provides a comprehensive overview of current communications law as it emerged over the past 100 years, both in the form of industry-specific laws and through related areas of law such as antitrust and first amendment law. The course also covers existing pressures on the system and available solutions and the broader economic and political implications of the legal and technical choices that communications law is facing today. The course focuses primarily on the US, but highlights developments elsewhere where appropriate.