James Alleman
Dr. James Alleman is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Engineering and Applied Science, where he has made significant contributions to telecommunications economics, regulation, and policy. With a distinguished academic and professional career spanning decades, he has been a leading voice in the analysis of digital markets, regulatory frameworks, and the economic impacts of information and communication technologies (ICT). Dr. Alleman’s work bridges academia, industry, and policy, addressing the challenges of technological disruption and equitable access in the digital age.
In addition to serving on the faculty at the University of Colorado (1991–2007), he was a visiting Professor/Researcher at Columbia University, Columbia Institute for Tele-Information (CITI); Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacional, Spain; CIMBA, Italy; IDATE, France; and Curtin University, Australia.
His early roles were at GTE Service Corporation (now Verizon), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the U.S. Department of Commerce, where he helped shape economic policy for the ICT sector.
In addition to his academic work, he founded a “call-back” telephone service for which he received two patents, co-founded the International Telecommunications Society (ITS), and served as its Chair (1985-1996) and Board member (1985 – present).
Dr. Alleman’s extensive scholarship includes authoring or co-editing sixteen books and monographs, including Applied Economics in the Digital Era (2020), Demand for Communications Services (2014), Should We Regulate High Speed Internet Access? (2002), and The New Investment Theory of Real Options (1999). He has authored or co-authored over 100 publications, including peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and policy reports on topics addressing universal service, broadband regulation, real options, and mobile money. He has lectured worldwide, from Montpellier to Tokyo, on real options, next-generation networks, antitrust in digital markets, and the digital divide.
He holds a PhD from the University of Colorado–Boulder (1976), an MA (1967), and an AB (1965) from Indiana University.