[opendtv] News: FCC Chairman Powell to resign
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: OpenDTV Mail List <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 13:06:55 -0500
ABC Radio news has been running with this story for the past two
hours. They are characterizing Powell as the guy who cracked down on
indecency. They just ran a sound byte of someone who say that this
would be a good time to abolish the FCC, saying: Every technology the
FCC touches they break..."
Regards
Craig
FCC Chairman Powell to resign
By Jeffry Bartash, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 12:09 PM ET Jan. 21, 2005
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Michael Powell, chairman of the Federal
Communications Commission, will resign Friday after a stormy
four-year tenure at the regulatory watchdog.
Powell, the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, became an FCC
commissioner in 1997, and was elevated to chairman in 2001 by
President George W. Bush. He's expected to announce his resignation
around midday, agency sources confirmed.
As head of the five-member FCC board, Powell pushed to establish more
free-market principles in federal policy on communications.
Yet his tenure was marked by several controversies, particularly in
the regulation of speech, the rules governing media ownership and the
introduction of competition into the local phone market.
Free-market advocates generally laud his legacy. They say Powell
paved the way for greater competition and helped to accelerate
advances in technology by cutting red tape and regulations.
"That competitive world wouldn't have been free to emerge if Michael
Powell had listened to those who sought to impose yesterday's
regulatory burdens on tomorrow's goods and services," said Ray
Gifford, president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, a think
tank.
Yet critics complain that Powell has actually weakened competition by
allowing too many large mergers and by diluting long-standing
regulations in the phone and media markets.
"The long-distance industry has been demolished. AT&T and Sprint are
pulling out of the local phone business. There's been enormous
consolidation in wireless," said Gene Kimmelman, director of policy
at Consumer Union and a sharp critic of Powell's term in office.
In most of the agency's big votes, the FCC board split 3-2, with the
panel's two Democrats dissenting.
In several instances, Powell's hard push to deregulate has also drawn
the ire of Congress. The FCC triggered an uproar two years ago after
the agency voted to let broadcasters buy more TV properties. Congress
later put those changes on hold.
Lawmakers from both parties also took Powell to task for failing to
crack down on indecency. After a fusillade of criticism, the chairman
did an about-face and issued record fines against broadcasters that
violated decency standards.
The courts have also intervened, block several agency rulings and
sending them back for review.
Those missteps prompted critics and even some supporters to accuse
the chairman of displaying poor media, political and even legal
skills.
Yet Powell is not the first FCC chairman to ruffle feathers in
Washington. His predecessors, William Kennard and Reed Hundt, also
endured fierce criticism during a time of rapid change in the U.S.
communications industry.
Among Powell's accomplishments are the establishment of a No-Call
registry that lets consumers block telemarketing calls and a rule
enabling wireless customers to keep their phone numbers when they
switch companies.
Who's next?
One of the top candidates to succeed Powell is Rebecca Klein, a Gulf
War veteran and former head of the Texas Public Utility Commission.
Other possibilities include FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin and former
Bush administration telecommunications policy advisers Michael
Gallagher and Janice Obuchowski, industry insiders say.
Powell is not the only FCC commissioner set to step aside. Another
Republican on the panel, Kathleen Abernathy, may also step down soon.
The turnover could slow decision-making at the agency over the next
year as the newcomers settle in, analysts say. Among the big issues
are reform of the Universal Service Fund and so-called access charges.
The USF ensures that all Americans can get affordable phone service,
but in recent years contributions to the fund have deteriorated amid
sweeping industry changes.
The fund is supported in part by access charges assessed to
communications carriers when they use the phone networks of the local
Bells to connect to their customers.
Republican Ted Stevens of Alaska, the new chairman of the Senate
Commerce Committee, has taken a strong interest in universal service
reform. He's expected to hold meetings with lawmakers and industry
executives early this year
The White House, meanwhile, has said it wants to promote the spread
of high-speed Internet connections to more homes.
Jeffry Bartash is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Washington.
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