[opendtv] Re: News: FCC Chairman Powell to resign
- From: Tom Barry <trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2005 19:23:48 -0500
I will probably remember him most for the broadcast flag.
- Tom
Craig Birkmaier wrote:
> 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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