IP: What Worries the New FCC Chairman?

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2001 23:31:23 -0500
> To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> From: Monty Solomon <monty () roscom com>
> Subject: What Worries the New FCC Chairman?
>
> http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,21999,00.html
>
> What Worries the New FCC Chairman?
>
> Not much. FCC chairman Michael Powell tips his cap to the market
> powers of deregulation, an approach that pretty much frees up his
> schedule. Reporters at Powell's first media briefing struggled to
> decipher what his plans might be, but spent more time talking about
> what he won't do.
>
> According to several outlets, Powell made vague remarks about wanting
> to streamline decision-making at the FCC. But media accounts showed
> little follow-up to that idea. The session was mostly one of cat and
> mouse. The Wall Street Journal said it "interpreted" Powell's remarks
> to indicate that while he likes the 1996 Telecommunications Act for
> giving companies the impetus to offer DSL and cable Net access, he
> favors letting Baby Bells such as Verizon into the long-distance data
> markets more easily than the law allows. As for regulation, Powell
> sees it as not about protecting young telecom companies from fat-cat
> competitors, but about fostering innovation and preventing consumer
> harm. And open access? No thanks. He's skeptical of any movement that
> requires companies such as AOL Time Warner to share speedy cable lines
> with competing ISPs, according to the Journal.
>
> The Journal also printed a selection of verbatim Powell comments from
> the briefing. We liked this one: "You won't see me sitting quietly and
> saying, 'Here's an area that I want to go and involve myself in.'" But
> Powell may have inadvertently done that when he stepped into a
> discussion on the so-called digital divide. According to the
> Associated Press, Powell acknowledged that the wealthy will be the
> first to afford and have access to emerging technologies, like pricey
> new TV sets that can receive digital signals. "I think there is a
> Mercedes divide. I'd like to have mine." The AP left the remark
> uncommented on. But according to the New York Times, consumer groups
> said Powell's remark "belittled the concerns over the growing
> technological gap between rich and poor was unnecessarily
> inflammatory." The Washington Post said that "statements like that are
> likely to appeal to Powell's Republican constituency on Capitol Hill,"
> but won't sit well with others outside the Beltway. But then, you'd
> have to get outside the Beltway to know that. - Deborah Asbrand
>
> FCC's Powell Signals He's No Advocate for Change
> http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,21982,00.html
>
> FCC Chairman Signals Change, Plans to Limit U.S. Intervention
> http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB981505522511079986.htm
> (Paid subscription required.)
>
> New F.C.C. Chief Would Curb Agency Reach
> http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/07/technology/07FCC.html
> (Registration required.)
>
> New FCC Chief Wary of Role in Bridging Digital Divide (AP)
> http://www0.mercurycenter.com/svtech/news/breaking/merc/docs/043617.htm
>
> New FCC Chairman Favors a Non-Activist Approach
> http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36595-2001Feb7.html



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