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feud at the FCC
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 17:25:23 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: Anonymous <e_r_murrow () hotmail com> Organization: Hotmail alias Reply-To: Anonymous <e_r_murrow () hotmail com> Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2003 17:07:43 -0500 To: dave () farber net Subject: feud at the FCC (fyi-html) Telecoms regulation When stars collide Feb 13th 2003 | NEW YORK The Economist http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=1580156 A feud at the FCC? AS COLIN POWELL battles unruly allies in the war on terror, his son, Michael, faces a revolt of his own. On February 13th, the five commissioners of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), America's telecoms regulator, were due to vote on a proposal to deregulate the local phone market. As the FCC's chairman, Mr Powell was counting on two fellow Republican commissioners to get his plan through. But at the last minute one Republican, Kevin Martin, cut a deal with the FCC's two Democrats to back a rival plan. Stung by this act of betrayal, Mr Powell has delayed the vote for a week. The spat at the FCC has set tongues wagging. Messrs Powell and Martin are rising stars in the Republican Party. Mr Martin has his own direct connections to high office: his wife is a spokesperson for Dick Cheney, America's vice-president. Nor is this the first time that the two men have crossed swords. His voting record hints that Mr Martin may have gone out of his way to rankle his chairman, despite their seemingly broad agreement on regulatory policy. People both inside and outside the commission suspect a personal feud. At issue is the 1996 telecoms act, which requires America's incumbent local carriers (Baby Bells) to lease their networks to rivals at discounted rates. Under the act, the FCC has to justify its decision for each bit of the network (switches, copper wires, and so on) that it forces the Baby Bells to rent out. Until now, the FCC has ruled that all bits must be availablewhich the courts have twice said is indefensible. After a year studying the market, Mr Powell has decided that he cannot defend keeping the Baby Bells' switches on the list. Mr Martin has countered that, because regional markets differ, the 50 state commissions should decide which bits stay and which go. This sounds sensible in theory. In practice, argues Mr Powell, it would lead to confusion, delay and uncertainty, the last things that the telecoms industry needs. State commissions do not have the staff to do the work, which could take a year or more to complete. Meanwhile, investment would be put in limbo because nobody will know which way each state will jump. As elected officials, moreover, state commissioners tend to like low, government-mandated prices, and are likely to gut Mr Powell's attempts to deregulate. One yardstick: AT&T, which benefits most from subsidised rates, has become an enthusiastic advocate of states' rights recently. Mr Powell has answered Mr Martin with a second proposal, which hands a bit more power to the states. In theory, Mr Martin could resist Mr Powell's entreaties and try to push his own plan through. But that would humiliate Mr Powell and embarrass the Republicans. More likely, party elders will spend the next few days knocking young heads together. If only dealing with the French were so easy. ------ End of Forwarded Message ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as interesting-people () lists elistx com To unsubscribe or update your address, click http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- feud at the FCC Dave Farber (Feb 17)