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August 22, 2004
DSL Prime: Jeff's FCC
The following story was written by Dave Burstein who publishes DSL Prime and is from the August 21, 2004 issue of DSL Prime.
After I read the following story I was flattered and taken back and asked Dave for permission to share it with the people who may visit my blog.
republished with permission from Dave Burnstein, DSL Prime
After Powell
Mike Powell will probably stay through January to finish some current
projects, instead of leaving November right after the election, a close
aide is telling friends. Key staffers Bill Maher of the Wireline Bureau
and broadband advisor Kyle Dixon have already left, and many big
decisions are being delayed for the new team. Don't discount Powell, who
would like to leave a legacy. But unless he sees the urgency, troublesome
issues are being rolled over to the next administration.
Drew Clark's National Journal speculations on his successor were widely
picked up. Kerry, if elected, [might] appoint FCC Commissioner Michael
Copps as chairman. Copps led the fight on the commission against efforts
by Chairman Michael Powell to loosen media-ownership rules. Copps has
support among public-interest advocates but does not top most telecom
insiders' lists of potential FCC chairs.
Repeatedly mentioned individuals include: Greg Rothschild, chief telecom
aide to Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich.; former commissioner Susan Ness; Blair
Levin, former chief of staff to former Chairman Reed Hundt; Antoinette
Cook Bush and Ivan Schlager, former aides to Sen. Ernest (Fritz)
Hollings; cellular industry executive Gerry Salemme; and Kathy Brown,
former chief of staff to former Chairman William Kennard and now a
Verizon executive. Larry Irving, former head of the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration; and David Krone,
executive vice president at the National Cable and Telecommunications
Association.
Copps has taken consistently pro-consumer stands, my editorial bias, and
almost everyone except "telecom insiders" (overwhelmingly lobbyists)
would applaud the choice. Levin is exceptionally qualified, proving
himself the most thoughtful and accurate voice in policy circles. He
played a key role under Hundt/Kennard, a period that seems golden
compared to the Powell years of decline (which are not all Powell's
fault, of course, but the buck stops here.)
Larry Irving is also thoughtful, generous, and public-spirited. Most of
the others mentioned by Clark should not be serious candidates, because
the commission is dedicated to the public interest, and rare is the
lobbyist who can serve it. Far more qualified are public interest
advocates like Gene Kimmelman of Consumer's Union, Mark Cooper of
Consumer Federation, or Jamie Love of the Consumer Project on Technology.
It's a terrible indictment of the D.C. scene that corporate lobbyists
are acceptable and consumer lobbyists not considered.
The assumption is that if Bush is re-elected, Kevin Martin will take over
the FCC. Martin's earned respect from many, myself included, who are not
Republican free marketers as he is. I've seen how actively Martin
researches issues, including careful listening at obscure events on fiber
to the home and regional broadband. He's proven that he will take stands
he believes in at political cost.
Consider instead Jeff Pulver, a political independent who has worked
effectively with both Democrat Kennard and Republicans Powell and Sununu.
Jeff has two virtues few of the D.C. folks share. He's a successful
entrepreneur, whose proven ability to "meet a payroll" should give him a
businesslike attitude Republicans can respect. He's also far better
informed about both the technology and the business realities than almost
anyone in D.C., something even more important than the particulars of law
most of the other commissioners will bring. Nearly all the decisionmakers
in D.C. are lawyers who only incidentally understand the fields they are
regulating; having at least one commissioner who understands in depth
would add immensely to the quality of the work.
Similarly, Democrat Dave Farber would be a great choice, who won
respect in D.C. as FCC Chief Technologist. I don't know the party
affiliation of MIT's Dave Clark, Stanford's John Cioffi, Dewayne
Hendricks, David Isenberg, but they are all top technologists informed
about policy. Bill Smith of BellSouth, Mark Wegleitner and Paul Lacouture
of Verizon, BT's CTO Matt Bross (an American), Alcatel's CTO Niel Ransom
(also an American) and Hossein Eslambolchi of AT&T strike me as
individuals who could put aside their corporate interests if called to
public service. Similarly, John Hodulik at UBS or Anton Wahlman of
Needham (a former Cato Institute staffer) from wall streeters have proven
their knowledge. The commission, whoever is President, needs some
members who are not D.C. lawyers. That's a long list, but most of these
folk are very successful and unlikely to accept a different position and
government pay.
Most of Europe and the U.S. think lawyers and occasionally economists are
the only one qualified to regulate. That's one reason Korea has pulled
ahead, incorporating experts at the highest levels.
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Posted by jeff on August 22, 2004 09:59 AM | Permalink
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