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July 23, 2003
Where did the FCC go wrong?
PC World: "In response to a direct query from an obviously agitated Upton, the FCC's Pepper said he hopes the agency can get the Triennial Review order released by Labor Day."
This is truly amazing. The FCC's order concerning the unbundling obligations of local exchange carriers was adopted in February, and it might not be released by early September? The delay is especially egregious considering the February date was required to meet a court-imposed deadline. In my time at the FCC, I can't remember anything like this. The problem is that the order the FCC adopted in February was not the 400+ page item FCC Chairman Michael Powell circulated; it was a compromise led by FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin. The Commissioners and FCC staff have no doubt spent the intervening months drafting and hashing out the details of this new order.
Meanwhile, Congress seems poised to revserse key elements of the FCC's recent decision to lift ownership caps on big media companies. That story is really more symbolism than substance. The difference between 35% and 45% of households is just not the end of the world. But the degree of controversy over media ownership, especially given the massive political power of the broadcast lobby, is breathtaking. The FCC has managed to strike a huge nerve.
Michael Powell is smart, honest, committed to serving the public, familiar with the FCC, politically well-connected, and from the party than controls all the major institutions of the federal government. How could he be failing so miserably in implementing his agenda?
Posted by Kevin Werbach at July 23, 2003 12:07 PM
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