WASHINGTON-In his first press briefing last Thursday, new Federal Communications Commissioner Michael Powell admitted that a stack of trade and consumer newspapers prepared him for his congressional hearings on communications issues, as well as a pile of FCC briefing books.
But his experience at the Justice Department and as the son of a prominent military and political figure also may have helped him hone his learning-curve skills on complex regulatory issues.
Like his predecessors, Powell has competition on his mind. “Competition is the most important dimension of the Telecommunications Act of 1996,” he said. “The success or failure of the act will be determined by this: If competition does not take hold in the marketplace, the act will be pronounced a failure.”
While Powell admitted he is dissatisfied with some aspects of competitive progress, he also noted, “We’re in an amazingly early period, in that things take two years to really take hold. (Telecommunications reform) is a magnitude more complicated than airline deregulation. You have to be realistic about the time expectations.”
According to the commissioner, “There is a tendency to over measure competition by looking at big companies only. For every AT&T, there are hundreds of smaller long-distance companies. Who heard of WorldCom just a few years ago?”
But Powell also takes the companies into consideration, noting that they need a game plan. With some senators-notably John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Conrad Burns (R-Mont.)-looking perhaps to “de-construct” the act during the next congressional session, Powell would prefer that they give the law more time to take hold.
“If we change the rules every four months, competition won’t come,” he said. “Companies need some level of comfort and expectation. We have to realize that we are working with one of the most comprehensive statutes ever, and it’s a learning experience. It’s never been done before.” He added, “If we’re not careful of how we manage the act, some companies may just give up on it.”
A lack of local-loop competition cannot be blamed entirely on legislation, Powell said. Some carriers have decided to pick and choose in what market and with what services they will compete. Most will stick with what is providing the most revenues.
Local exchange carriers “have had an enormous competitive advantage from the start,” Powell added, and some may not want to let go of their bottleneck position until there is another sure thing in which to become involved. “We have to help them understand that it is worth letting go.”
Powell then addressed two of the most pressing wireless issues-C-block personal communications services financial restructuring and reconsideration of how auctions are conducted. While he has not had a chance to study “the complete details” of pending C-block petitions for reconsideration, Powell did say the commission does no one a favor by waiting months to make a decision.
“We had a saying in the Army: do it right or do it wrong but do something,” he said. “No one is totally sure what it will take. In reconsideration, I will be careful not to disrupt pre-existing rules that were put together by the previous commission. I won’t recklessly throw it open.”
Auctions are “a complicated process,” Powell admitted after spending some time during his first week in office visiting the auction war room. “What goes on there is amazingly sophisticated,” he said. “There are some glitches, but there is more working right than is working wrong.” Reiterating the FCC mantra that auctions are about license allocation and not about money, Powell added that the commission will be vigilant in “ensuring that the system is not being skewed by speculators and that bidders will be able to provide service to the public.”
Powell concluded, “I’m not one who believes there is one way or no way. Most of us don’t know the right answers to all of this, but unlike Chicken Little, the sky is not going to fall in.”
