WASHINGTON-The Federal Communications Commission on Friday named Thomas J. Sugrue chief of the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau effective Jan. 19.
Sugrue replaces Daniel Phythyon, who was slated to leave the post on Dec. 1 for special project assignments within the FCC. As of the latter part of last week, however, Phythyon was still signing WTB orders as the FCC settled on Sugrue. WTB Deputy Chief Gerald Vaughan will serve as acting chief until Sugrue arrives in January.
The new wireless bureau chief served as deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Commerce in both the Bush and Clinton Administrations and was twice acting administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. Before joining NTIA, Sugrue served as chief of the policy and program planning division of the FCC’s Common Carrier Bureau and was special counsel for competitive policies, where he worked on projects associated with the AT&T divestiture. He is a partner in the communications law firm of Halprin, Temple, Goodman and Sugrue.
“Tom’s experience at NTIA, the FCC and in private practice makes him uniquely suited to manage the agency’s dynamic wireless agenda,” said FCC Chairman William E. Kennard.
Sugrue said he has not given any time commitments to the FCC, but he expects to stay at least two years. One of the criticisms of the WTB chief job is that people only stay about a year. There have been three chiefs since the bureau was created by former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt.
In a statement issued to the press, Sugrue said he “looked forward to working with the [FCC] commissioners, and the talented staff at the FCC on creating a regulatory climate that promotes competition, innovation and customer service in the delivery of wireless services to the American public.”
He is expected to focus on wireless as a primary form of competition for landline local service, industry sources said.
As of Friday, Sugrue was still “scoping out” what issues or items he would have to recuse himself from when he comes to the FCC in January. One issue is expected to be the beleaguered PCS C-block. “I didn’t personally do any work, but the firm did work for NextWave [Telecom Inc.] during the licensing phase,” Sugrue said.
Not surprisingly, Sugrue was given high marks by industry representatives. “This is a real coup for the [FCC],” said Mary McDermott, chief of staff and senior vice president for government relations for the Personal Communications Industry Association. He is “absolutely first rate,” said Thomas E. Wheeler, president of the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association.
“He has a good background in Washington policy making. I am sure that many in industry are pleased that someone with those qualifications was drawn upon for this position,” said Sharpe Smith, spokesman for the Industrial Telecommunications Association. Smith noted, however, that no one at ITA had a relationship with Sugrue.
As ITA and the rest of the private wireless industry battles to keep its spectrum from the auction block, Sugrue’s beliefs as to whether private wireless spectrum should be auctioned are unclear. Sugrue worked on spectrum policy when he was at NTIA and auctions played a big part in that strategy.
Sugrue’s background in common-carrier issues will be extremely helpful to the commercial wireless industry, McDermott said, noting that many issues wireless carriers deal with like interconnection, number portability and universal service are “driven by the FCC’s Common Carrier Bureau.”
Ari Fitzgerald, Kennard’s wireless legal adviser, said Sugrue has a good grasp of spectrum management issues. Sugrue managed a white paper published by NTIA in February 1991. Sugrue knows how to get to the root of issues, industry sources said. “Sugrue has a fantastic ability to deal with big policy issues. He can get above the tree level and see the forest,” McDermott said.
Sugrue is seen as a good manager and is not expected to be overly influenced by other high-ranking staffers in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. One of the main criticisms of Phythyon was that he relied too heavily on his lieutenants, who were sometimes difficult to work with and who took positions that not only clashed with commercial and private wireless interests but that also ultimately embarrassed Kennard and undermined his programs.
One former employee, David Siddal, who worked with Sugrue in the Common Carrier Bureau in the 1980s, said he was the best manager he has ever worked with. Siddal tells a story that when Sugrue would receive monetary awards from the FCC for good management, Sugrue would use a portion of those rewards on parties for his staff. One of the parties was held in a private room with buffet at a racetrack to watch the horse races and another time he rented a nightclub with food, music and dancing for his staff and partners, Siddal said. “No one else has done that before or since,” Siddal said.
