It was grand symbolism on the fourth floor of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia last Monday morning. There they were, two birds of a feather, Nextel Communications Inc. and Microsoft Corp., in courtrooms side by side-one cutting a sweet deal with government antitrust lawyers and the other bleeding profusely from daily Justice Department pounding.
Amid the circus atmosphere, a security officer ordered a virtual smorgasbord of reporters, lawyers and lobbyists not to block the hallway.
But don’t you worry about Nextel, Microsoft (Nextel’s latest sugar daddy) or any other monopolist/oligopolist-in-the-making. They will land on their feet. The Clinton administration, telecom PAC lawmakers and antitrust intelligentsia of the New Economy will make sure of it.
In the end, despite all the rough and tumble that begins to look feigned in retrospect, Microsoft too likely will be offered a face-saving exit strategy by DOJ antitrust czar Joel Klein.
And why not? It’s a small world after all. U.S. antitrust law, in the face of the global economy, has become an anachronism, say digital-age thinkers.
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan last week praised high-tech to the heavens, but also cautioned against hero worship. Indeed, just look at how we, at the dawn of the 21st century, bow to the Net with the same awe that Kubrick’s primates held for the Monolith. High-tech Darwanism is here.
… FCC reformists on Capitol Hill have run into a small problem. The House telecom subcommittee has plenty of documented horror stories. It has heard from FCC members and state regulators, and will hear from industry soon. Well, maybe. High-paid lobbyists and telecom executives feel squeamish about dumping on the FCC at an open hearing, while important regulatory matters are pending before the agency. A draft bill on FCC reform is expected out shortly before Congress’ August recess.
… Supreme Court decision to review a lower court’s church-state lawsuit could throw a wrench in the government’s E-rate plan for schools (including parochial) and libraries.
… U.K. House of Commons was briefed on RF health concerns last week. University of Washington’s Henry Lai and Sir Richard Droll, the man who linked smoking to cancer, were on hand. The meeting was organized by Northern Ireland Families Against Telecommunication Transmitter Siting and Friends of the Earth Scotland.
… The National Capital Planning Commission, which nixed Bell Atlantic Mobile’s applications to erect antennas in Rock Creek Park, will meet Aug. 5 to consider allowing antennas on top of a building at 445 12th St., S.W. here. It’s called Portals II, and it houses the FCC.
