Telecommunications Leaders on Edge of Their Seats over Regulatory Issues
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NEW YORK, Mar 07, 2002 (The Record - Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News via
COMTEX) -- Despite the optimism expressed by many telecommunications company
leaders at an industry forum Wednesday, they said it was impossible to predict
how several pending regulatory issues would affect the hard-hit sector.
Presidents, CEOs, and department heads of companies such as Sprint, Qualcomm,
Avaya, and Corning joined Federal Communications Commission Commissioner
Kathleen Q. Abernathy at a conference in New York sponsored by Bloomberg News.
While the company leaders offered up rosy forecasts -- some after emerging from
fiscal crises that led to layoffs -- Abernathy outlined a handful of issues the
FCC will tackle this year.
Abernathy, a Republican who was appointed by President Bush in May, said the FCC
will weigh in on issues ranging from broadband access and licensing to newspaper
and television station ownership.
While she was cautious not to express policy opinions during her keynote address
at the daylong conference, Abernathy acknowledged that what the FCC ultimately
does will affect both free- market competition and consumer access to
telephones, television, and the Internet.
"These are complex issues," Abernathy said, noting that her goal is to "foster
competition" in ways that ensure "every single American consumer is getting
services." Acknowledging that she is more comfortable letting Congress set what
policy the FCC enforces, Abernathy said intervening in emerging markets such as
wireless communications is tricky business.
"It can be extremely difficult to predict," she said, referring to the impact
that FCC regulations could have.
Abernathy said it's much easier for the FCC to implement government regulations,
such as the pending measure in Congress to deregulate high-speed Internet
services, than it is to wrangle over whether old rules are relevant in today's
market.
But some recent Court of Appeals rulings will force the FCC to revisit certain
rules, including whether its ban on cross-ownership of both broadcasting
stations and newspapers in one market is outdated.
FCC policy currently forbids any corporation from owning more than 35 percent of
the television stations in a market. It also prevents common ownership of a
daily newspaper and a broadcast station in the same market.
"The question is whether diversity of opinions is harmed," Abernathy said,
noting that without evidence that the First Amendment would suffer, it would be
difficult for the FCC to justify continuing the ban on cross-ownership.
The Bloomberg Telecom Conference also included discussions on consolidating the
cable industry and competition for satellite radio access.
By Teresa M. McAleavy
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