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To: 49thMIMOMander who wrote (25110)	6/5/2003 3:31:13 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 34857

Bitter Atmosphere Envelops FCC Under Chairman Powell, Panel Members Maneuver, Criticize <<No one told that monopolist capitalism would go without crying. Media, airlines, fixed-line operators...>> By Christopher Stern Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, June 3, 2003; Page E01 Yesterday's decision by the Federal Communications Commission marks the second time this year that the agency's five commissioners have ended a long and fierce debate with a split vote, underscoring the sometimes bitter atmosphere at the agency during the tenure of Chairman Michael K. Powell. The 3 to 2 decision to end many of the ownership restrictions on media companies followed party lines, with Powell joined by his fellow Republicans, Kevin J. Martin and Kathleen Q. Abernathy. In February, however, Powell was outmaneuvered by Martin, who sided with the agency's two Democrats, Michael J. Copps and Jonathan S. Adelstein, on a key decision governing the future of the telecommunications industry. Copps and Adelstein have accused Powell of being unwilling to compromise on the media ownership issue. But Powell said in a recent interview that the Democrats were the ones who refused to negotiate. "It's remarkable. I'm the one perceived to be ideologically partisan, but that's exactly what I've seen from the other side," Powell said. The split votes and acrimony have made more unpredictable the outcomes of several decisions to be made in the coming months. Among the issues to be decided is a proposal that could lead to the agency throwing out rules that require telephone companies to open their high-speed Internet networks to rivals. Powell has also signaled that he wants to revisit the regulatory regime now used to set the prices that local telephone companies charge competitors for access to their networks. If those regulations change significantly, it could lead to companies such as AT&T Corp. and MCI backing away from their aggressive efforts to compete for local phone customers. The FCC also must establish new rules governing the size of cable companies. The agency's prior cable ownership cap, which banned media companies from owning cable systems covering more than 30 percent of the country, was thrown out by the courts. A similar court ruling on broadcast ownership played a key role in Powell's proposal to raise national ownership caps for broadcasters. Under normal conditions, the betting money would be on Powell being able to move his deregulatory agenda forward on each of the issues. Powell served for three years as one of the two Republican members of the commission during the Clinton administration, and was elevated by President Bush to be chairman more than two years ago. At an agency that has a history of resolving its debates before a big vote, the recent split decisions illustrate what sources say are differences that have become personal. They say relations between Powell and Martin, in particular, have not healed since February. Powell's relations with the two Democrats have grown even more acrimonious during the debate over media ownership rules, with little or no direct contact between Powell and his colleagues. "It makes it more difficult for compromise to be reached and for the agency to be an effective regulatory body. It is a very divided group right now," said Blake Bath, a Washington-based analyst with Lehman Brothers. Split votes can become tools for opponents who want to challenge a decision in court, according to Harold Furchtgott-Roth, a former Republican FCC commissioner. "A 3-2 vote provides the minority with the opportunity to write stinging dissents, which people can then use when they march into appeals court," he said. But Furchtgott-Roth, who became known for his frequent opposition to the Democratic majority at the agency, said Powell should have tried to work with the two Democrats. In particular, he was critical of Powell's decision not to grant the request from Copps and Adelstein to delay yesterday's vote for one month. It is a long-standing tradition for the agency chairman to grant such requests by other commissioners, even when they are opposing him. "I think the chairman would have been well advised to have given some accommodation to the Democratic commissioners on delaying the vote," said Furchtgott-Roth. "It's kind of a time-honored decision, it's really the norm." For his part, Powell has been critical of the Democrats for continuing to postpone a vote to hold more public hearings on the issue. In addition to a hearing attended by all five commissioners in Richmond, Copps and Adelstein held more than a dozen hearings in other cities, including Phoenix, Seattle and Los Angeles. Powell publicly derided the hearings as a "19th-century whistle-stop tour." "They've made no alternate proposals that weren't made at the last minute, but there's been a seven-month fight about how many public hearings you go to," Powell said.

To: 49thMIMOMander who wrote (25110)	6/5/2003 3:37:38 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 34857

Then that Finn guy does this: Microsoft chief sends wake-up call to staff By Richard Waters in San Francisco Published: June 4 2003 20:44 \| Last Updated: June 4 2003 20:44 Steve Ballmer (pictured), chief executive officer of Microsoft, issued a powerful wake-up call on Wednesday, warning that disaffection with technology spending in general, questions about the next wave of innovation and weaknesses in customer relations posed "significant challenges" to the software company's future. In an internal memo to staff, Mr Ballmer also listed Linux, along with the open-source software movement it represents, as the biggest threat to Microsoft's long-term well-being. Steve Ballmer, in his diagnosis of what ails the technology industry, does not dwell on weak economic growth Go there "We must avoid complacency. We need to challenge old habits and seriously rethink business-as-usual," he wrote. The rallying call comes even though Microsoft has ridden out the slump in technology spending better than most. While its shares have fallen nearly 60 per cent from the peak, its revenues have continued to grow while earnings in the fiscal year that ends this month are set to top the boom year of 2000. Yet Mr Ballmer warned that, while he remained optimistic about the company's growth potential, it faced "significant challenges in the near and mid term." Linux and other open-source programs, which many customers see as "good enough" at a time when they question the value of spending on technology, "present a competitive challenge for us and for our entire industry, and they require our concentrated focus and attention," he said. The sweeping nature of the memo echoes other landmark communications that Bill Gates, the company's chairman, has sent to staff in the past. These include his warning in 1995 of the threat to Microsoft posed by the rise of the internet, and his more recent "trustworthy computing" initiative to make the company's software more reliabe and secure. In an interview, Mr Ballmer said of the memo: "It is a bit of a wake-up call in places." However, he added that Microsoft was still producing innovative software, and he promised that its next generation of products, codenamed Longhorn, would make a bigger splash than the original release of the Windows operating system. Chief among the issues singled out by the Microsoft CEO were "concerns about Microsoft's attention to customers." Last year the company angered many corporate customers with new licensing terms that had the effect of raising prices. Calling this backlash "our hard-learned lesson," Mr Ballmer promised greater consistency in the company's business dealings, as well as a renewed effort to improve product quality and communication with customers. The timing of Mr Ballmer's warning about Microsoft's short-term challenges is likely to raise eyebrows among some investors, given that he sold around $1bn worth of his personal holding in the company two weeks ago. At the time, he said: "I remain excited about the potential for our technology to change people's lives, and I remain as committed to Microsoft as ever."