Fresh after helping clear the auto industry bailout in their house of Congress, House Democrats reportedly began blasting the head of the federal agency that oversees communications, calling the outgoing
Federal Communications Commission chairman non-collegial and manipulating.
Citing a committee report titled “Deception and Distrust,” which says that FCC (
News -
Alert) Chairman Kevin Martin “manipulated, withheld or suppressed data, reports and information,” the House Democrats complained about unpredictable and shady management practices,
according to Reuters (
News -
Alert) reporter Kim Dixon.
The year-long investigation finds “egregious abuses of power,” The Washington Post’s Cecilia Kang
reports.
Dixon quotes Bart Stupak, a Michigan Democrat who helped lead a report from the House Energy and Commerce Committee, as saying, “Martin’s legacy is he left us a blueprint of how not to run an agency.”
Martin spokesman Robert Kenny said the panel found no legal or procedural violations, Dixon reports.
The FCC is a five-member group, with three members, including a chairman, from the same party as the president. President-elect Barack Obama is still weighing candidates for FCC chairman. Until an appointment is made – and it could be until next summer – three of the five commissioners at the agency, including Martin, are Republican.
Martin, pictured right, oversees an agency that’s become increasingly important and powerful with the rise of telecommunications, including mobile devices and the Internet. His chairmanship has stirred controversy before, as when he sought to limit on the size of cable companies, and tried to force them to sell channels individually to customers, rather than in packages.
According to Dixon, the new report says Martin intervened to lower a fine on
T-Mobile from $1.3 million to $100,000, for the company’s violation of the government’s Do-Not-Call list. The report makes no allegations against the company itself.
Legislators aren’t the only ones taking aim at Martin today.
In an opinion
piece, The Wall Street Journal criticizes Martin for his effort to put in place a wireless spectrum auction that will guarantee licenses go to a company,
M2Z Networks Inc., that’s backed by venture capitalist John Doerr (
News -
Alert). The move effectively would have taxpayers pay for a new wireless start-up company headed by Doerr, the WSJ says, a man who has benefitted from Martin’s chairmanship in the past.
It’s also a move that the cell phone industry is decrying, as TMCnet has
reported, and one that the WSJ says shows Martin’s “political favoritism.”
“Yesterday even the Bush Administration whacked Mr. Martin, its own appointee, over the auction,” the WSJ says.
“Prices for broadband are falling rapidly, geographic coverage is growing and new investment continues,” the paper says. “Which is to say that the telecom market is highly competitive, and clean auctions for spectrum can keep it that way. The FCC’s job isn’t to favor the politically connected. The goal should be to ensure that airwaves go to companies with the resources and incentives to best use them.”
In response to the Bush administration’s opposition, officials at M2Z (
News -
Alert) called for the FCC to move forward with its Dec. 18 vote on the plan for a nationwide wireless broadband network. The company questioned Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez’s opposition in light of
comments from Bush four years ago that included this: “I’m talking about broadband technology to every corner of our country by the year 2007.”
According to John Muleta, chief executive officer and founder of M2Z Networks, the Bush administration is marked by years of failed policy initiatives that benefit corporate interests, and this is just another example.
“Given the current economic crisis, the need for affordable and widely available broadband to stimulate the economy and bridge the digital divide could not be greater,” said. “All of the policy and technical benchmarks have now been met and all that is needed is an affirmative vote by the FCC Commissioners so that this spectrum can be auctioned and be put into productive use as quickly as possible.”
Meanwhile, according to Dixon, Republicans refused to sign the new report on Martin, with a spokesman saying it lacked substance.
“A congressional investigation has established that the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission doesn’t play well with others,” Larry Neal, deputy Republican staff director on the committee, reportedly said.
Many FCC watchers agreed the agency has been inconsistent under Martin, but most said opaqueness at the agency precedes him and has been exacerbated by what the report called his “non-collegial” style.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Michael Dinan is a contributing editor for TMCnet, covering news in the IP communications, call center and customer relationship management industries. To read more of Michael’s articles, please visit his columnist page.
Edited by
Michael Dinan
How to Reduce Asterisk® System Loads by 70%
How to Reduce Asterisk® System Loads by 70%