ABERNATHY WANTS FASTER FCC DECISIONS, MORE ‘OPENNESS’

Abernathy said agency was working on Web-based tracking system for pending items that would help lobbyists and other outside parties keep up with issues and help FCC operate more efficiently. “You shouldn’t have to know someone at the FCC in order to find out the status of an item,” she said. Tracking system would eliminate unnecessary calls to agency staff to check progress, saving time for outsiders and agency workers alike, she said. As lobbyist, she remembers not wanting to constantly bother agency staff to check timing but also not wanting to miss “window of opportunity” when agency officials were ready to discuss particular issues. “Timing is important,” she said.

Abernathy’s experience in communications ranges from international to wireless to ILEC to CLEC, with stint at FCC. She was federal affairs dir. for Comsat 1988-1990, legal adviser to Comrs. Sherrie Marshall and James Quello 1990-1993, federal regulatory vp for AirTouch 1993-1998, vp-regulatory affairs U S West 1998-1999. In 2000, she moved to start-up building access provider Broadband Office, which went bankrupt earlier this year.

Broadband Office gave her firsthand experience on CLEC side of business -- and economic downturn that closed down her company and others, she said. Company provided wide range of telecom and other services, such as Web hosting, Webcasting, firewalls and remote access to small and medium-sized firms in office buildings. She said she learned how expensive it was to start from ground level on new type of service where one couldn’t just buy equipment or software off shelf. She said she wasn’t surprised that it could be difficult dealing with ILECs because “it would be a foolish business plan [for ILECs] to say please come and take my customers.”

Abernathy blamed pullout of venture capitalists, rather than moves by regulators, for demise of her company and other tech startups. But she said FCC could help new entrants by acting as Wall St.’s teacher. Capital markets painted telecom startups with “broad brush,” dropping nearly everyone because they didn’t understand nature of competitive business, she said. FCC could help by educating markets, she said, and by acting as “advocate” for competitive industry. Because of her work for Broadband Office, she will recuse herself for one year from current FCC proceeding on building access.

Abernathy said her regulatory philosophy was honed during her stint in wireless industry, where she saw competition explode once regulations were eased. In Cal., regulation was so stiff that companies needed tariff approval to lower rates, she said. When wireless deregulation occurred in early 1990s, competitors would respond to each other’s price reductions almost immediately, she said, and marketing managers would huddle as soon as competitors’ price reductions were discovered. “That just couldn’t have happened” under more regulatory regime, she said.

Although she is supporter of competition rather than govt. regulation, Abernathy said she knew there were exceptions. For example, regulation is necessary to advance policy goals such as Universal Service Fund and children’s TV programming, she said. “Even in a truly competitive open market, government still has a role to play,” she said.

Abernathy said regulation also may be needed when competition hasn’t taken hold fully. For example, she said, interconnection rules wouldn’t be needed if local markets were fully open. Finally, she said, regulation can be needed to “protect property rights,” for example protecting spectrum against interference. “What value is spectrum if someone can come along and interfere?” That’s why spectrum management is so important and why ITU is important, she said.

Despite her strong telecom background, Abernathy made it clear that she doesn’t want to be pegged as “telecom” commissioner. There was time when commissioners were thought to specialize in particular areas of communications, she said, but “with convergence, that’s probably not appropriate any more.” She said she would rather be known for her “openness” and emphasis on making agency efficient and up-to-speed on technology issues. “I'm not comfortable being put in a category” because technology is eliminating distinctions, she said. “I care just as much about the mass media-cable side” as telecom-wireless side.

Even though she has focused almost entirely on telecom issues in her legal career, Abernathy showed awareness of several major media issues now before FCC. She said she “agrees with the concept” of Commission’s re-evaluating its various ownership caps for broadcasting and cable industries, as directed by Congress. While she termed it “just too soon” to take stand on eliminating or relaxing caps, she said she would examine First Amendment, diversity, localism and other issues involved. She also expressed need for Commission to “keep pace” with speed of technological changes sweeping through TV and radio industries.

Questioned about nation’s lagging switch to digital TV, Abernathy conceded that move had run into unexpected delays. “I know the transition has not gone as fast as anyone had hoped,” she said. But she argued that most, if not all, of transition problems, including high DTV set prices and lack of high- definition and other digital programming, were beyond FCC’s control. She said she was “dedicated to ensuring” that Commission not create or maintain any hurdles to speedy transition. “I just don’t want us to be the problem,” she said.

As mother of 5-year-old girl, Abernathy said she’s concerned about proliferation of adult, violent and other offensive programming on TV during children’s viewing hours. But, calling herself “a firm believer in the Constitution and free speech,” she said “incredibly complex” and “fascinating” issue called for “difficult balancing act.” While she had not previously immersed herself in “a lot of nitty-gritty details” of offensive programming issue, she said, she will now. She noted that FCC, Congress and courts have struggled with issue for 20 years.

Sitting in office that used to belong to Chmn. Powell and using furniture that formerly belonged to now ex-Comr. Susan Ness, Abernathy said back when she worked at FCC she never dreamed of becoming commissioner interviewed by Communications Daily. She said her experience in business had provided insights in many areas. She feels, for example, that FCC benefits by hearing from all parties, from PUCs to consumers to trade associations and corporate representatives, when making decisions. “Everyone adds value,” she said. Asked whether lobbyists sometimes feel they weren’t listened to, she said it was problem that could arise when there were time constraints. There may be tendency to say “you're a lobbyist, paid to say something and why should I value it,” she said. Abernathy said when she was in corporate role, she felt she was treated fairly as long as she could make her position known, even if agency didn’t agree with her. Only time she worried was when she felt agency personnel weren’t listening to her, she said.