Copps Relies on Evidence, Not Rhetoric, in Franchise Review

Copps also said he welcomed the addition of a 3rd Republican at the Commission after the Senate approves Robert McDowell to the open seat -- though that means Democrats once again will be in a 3-2 minority.

“I want to see that granular record” on franchising, Copps said: “The things that I have seen people talk about publicly, I don’t think have reached the level of granularity that I would like to see before I am called on to make a decision,” he said. Copps added that Bells “should be encouraged” in their plans to widely introduce video in competition with cable.

“We better be damn certain… they're solving a problem,” said Copps, answering a question on whether more federal oversight is needed. Chmn. Martin, who has often said the FCC should help boost video competition, may not circulate an item on franchising depending on what Congress does, Copps said. Martin’s spokeswoman declined to comment on Copps’ remarks.

Copps said he expected the Commission to remain mostly collegial after McDowell is confirmed. “The vast bulk of what you do around here is done on a nonpartisan or a bipartisan basis,” Copps said. “I think the place operates better when it’s at a full complement. There is a disposition then to move items forward. Although I don’t relish being relegated back into minority status, I think the Commission was intended to operate with 5 commissioners and should operate with 5 commissioners.”

Asked if he saw how Chmn. Martin handled the Verizon forbearance petition (CD March 21 p1) as a sign of a more partisan FCC, Copps replied: “I saw that as a bad way to do our business.” Some observers viewed the item as an indication there will be less cooperation once Martin no longer needs to deal with the Democrats to get a 3rd vote. But Copps said he’s reserving judgment. “I don’t want to rush to judgment or draw any hasty conclusions,” he said: “I would hope that everybody could see forbearance as the exception rather than the rule around here because it’s not a good way to make policy. You don’t do the analysis and you don’t really have a granular record to go on. You get yourself into a lot of legal difficulties, too.”

Broadband deployment and media consolidation, central concerns of Copps’, require more research, he said: “You see some of the same themes in net neutrality as you do in the media consolidation debate.” Areas needing scrutiny include how much consumers pay for each bit of broadband transmission speed, a shortage of high-speed Internet access in rural areas and the regional impact of media deals, said Copps. The FCC must ensure that network operators don’t discriminate against content they don’t control, said Copps, calling it the 2nd phase of net neutrality. “This is not a happy story,” he said of rural deployment: “This is the infrastructure challenge this country faces right now.”

“Controlled content” should be reviewed in Adelphia’s proposal to sell cable systems to Comcast and Time Warner for about $17 billion, Copps said. “We need to look at the merger with these questions in mind… I'm waiting for an item. And we haven’t seen an item yet.” Martin understands that “folks are waiting for answers on media ownership,” said Copps. He said he wouldn’t play the “blame game” on why media ownership tweaks haven’t been approved.

“We need to do something on the merger: There is a drop dead date” of July 31 for a decision, Copps said. A split Commission may vote on Adelphia because Robert McDowell hasn’t been confirmed as the 5th commissioner, while the FCC has spent almost twice the amount of time it aims to in reviewing the deal. Copps said the FCC should use the time before voting on separate media ownership items to study the subject more.

Copps said he’s hopeful the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction will take place starting Aug. 9, as scheduled. “I think we provided a little extra time here, but it’s important to get that spectrum out,” he said: “I would hope that we would be able to go forward without further delay.”

Copps said he isn’t concerned about hints from Verizon Wireless, Cingular and other major carriers that they may not bid in the auction. “I don’t know how much of that is final, bottom line judgment and how much of that is gaming the auction or doing what you're supposed to be doing,” he said: “Let’s hold the auction and see what it does. If spectrum is in such shortage and people want it, then it will be a successful auction and raise a lot of money.”

Copps advised the public to look carefully at the conclusions drawn by the FCC’s Hurricane Katrina Independent Panel, which is expected to release a report in June. “I don’t think we have a terribly good story at the FCC historically… on homeland security,” Copps said: “We were late getting off the mark. I think we're finally getting off the mark now, but it has been 5 years since 9/11. We know from all the reports we see that we're not ready for the next terror attack if and when that occurs.”

Copps said he remains encouraged about Martin’s decision to open a homeland security bureau. “There’s so much more that this Commission could be doing,” he said. “We've got 2,000 experts on telecommunications here. We've got the world’s best knowledge on telecommunications, communications generally at the FCC. Those resources need to be used.”

Copps said he hopes Martin will appoint a full-time bureau chief, not an acting chief, when the bureau opens. “I think it’s very important who we get to put in charge of that bureau,” he said: “I think it’s even more important that the resources are dedicated for it to do its job.”