Martin Expects Consensus on Video Franchise Rules
CHICAGO -- FCC Chmn. Martin hopes to gain consensus among Commission members on the need for “parameters,” including time limits, on local control of video franchising, he said. Following remarks to Globalcomm late Mon. Martin also said he doesn’t fear the advanced wireless services (AWS) auction will raise less than Congress expects, though designated entities and major carriers have threatened to sit out the auction.
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“I'm going to work to try to get consensus. I guess I'm still optimistic the Commission will be able to take some action” on video franchising, Martin said: “Even if Congress doesn’t adopt anything, I think the Commission will be able to do something, at least in trying to streamline.” In recent days Comrs. Copps (CD May 24 p2) and Adelstein (CD June 6 p1) have indicated reservations about FCC imposed franchise rules.
Martin monitors Capitol Hill consideration of franchise bills enthusiastically pushed by carriers, especially AT&T and Verizon, he said. The FCC “can’t do as much about the process as Congress,” he said: “What we would be able to do is put some parameters around what local franchises can do and can’t do.” For example, the FCC could set deadlines on review of license filings, he said: “At the hearing we did in Keller, Tex., the local franchising authorities actually said they thought it would be reasonable for us to have a requirement that they had to act on an application within a certain period of time… Right now a lot of applications are pending even longer than what the franchise community said was reasonable.”
Martin hopes the AWS auction succeeds, but revenues can’t be the FCC’s primary concern, he said. “The Commission needs to be careful about ever designing spectrum auctions to artificially raise a lot of money,” Martin said: “We auction spectrum because it’s an efficient means of getting the spectrum out into the hands of people quickly.”
Martin came to his view of spectrum auctions as a legal advisor to former Comr. and economist Harold Furchtgott-Roth, he said: “It’s an asset that, when it doesn’t get utilized today, that value can’t get recaptured. From the Commission’s standpoint getting it into the marketplace is a success… The most important thing is that as spectrum managers we make sure the spectrum is being utilized to deliver services to people.”
In other comments, Martin said it would be “premature” for the FCC to adopt net neutrality rules exceeding principles adopted last year. “Last year the Commission struck a perfect balance,” he said: “I think the Commission has demonstrated they're willing to take enforcement action where necessary and we've got some principles that we've adopted that show a declared direction and I think that we're not seeing widespread abuses in the marketplace… Consumers need to be able to access content on the Internet unimpeded. But at the same time, we understand network operators may offer differentiated tiers and differentiated speeds.”
New Comr. McDowell is a “nice person” with a “wealth of experience” on telecom, Martin said. McDowell’s arrival will let the FCC act on issues caught in 2-2 deadlocks, he said, adding that events have proven him correct on deregulatory changes he backed as part of the Triennial Review Order the FCC approved 3 years ago.
“We decided that we weren’t going to require line sharing, or high speed access on new broadband pipes,” Martin said: “Several people actually objected to that and said it was going to lead to higher broadband prices. It was one of the contentious things between me and a previous chairman. Actually, we've seen just the opposite happen. DSL prices have come down because the real competition is occurring between DSL and cable modem services.” -- Howard Buskirk
Globalcomm Notebook…
Wireless carriers will see significant growth in use of their networks and in revenue if they can exploit new modes of communication, such as Myspace.com and other such sites, Orange CEO Sanjiv Ahuja said: “People want a chance to express themselves, we have seen it in terms of blogging in the fixed environment. If we give them the opportunity just in the mobile arena and extend it in an integrated way to the fixed environment we can truly unleash tremendous activity and in our case, we believe, usage and therefore revenue for us.” In a Globalcomm keynote, Ahija noted that Myspace.com has become the 4th most popular English language website. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to empower the customer,” he said.
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Rep. Issa (R-Cal.), increasingly a telecom activist, has few concerns about the U.S. ranking on broadband rollout, he said. “Guess what?” Issa said: “We're in America. We allocate resources based on a free market system based on people taking their disposable income… If members of Congress think that we're going to follow Sweden or S. Korea or Singapore then we follow them to our own peril.”