CES Becoming Critical Stop for Top FCC Officials

Commissioner Robert McDowell, a 2007 CES-goer, views the event as a critical opportunity to interact briefly but intensively with industry, he told us, citing “an incredible explosion of entrepreneurial creativity” on view at CES. “What’s being created is something that no one could have imagined years ago and did not come about from any specific government mandate,” he said in an interview. “A lot of these technologies, especially wireless technologies, are being created because we have allowed entrepreneurs to use new slices of spectrum without encumbrances and that has unleashed a lot of energy in this space.”

McDowell was at CES most of the week, walking the show floor, meeting industry officials in previously-scheduled encounters, and seeing product demonstrations. “You get to see what new technologies are being unveiled,” he said. “Also it’s one-stop shopping for meeting all the key players” in FCC-regulated industries.

Commissioner Michael Copps came with clear goals, he told us, noting that he'd been feeling “kind of derelict” in not attending CES. “I thought it was time to come and I'm glad I came,” he said. “It was a good opportunity to learn in light of the 700 MHz auction coming up and the DTV transition. I came partly to learn but I came partly to exhort, too.” Copps said he expressed in numerous meetings his interest in seeing more industry focus on the Feb. 17, 2009, DTV changeover (CD Jan 10 p5). Industry should be “a little more proactive,” he said, emphasizing that the transition is a constant personal theme, with CES an excellent pulpit. “It’s a great opportunity to get a lot of players in relatively close proximity and to talk to them and push for a little more of a sense of urgency in getting this thing done right.”

Copps is weary of industry likening the DTV transition to the Y2K changeover, another cause celebre but one that wound up causing little trouble. “I was part of the Y2K process of the Clinton administration and we had interagency task forces. We had coordination. We had public outrage. At he end of the day we didn’t have any problems,” Copps said. “At the end of the day people said you didn’t need to do all that because this wasn’t such a big problem in the first place. Maybe that was true or maybe it’s because we did some things right… Wouldn’t it be a happy outcome to this thing if people said on Feb. 18, ‘This wasn’t such a big deal after all.’ But I don’t think we're on a track to get there with the strategy and tactics that we're following right now.”

Regulatory attorneys at CES were not surprised FCC staff and commissioners showed up en masse. “There are a lot of issues coming up,” one said, citing in addition to the auction and transition broadband. “They want to come out here and see what’s happening to the industry,” he said. “What are people demanding? What do consumers want? What are these companies rolling out?” At CES, commissioners keep exhausting schedules of back-to-back meetings, he said: “They spend a lot of time on the floor talking to people about what’s coming down the pike, what the next big things are, where is technology heading, what’s the world going to look like.”

CES and the FCC mesh naturally, another lawyer said. “The commissioners recognize that this show closely tracks their own pubic interest mandate,” the lawyer said. “The goal of the consumer electronics industry is to sell as much as they can to consumers, to get technology in the hands of consumers, and that’s the FCC’s mission.” CES assembles all the elements under FCC jurisdiction, he noted. “Cable, broadcast, wireline, wireless -- every industry is represented here,” he said. “It’s a one-stop shop for all things FCC and that’s why it has been and I think will continue to be a big draw for commissioners and their staff.”

Tracing FCC interest in CES to former Chairman Michael Powell, another attorney said chairman Kevin Martin sees CES in terms of his place in history. “Powell loved going to CES, and a few others often went as well,” he said, citing current issues such as the wireless-IT convergence, iPhone, and Google’s interest in spectrum. These matters have “framed this area as cutting-edge, innovative, and where the news is being made as opposed to the same old regulatory battles being refought in many other areas.”

Even if the FCC traditionally has not regulated in such areas, Martin is keen to monitor developments’s potential impact on his legacy, the source said. “In particular, he has expressed great interest in wireless applications and devices and ensuring some level of open access to the wireless networks, new and old, and he has made some beneficial alliances with companies in this area to pursue his pro-consumer agenda,” the source said. “Most importantly, in these times, FCC officials and staff are expected to have a basic understanding of new and emerging technologies -- IT as well as communications -- and it would almost seem odd if they weren’t interested or didn’t attend these types of major-league events.”