Martin Calls Plans for Leaving FCC Up in the Air
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin still hasn’t set a date to leave the commission. He won’t say whether he'll be gone by Inauguration Day, Jan. 20. Speaking to reporters after a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Martin also said the decision to cancel cell-jamming tests at the District of Columbia jail rested purely with the city (CD Jan 8 p1). And he said the FCC’s chief administrative law judge lacked authority to reassert control over three cable carriage cases that the Media Bureau had taken back (CD Jan 7 p1).
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Industry sources said there seems little doubt that Martin will have left the FCC soon after the inauguration. The last time control of the White House changed, in January 2001, former Chairman William Kennard announced he was leaving that Jan. 12. Eight years before that, Alfred Sikes held a news conference Jan. 7 to discuss his plans to depart before a new president was inaugurated.
Asked about the last-minute cancellation of the jamming test, Martin said the FCC had left the question of whether to proceed to the city. CTIA officially asked the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit for permission to without its law suit to block the tests.
“The D.C. government decided they didn’t want to go forward in light of the litigation,” Martin said. “I continue to think that it’s important we try to work with public safety to address the issue they're raising about people being able to make at times unauthorized calls using cell phones in the jail.”
Martin said he lacks the expertise to decide whether cell jamming is preferable to searching for phones on prisoners’ bodies, or using cell phone sniffing dogs, as wireless carriers recommend. “I rely upon law enforcement to determine what’s the most effective means of making sure they're doing it properly,” Martin said. “To the extent that they say they need this capability, I would defer to their expertise.”
Martin also said chief Administrative Law Judge Richard Sippel no longer has control of the cable carriage cases, and they remain at the Media Bureau for decision. Martin said the FCC general counsel’s view is that the bureau delegated the decision to the judge for a limited time. “They've taken it back,” Martin said. “I don’t think he [Sippel] has any authority to be doing anything on it.” The chairman said that by taking the decision back, the bureau “hopefully” has guaranteed a quick resolution, but a decision is unlikely in the next few weeks.