Powell Wants to Limit FCC Power

New FCC chairman Michael Powell is expected to bring a hands-off approach to regulatory matters in the telecommunications industry.

That, consumer advocates fear, could mean higher bills and less of a variety of services for customers.

Powell, 37, replaces William Kennard, who resigned from the post last week. Powell, son of Secretary of State Colin Powell, joined the FCC in 1997 when he filled a vacant Republican slot on the five-member FCC board.

During his tenure with the FCC, he has taken a hands-off approach to regulation.

He is perhaps best known for his outspoken views on what he considers the FCC's meddling in the telecommunications industry before it has a chance to grow.

Unlike his Democratic counterparts, he advocated limited restrictions on the America Online and Time Warner merger -- saying that unlike the wave of mergers in the 1980s, there is no money involved, just stock and a swap of services.

Powell disagreed with the FCC's setting of a deadline for television broadcasters to set up digital broadcasting systems. He also vehemently disagreed that making telcos abide by the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the best way to promote competition in the industry because, he said, it forces companies to tailor their services so they face as little regulation as possible.

"With Chairman Powell we can expect to see a difference from previous regimes to the extent the FCC gets involved in mergers," said Howard Shelanski, a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley, who has worked with Powell. "We can expect to see a greater preference for market forces over regulatory intervention."

Still, someone has to make sure consumers are protected from the ill effects of a monopoly, his critics say.

The Media Access Project, a nonprofit First Amendment rights group, is concerned with Powell's position that it's better to regulate companies once they are strong -- in other words, after the damage to consumers is done.

"I expect a very dramatic and immediate philosophical change in the FCC," said Andrew Schwartzman, president of Media Access Project. "Powell's philosophy is well articulated and clear. He has a very crimped view of the FCC's public interest authority. It's not just related to mergers, but in general."

Schwartzman listed Powell's hesitance to regulate AOL-Time Warner and enforce caps on how many newspapers and/or television stations a company could own in one city.

"His view toward media ownership in general would be our greatest area of concern," Schwartzman said. "I would point out there is significant evidence that the marketplace is not working to restrain cable television prices, to restrain long-distance pricing -- which is actually going up -- and to stimulate new competition for residential telephone service. Nor is it clear that DSL service is becoming a competitive offering in residential markets."

The Media Access Project also disagreed with Powell's position not to award licenses to low-power radio broadcasters -- stations that operate under 100 watts. Powell opposed the FCC decision to award such licenses, saying the technical and economic impact on existing small stations hadn't been adequately studied.

However, members of the industry say Powell -- who was recommended for the chairman position by Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) -- may end up varying his position slightly because McCain supports licensing low-power radio stations. McCain is chairman of the committee on commerce, science and transportation, which oversees the FCC.

"Senator McCain has always supported Powell as a commissioner and really pushed for that nomination," McCain spokeswoman Pia Pialorsi said. "He has proven to be a very good commissioner and (McCain) thinks he is very qualified for the job as chairman."

Powell, whose biography is available online, was born March 23, 1963, in Birmingham, Alabama, while his father was in Vietnam. After he graduated from the College of William and Mary, he followed his father's footsteps and became an Army officer.

His military career was cut short by a jeep accident in 1987.