F.C.C. Nominee Favors Competition Over Regulation

F.C.C. Nominee Favors Competition Over Regulation



WASHINGTON — President Obama's nominee to head the Federal

Communications Commission told a Senate committee on Tuesday that his

top priorities, if he is confirmed, would be consumer protection,

increasing competition and providing sufficient predictability so

companies know what rulings to expect.



The nominee, Tom Wheeler, told the Senate Commerce Committee that the

F.C.C.'s support of competition was especially important given

Americans' heavy dependence on communications networks in education,

public safety and consumer services.



He said that his experience as a telecommunications executive and as

the leader of lobbying groups for the cable television and cellphone

industries had convinced him that the agency needs to promote

competition over regulation.



"Competition is a power unto itself that must be encouraged," he said.

"Competitive markets produce better outcomes than regulated or

uncompetitive markets."



Mr. Wheeler backed away, however, from his comments in 2011 on his

blog. In the post, he said the F.C.C. might have expanded its

authority over wireless companies if it had approved the merger of

AT&T and T-Mobile by imposing conditions that could later be applied

to all wireless companies.



In response to questions, Mr. Wheeler said that any merger review must

consider the facts before the commission and not deal with theoretical

questions of the sort he raised in the blog post.



"In a hypothetical musing, it is possible to do that," Mr. Wheeler

said. But in a merger review, he added, "I am guided by precedent, the

statute and the facts before me."



Most of the other questions posed to Mr. Wheeler were friendly, and

several Republican senators expressed confidence that he would be

confirmed by inviting him to visit their states once he took office.



Mr. Wheeler also said that his experience as a lobbyist would not

prejudice him in regulating the industries he formerly championed. "I

was an advocate for specific points of view, and I hope I was a pretty

good advocate," Mr. Wheeler said. "If I am fortunate enough to be

confirmed, my client will be the American public, and I hope I can be

as effective an advocate for them as humanly possible."



Nevertheless, Mr. Wheeler also said it was his experience in the

wireless and cable industries — which, he acknowledged, are much

changed today from when he worked for them — rather than as a

regulator that provides his primary strengths.



As chief executive of what is now the National Cable and

Telecommunications Association in the 1980s, "I fought against the

F.C.C.'s rules limiting cable's ability to compete with new video

services," Mr. Wheeler said. "I worked for the ability of competitors

to bring services into the home."



Similarly, Mr. Wheeler said that his tenure in the 1990s as head of

the cellular phone trade group now known as CTIA-The Wireless

Association, was one in which start-up and rapidly growing cellphone

competitors were at the forefront of wholesale changes in

communications.



"During my tenure, that competition was expanded by the auctions of

1994, wireless was increasingly used in place of wire line, and

wireless data turned the phone into a pocket computer," Mr. Wheeler

said.



"All of these developments brought with them new policy challenges,"

he added, challenges that are no smaller now as wireless becomes the

primary method of broadband and voice communication for millions of

Americans.



Mr. Wheeler also promised to look into the favorite topics of most of

the lawmakers on the committee. Those topics include continuing the

E-Rate program, which provides subsidies for broadband connections at

schools and libraries; raising revenue from the spectrum incentive

auctions to help finance a public service communications network; and

figuring out how to address consumer frustration over disputes between

broadcasters and cable providers that often leave cable subscribers

with blackouts of certain channels.



Mr. Wheeler also addressed television decency standards, something

that the F.C.C. has wrestled with for decades. He said the bully

pulpit might have more influence than any regulations the agency could

write.



"I do believe it is possible to call upon our better angels with some

leadership," Mr. Wheeler said. He recalled that the "vast wasteland"

speech of Newton N. Minow, the former F.C.C. chairman, "caught

people's attention." He added: "Maybe it's time to do the same type of

thing today."



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