FCC's Powell in defense of optimism at SuperComm

From...

By George A. Chidi Jr.

ATLANTA, Georgia (IDG) -- In a speech laden with metaphoric references likening the telecom landscape to the settlement of the prairies, U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell made his case for the forces of hope amid the "dark, desperate, hopeless" stories about the industry's downturn.

As has become increasingly common during the continuing candlelight vigil for last year's economy, Powell attacked the media for feeding the hype on the way up only to gorge again on the way down. "It is now distinctly chic to be a doomsayer," he said, lamenting the "dark-clouded blustering of pundits," and the "overinflated promises of the prophets."

The current downturn is indeed painful, but the march forward will not be deterred, Powell said, addressing a full auditorium of SuperComm 2001 conventioneers Tuesday at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

IDG.net INFOCENTER

Related IDG.net Stories

Features

Visit an IDG site

IDG.net search

"I want to stand here in defense of optimism," he said.

Powell evoked images of the 19th century Western land grab to describe his view of the modern telecommunication industry. "We are migrating from one destination to another," on a road traveled by both settlers and highwaymen, he said. "We are on a journey ... and we under-appreciate and underestimate the challenges of that journey."

Investors have been caught up in 'technofrenzy,' Powell said -- a belief that technology had eliminated business fundamentals. "Instead of 'ready, aim, fire,' it's 'ready, fire, aim,'" he said, describing new economy thinking of an end to traditional business cycles.

In line with his generally libertarian view of the Internet and the telecom market, Powell said he viewed the FCC's mission as providing a framework for the market to work out its problems, not to solve them. Seeking regulatory stability, Powell said he would demand clear and demonstrable evidence of anti-competitive activity before moving against telecom businesses.

"A commitment to markets in a time of innovation is not a bow to big business," he said. "We will let the market pick winners and losers and not government ... Government has the cloudiest crystal ball of all."

In order to avoid depending on the very companies the FCC regulates when it comes to being educated about technology, Powell said he will push for a more technologically literate FCC. He plans for the FCC to create a technology educational institute for regulators, judges and lawyers to help shorten the learning curve on innovations.

Powell made a plea to the audience for engineers to join the FCC, citing figures showing that 40 percent of the commission's engineers would be eligible for retirement in the next five years. The appeal had appeal for some people in the audience who were job hunting.

"It sounds like a very interesting thing," said P. Jay Rogers of Smyrna, Ga., a former Nextel Communications engineer cut from the company in a round of layoffs last month. "He's aware of the FCC's intelligence weaknesses. I was not surprised that he didn't want to make drastic changes, but I was impressed that he wants to have ... a body" of trained personnel to evaluate new technology.

Powell was a U.S. Army tank officer in Germany during the 1980s, and in thinking taken straight from the armored warfare play book, he also placed a premium on the power of a better trained FCC to move faster.

"I'm guided by the view that a decision made too late is a decision made not at all," Powell said. Regulatory uncertainty affects markets and introduces the possibility of regulatory arbitrage -- companies shopping around for better legal jurisdictions in which to operate, exploiting the differences between agencies and regions.

"Right or wrong, we will make quick decisions in order to stabilize markets," he said.

For example, Powell said the FCC would move this month to issue procedures for handling radio-frequency emissions safety -- an issue which has provoked lawsuits against cell phone makers by consumers claiming the devices are potentially unsafe.

Science is still cloudy on cell phone emissions safety according to a report issued in April by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) calling for more study. But by moving fast, Powell is following classic Patton tactics -- better a poor plan executed swiftly than the perfect plan with Rommel in your back yard.