Today in a live press conference, President Obama nominated Thomas Wheeler, 67, as the next Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), one of the most powerful positions for ICT policy in the world.
In his remarks, the President praised Wheeler’s thirty years of experience in the communications field, noting he "knows this stuff inside and out." The President noted that Wheeler is the only member of both the cable and wireless industries to be inducted into both industries’ Halls of Fame. "He is like the Jim Brown or Bo Jackson of telecom," the President joked.
The President thanked for his service the outgoing FCC Chairman, Julius Genachowski, who hd said was an old buddy of his from law school. He praised Genachowski’s hard work and leadership on two priorities: helping millions more Americans connect to high speed Internet; and keeping the Internet open to everyone. He named current Commissioner Mignon Clyburn Acting Chair until the Senate confirms nominee Wheeler.
"Together, they have got an important mission: Giving businesses and workers tools to compete in the 21st economy and making sure we stay on the cutting edge of this industry," the President said. He said the FCC needed to set up legal and regulatory structures that continue to growth in this sector, create new jobs and help grown the economy.
Analysis
Wheeler is the current Managing Director at Core Capital Partners, a venture capital firm that invests in companies focused on information technology, communications, digital media and technology-enabled services. In his career, Wheeler has served as the national leader of two important Washington D.C.–based industry associations, the National Cable Television Association (NCTA) where he was President from 1979 and 1984, and the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA), where he was CEO from 1992 to 2004.
I know Tom Wheeler from my days at the FCC when he was CEO of the wireless association. He is a force with which to be reckoned. To start, the telegenic Tom Wheeler knows Washington politics like the back of his hand from his NCTA and CTIA stints. He will be able to navigate Congressional, Executive and FCC political waters easily. On April 27, 2011, the President appointed Wheeler as a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. Previously, Presidents Clinton and Bush appointed him as a Trustee of the JFK Center for the Performing Arts. Wheeler has also served as Chairman of the Foundation for the National Archives and as a Board member of the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS). He has been a great ally to President Obama, assisting in his two campaigns with both a valuable gift of time and opening his Rolodex to assist the President with substantial fund raising. In short, Wheeler has serious political clout.
Further, Wheeler will bring a rare broad technical expertise to the FCC post. With his Association hats on, he supported the Cable Communications Act of 1984 and the Telecommunications Act of 1996. As a result, he is portrayed as an advocate of competition. His deep knowledge of two important leading ICT industries – cable and wireless communications (both key players in broadband) – gives him strong technical knowledge as he takes a new post as a regulator of the industries under the purview of the FCC: TV and radio broadcasters, wireline and wireless telephone companies, cable companies, and direct broadcast satellite companies.
Third, Wheeler understands the start-up world, something many with regulatory and policy backgrounds lack. Before his CTIA service, Wheeler did a stint as an entrepreneur leading small tech start-ups, giving him a hands-on window into that world. Also, he recently gained expertise assessing and advising tech start-ups in his current VC job with Core Capital. His blogs on the Capital Core website show he is not afraid to express his views on what should happen in the rapidly-changing tech marketplace. Likely, Wheeler is a man who will approach the FCC job with a pro-competition mindset, with a solid technical expertise, and with a good understanding of challenges faced by entrepreneurs. This makes him well qualified to evaluate claims by FCC stakeholders of impacts on economic, social and technical issues before the Commission.
How will things proceed from here? Once nominated by the President, Wheeler will need to be confirmed by the Senate before taking his post. The process begins with a hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee before proceeding to the full Senate floor for a vote. Now begins that waiting period as the White House and nominee waits for the Senate to act. The Senate confirmation process is fraught with peril, and should not be taken for granted by any FCC appointee. FCC stakeholders will try and sway individual Senators as the nomination goes forward. The process typically takes anywhere from 3-24 months, depending on many factors, many of which may be completely unrelated to the nominee. Some progressive groups including Free Press and New America Foundation have already expressed early concerns about Wheeler, mostly based on his prior positions with CTIA and NCTA.
In the interim, Commissioner Clyburn will take the reins as interim Chairman in the transition. A Democrat, Commissioner Clyburn is a former South Carolina Public Service Commissioner and before that, served for 11 years as a representative of the South Carolina 6th congressional district. She has served as an FCC Commissioner since August 2009. Commissioner Clyburn is an able and well-respected Commissioner, and will lead the FCC well in the transition. Left on the current Commission are Clyburn, and two relative newcomers, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel (Democrat) and Commissioner Ajit Pai (Republican). The three remaining commissioners represent enough votes to ensure that more routine FCC business may proceed, although more controversial dockets may be put on hold waiting for the new Chairman’s leadership.
Notably, Commissioner Clyburn will be the first female FCC Chairman. There have been only 15 female FCC Commissioners out of 81 FCC commissioners since 1934, representing almost 19% of all commissioners, but never a female Chairman. This is an important glass barrier broken for women in the communications industry! Efforts for the President to appoint the first permanent female chairman were apparently not successful, although a number of highly qualified female candidates were reportedly considered by the White House.
There is also the matter of the Republican FCC seat that will be vacated by Commissioner Robert McDowell in early to mid-May, according to his staff. It is likely that Senate Republicans will insist on a named nominee to this seat before confirming Wheeler to the FCC Chairmanship.
What critical issues await the new FCC Chairman? Certainly the spectrum incentive auctions designed to free airwaves currently used by broadcasters for high speed wireless Internet usage, open Internet requirements, and continued implementation of the National Broadband Plan to bring high speed Internet access and broadband adoption to the entire nation for economic and social development. In this era of rapid change in the ICT space, this Presidential appointment to the FCC is very important to how these issues will be treated in the nation.
