This week was another busy one in the world of technology and telecom policy. Here are a few of the highlights:
Dingell miffed at FCC, broadband debate looms
Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) sent a second letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski asking for an explanation of his rationale for reclassifying broadband as a regulated telecommunications service, and expressing a bit of pique that the chairman had not responded to his first letter sent in May.
“I find it wholly frustrating that Chairman Genachowski, after nearly two months, still has not responded to my questions about the classification of broadband Internet access services,” Dingell said in a statement. “I have serious concerns about the FCC’s proposed course of action. There is intense interest in the Congress about this, and I feel Chairman Genachowski’s responses to my questions would be invaluable in informing the debate on the matter.”
Dingell is hardly the only one alarmed at the FCC’s reclassification proposal. More than half of the members of Congress have signed on to letters encouraging the chairman to scrap the plan, and this week saw a gang of seven Republicans in the Senate introduce a bill that would impose severe restrictions on the agency’s regulatory authority.
