There is always a period of uncertainty whenever a new member of the FCC takes his or her seat. No matter what the background of the individual, no one ever knows how the new commissioner will fill the role. That has been true of Deborah Tate, the newest commissioner–despite her service at the state level, she is not yet well known in the insular world of Washington telecom policy. That’s one reason why some comments she made last week on the cable “a la carte” pricing issue are especially encouraging. At a meeting of the National Association of Broadcasters, she called on cable companies to do more to combat indecent content. But, rather than call for regulation, she indicated that new technology and new competition might be the answer to the problem, making regulation unnecessary. “If IPTV becomes viable, it’s not a problem because you are going to call [up] what you want.”
That point–one I’ve been pounding on for months–may sound obvious, but it’s been strangely overlooked by most policymakers. The next day, for instance, members of the House Appropriations committee, hearing testimony from FCC chair Kevin Martin, showed outright enthusiasm for regulation: “I think you have made such a powerful case for a la carte,” subcommittee chair Frank Wolf told Martin, “[i]t will be shocking if this Congress does not deal with the issue.” If the concept that IPTV and new competition could address the problem better than regulation was apparently not raised.
Tate deserves plaudits for her common-sense, pro-market approach to this issue. Its an encouraging and welcome start on her new job. We are looking forward to more such common-sense in the years to come.
The Technology Liberation Front is the tech policy blog dedicated to keeping politicians' hands off the 'net and everything else related to technology.
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