A HOT SPOT AT FCC
Next chief mulled
Beltway buzz is now centered on who will replace FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, the former cable lobbyist who has been in the job for three years.
On Thursday, Wheeler will be feted in Washington, DC, by the Federal Communications Commission Bar Association as communications professionals and lobbyists will be dissecting his tenure and gossiping about his successor.
Among the names being floated are Ajit Pai, the current Republican FCC commissioner; David Fellows, a former CTO at Comcast and AT&T and a co-founder of Layer 3 TV, a cable company in Denver; and Jeffrey Eisenach, the Trump-appointed consultant named to the transition team, according to several FCC watchers.
When asked for comment about the possible contenders, including the possibility that he might lead the federal body, Eisenach told The Post, “No comment. It wouldn’t be productive.”
“The whole thing is a black hole,” said one source, commenting on who Presidentelect Trump will finally appoint. Sources are unanimous, however, that the new FCC will be pro-business and firmly in the corner of cable companies and telecom operators.
During the Obama administration, there was a widely held view that the FCC was pro-Internet companies.
The agency is currently made up of five positions, including the chairman. There are two Republicans, Pai and Michael O’Rielly, and three Democrats, Wheeler, Mignon Clyburn and Jessica Rosenworcel.
Rosenworcel is still waiting to be reconfirmed by the Senate, though several FCC experts suggest it is unlikely that she will remain. Others say Clyburn may also opt to exit.
Some in Washington circles are suggesting that John Branscome may replace Rosenworcel. He is a senior counsel to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation and worked at the FCC as its deputy chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau.
Phil Weiser, a law professor at the University of Colorado and a ex-White House adviser, is also in the mix as a possible candidate for either the top slot or a commissioner’s role, according to a Washington source.
“There are a lot of organizations lobbying for their favorite candidates, but it’s being done behind closed doors. If you come out against someone and that person is nominated, you have a strike against you,” said Tim Karr, senior director of strategy at Free Press.
“The market has already concluded that Title II will be reversed and that more onerous regulatory burdens will probably be reversed. What everyone is waiting to find out is what it will mean for mergers and acquisitions,” said Craig Moffett of independent research company MoffettNathanson.
Title II involves rules that prevent paid prioritization of content over the Web.