FCC needs an upgrade

[Commentary] More important than a possible Chief Technology Officer is President-elect Barack Obama's choice for chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC needs fresh ideas on how to encourage competition and promote broadband Internet access. It also needs to fix nagging problems with its own procedures and stop trying to regulate speech. President Obama should strive for a technologically savvier FCC, which would be better equipped to regulate how broadcasters, phone and cable companies influence the flow of information and communications. Finally, he also should place a priority on opening the FCC itself. Under Martin, the commission was often slow and riven by internal battles. It needs to reform its arcane procedures, which give industry lobbyists an advantage they don't need and shouldn't have.