At FCC, Broadband Access Is Chief Issue

[SOURCE: Los Angeles Times, AUTHOR: James S. Granelli]
For FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, the key to delivering the future of telecommunications is a high-speed, or broadband, network available to everyone. Getting affordable broadband service to every household must be the commission's top priority, he says. In this interview Chairman Martin touches on 1) Indecency: "I'm anxious to see the details of [family tier] proposals. 2) A la carte cable pricing: "I think the goal was to give parents some additional tools to control that content that's coming into their homes." 3) Media ownership: "[W]hat the commission is going to need to do is go through a proceeding to change some of the rules, but do so in a way that hopefully addresses the concerns of the 3rd Circuit a little more directly. The decision actually upheld, for example, the commission's removal of the prohibition on newspapers owning broadcast properties. It said the commission was right, the landscape had changed significantly. But it didn't think that our new rule of how much you could own was appropriate. So we're going to have to find what the right balance is."
http://www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-martin19dec19,1,42084...
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* FCC Chief: No Action Needed Now on Net neutrality
[SOURCE: Reuters 12/14, AUTHOR: ]
There is no immediate need for the FCC to adopt rules protecting consumers’ ability to surf anywhere on the Internet, Chairman Kevin Martin said last week. Concerns have been raised by lawmakers and content companies about Internet providers like cable or telephone companies blocking customers from surfing sites in favor of preferred content or services, but Chairman Martin said there have not been widespread complaints so far. “I'm hesitant to adopt rules that would prevent anti-competitive behavior where there hasn't been significant evidence of a problem,” he said. “That doesn't mean people don't have a lot of concern about potential problems, but there’s a significant difference between potential problems and problems that occur,” he said.
http://www.freepress.net/news/12912