Net Neutrality Again Puts FCC General Counsel at Center Stage

In his two years as the Federal Communications Commission’s general counsel, Jonathan Sallet has taken center stage in some of the most divisive debates in Washington.

He helped shape and then defend the network neutrality law. His input helped kill the Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger. In recent days, the cable industry has closely tracked his thinking about a merger between Charter and Time Warner Cable, concerned about a similar result.

“Typically a general counsel is like an administrator,” said former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt. “But in Jon you have an administrator who is also a policy maven and political strategist.” Sallet will draw more of the spotlight in coming months, a period that could shape the tech and cable landscape for years to come.

The agency is set to take a position on the Charter and Time Warner Cable deal, as well as vote to open the market of set-top cable boxes to new competitors. And the decision in the net neutrality case, the one he prepared so long and hard for, is also expected.