One Last Growl for FCC’s Sharp-Toothed Watchdog, Tom Wheeler

As Tom Wheeler enters his last few months as head of the Federal Communications Commission during the Obama Administration — the next President is expected to name a new chairman — he has turned early supporters into foes and invited an expensive lobbying battle that may stymie a last-ditch pursuit of regulations that starts on Oct 27, including voting on a proposal for broadband privacy protections.

Wheeler’s last act as chairman could be overseeing the review of AT&T’s $85 billion bid for Time Warner, a mega-media deal that has already elicited protests from some politicians and consumer advocacy groups. AT&T and Time Warner will most likely try to avoid an FCC review by selling off the small number of broadcast television assets owned by Time Warner. Yet some say that even if Chairman Wheeler does not directly review the deal, his regulations have created new restrictions for AT&T and other broadband companies at a time when they are trying to find new growth beyond their internet businesses.