Wheeler: Competition Is Basic Value, But Sometimes Insufficient

In testimony prepared for a June 18 nomination hearing, Federal Communications Commission chair nominee Tom Wheeler says that his business experience will make him a better chairman, that that experience has taught him that competition is a basic value that must be encouraged and that competition is not always sufficient to protect other basic values, like universal service and the use of technology to enhance public safety and services. But his policy background will also come in handy. "I have seen the important role that policy can play - as either a boon to growth or a brake on innovation." "Universal service is a key tenet of the Telecommunications Act. We did this for electricity and basic telephone service; we can do it for broadband," he says.