Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski will be discussing broadband -- almost exclusively -- when he talks up the FCC's role in maximizing the power of communications technology at a Senate Commerce Committee FCC oversight hearing May 16, at least according to his opening statement.

The full Senate Commerce Committee held an oversight hearing on the Federal Communications Commission on May 16. The hearing offered Committee members an opportunity to convey their priorities and to hear from the five FCC commissioners about efforts to protect consumers and carry out the public interest. Senators rushed through their questioning of FCC commissioners during the oversight hearing so they would not have to hold the panel over while they voted on the floor, but Commerce Committee members still hit on plenty of topics, including on the network neutrality.

Netflix is turning up the heat on Comcast, Time Warner and AT&T over data caps that the cable companies place on unaffiliated streaming-video companies. In its latest attempt to end what it considers discrimination on the parts of the three cable companies, the rental and streaming giant is "shopping questions related to data caps to the Senate Commerce Committee members in anticipation of tomorrow's oversight hearing with all five [Federal Communications Commission] commissioners."