Two-Dozen FCC Actions in Stevens Bill

TWO-DOZEN FCC ACTIONS IN STEVENS BILL
[SOURCE: Multichannel News, AUTHOR: Ted Hearn]
Senate Commerce Committee chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) would turn the Federal Communications Commission into a beehive of activity under his 135-page telecommunications bill introduced Monday in a bold step partly designed to reorder competition in the pay TV market. Many, but not all, provisions in the Stevens bill (S. 2686) would require implementation by the FCC under chairman Kevin Martin. As FCC observers and practitioners know well, the agency’s rulings often wind up in court, giving the last word on the meaning of federal legislation to judges in courtrooms across the country. Among other things, the Stevens bill would require local governments to grant new cable franchises within 30 days, subsidize broadband providers in rural America for the first time and force small cable operators to offer local digital-TV signals in analog until Feb. 14, 2014. According to the Stevens bill, two-dozen provisions will require FCC rulemakings, proceedings and adjudications, giving the Martin-led agency enormous power to fill in gaps left by Capitol Hill lawmakers, often deliberately. As the saying goes, Congress paves the road, but the FCC paints the lines.
http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6331545.html?display=Breaking+News