VC Joins FCC, Will Focus on the Smart Grid

Apparently, venture capitalist Nick Sinai will become the Energy and Environmental Director for the Federal Communications Commission, where he will lead "a team that will examine how broadband/communications infrastructure and policies can support our national energy and environmental goals, with an emphasis on the Smart Grid." The move is unusual, largely because so far, the FCC hasn't really played a big role when it comes to standards or the implementation of the smart grid. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), even the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) have done a lot more high-profile work. But the FCC will have an important part to play when it comes to dictating the rules for smart grid services using wireless spectrum and broadband technologies, and perhaps Sinai's addition signals greater future involvement by the commission.