Profile: NCTA's Kyle McSlarrow

THE CABLE INDUSTRY'S ENERGY GUY
[SOURCE: The Hill, AUTHOR: Jim Snyder]
Kyle McSlarrow, a former Energy Department deputy secretary during President Bush’s first term, has directed the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) as its CEO and president since March 2005. The NCTA represents cable operators that serve 90 percent of cable households as well as 200 cable program networks. The House passed a bill two weeks ago, and the Senate is working on its draft. The final result, which may not yet be seen this year, is likely to bring more competition to the cable industry by providing phone companies an easier way to sell television content on their lines. McSlarrow said his industry is fine with that as long as regulatory burdens on cable companies are removed at the same time. “Our posture is whatever is happening in Congress, it has to be pro-competitive,” said McSlarrow, who was an unusual pick for another reason. Democrats had historically directed the NCTA. McSlarrow is dyed-in-the-wool Republican. Another issue could prove to be more intractable and threatens the future of the telecom bill as legislative days disappear: network neutrality. McSlarrow calls the issue the potential “poison pill” of the measure. Often on opposite sides, the cable industry and the telecom Bells are aligned in the fight over net neutrality against such Internet and high-tech giants as Yahoo, Google and Microsoft, which don't want to be put in a position where the owners of the broadband infrastructure charge them to use their “pipes” or could block content.
http://thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/Business/062006_profile.html