FCC Chair To Face off With Wireless Industry

When Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski speaks at a wireless industry conference next month, he will face an audience that has been under extra scrutiny since he's come to the agency and, as a result, feels besieged. Chairman Genachowski will speak Oct. 7 at the CTIA-The Wireless Association's conference, which is focused on business wireless providers and mobile entertainment. He proposed new rules last Monday to ensure that consumers can access whatever content they want on the Web through any device. CTIA immediately responded by saying such rules shouldn't apply to the thriving mobile market, because it faces different bandwidth constraints from other broadband Internet providers. The FCC says there will be a discussion on how such considerations should be reflected in the "net neutrality" rules, but Genachowski has stressed that the rules should apply be across any Internet technology platform -- DSL, cable, and wireless included. The FCC, at the request of lawmakers, also has launched a review of the wireless industry, examining whether practices such as exclusive partnerships between carriers and handset makers unfairly elbow out competitors and restrict choices for consumers.