FCC Chairman looks to Former Boss to take Key Role

FCC CHAIRMAN LOOKS TO FORMER BOSS TO TAKE KEY ROLE
[SOURCE: MarketWatch, AUTHOR: Corey Boles]
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin has tapped a former boss -- no, not former-Gov Bush, he's still committed to something else for a couple of years -- to head an arbitration scheme that would resolve disputes in the lucrative telecom business market serviced by a merged AT&T and BellSouth. Former FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, whom Chairman Martin worked for as a staffer for two years, would be the chairman's pick to run an arbitration scheme. The notion of the creation of an arbitration scheme may now be redundant as it seems likely that Commissioner Robert McDowell will participate in the vote among FCC commissioners over whether to approve the $80 billion merger, giving Chairman Martin the majority he needs. This could mean the he would no longer need to negotiate with Commissioners Michael Copps and Jonathan Adelstein and could push through approval for the merger with few or any conditions attached, beyond those already agreed to by AT&T. But, according to analysts, an arbitration scheme could still come back on the table if Copps and Adelstein can be persuaded to cut a deal rather than have a divided 3-2 vote on the matter. Furchtgott-Roth has a reputation as being strongly in favor of deregulation and being pro-business. In his four years at the commission between 1997 and 2001, he openly questioned whether the FCC had any role in telecommunications mergers whatsoever.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fcc-chairman-looks-former-boss/sto...