New FCC chairman's thinking comes into (slightly) sharper view

[Commentary] Now that he's in office, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler is only slightly less inscrutable than he had been in the months leading up to his nomination by President Barack Obama and approval by the Senate. That's probably as it should be: It's unwise for a regulator to get too specific on particular issues before handing down actual rulings.

But we can draw some insights from his first big policy speech, given at Ohio State University. In it, Chairman Wheeler lived up to the reputation he gained during the nomination process as a policy wonk and a tech nerd who is supremely careful about regulation. In a nutshell, he's not against imposing rules on the communications industry, but he seems hesitant to do so unless those rules are meant to foster more competition, and hence more choices and lower prices for consumers.