Powell: Distinctions Disappearing Between Cable, Web

National Cable & Telecommunications Association president and former Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell says the association has been "very engaged" in the privacy bills currently making the rounds on Capitol Hill, driven by the fact that, over time, there will be fewer distinctions between what cable does and what the Web does.

To that point, he says he agrees that in a technical sense cable companies are now broadband providers, but that he thinks video is still a compelling service that operators will be in for a long time to come. Powell said examples of the cross-polinization of cable and Web were the use of metadata and providing more tailored advertising. "These are things that cable industries will want to do as well, so we're very focused on making sure we're not left out of that equation." He said the Telecom Act of 1996 could use a rewrite and is "fading" in its relevance. He reiterated his long-standing criticism of the FCC regulating in "balkanized buckets," said it leads to jurisdictional disputes and litigation. He said it contains heavy inefficiencies and will likely "die of its own weight." He says that, at some point, Congress has to migrate us out of there" and to a "bit is a bit" world.