Wireless on Agenda of New FCC Chairman - Interview with Kevin Martin

President George Bush elevated Kevin J. Martin from Commissioner to Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on March 18. The appointment has produced considerable speculation about the new Chairman’s priorities, philosophy, and views on various communications issues.

At 38, the Chairman is young, well educated, and well versed in the industry and
Commission affairs. After graduation from Harvard Law School, he practiced law at Wiley, Rein & Fielding, a Washington, D.C., firm known for its expertise in telecommunications law. Later he served in the Office of the Independent Counsel and as legal advisor to FCC Commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth. Between 1999 and 2000, he worked on President Bush’s 2000 election campaign. In April 2001, President Bush nominated him as an FCC Commissioner.

Of course, the best way to figure out what someone is going to do is to ask. In mid-June, the editor of Wireless Wave visited the FCC Chairman in his office on 12th Street in Washington, DC, for a wide-ranging conversation about wireless issues. Chairman Martin shared his thoughts about the Commission’s next few years. Here’s what he had to say.

Wireless Wave: What are your top regulatory priorities for the wireless industry?

Chairman Martin: I would say that broadband deployment is the top priority for me
overall. Not just wireline broadband, but wireless broadband as well.

The Commission will do all it can to make sure that spectrum is available for the wireless industry to provide broadband services. As you know, we’re planning to auction off 90 MHz of spectrum for advanced services in June 2006. We’re going to do all we can to make sure that this proceeds efficiently and expeditiously.
 
As part of that, we’re working to implement recent legislation passed to help clear
government users out of that spectrum to facilitate moving government incumbents out of the spectrum as smoothly as possible.

We are also working to wind up the transition to DTV so that we can free other spectrum that may be valuable to numerous kinds of commercial wireless services.
Another priority is to make sure that we identify a sufficient amount of spectrum for public safety use. Public safety interoperability, for example, is a critical concern today. We need to ensure that public safety has enough spectrum for interoperability and other purposes. Again, as we reach the end of DTV transition, getting some of that spectrum back will be important not only for commercial users, but also for public safety users.

 

 

 


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