gregory alan bolcer gbolcerendeavorscom got see powell talk march 2001 beginning reign fcc said going take real hands approach funny would blame regulators causing collapse one thing get right wasnt worried us behind europe wireless licensing spectrum something prescient licensors eat lunch huge licensing costs paid little benefit legacy wasis supposed rethinking fccs role stay way period business innovation wireless space didnt want government forcing business models onto private sector full transcript 1 interestingly enough got see speech person part whole ctia2001 las vegas keynote series speakers clay hoped flight ontario las vegas demo support craig barrett 2 message theres difference wired wireless internetits thing instead scalable networks thinking scalable content using magi showed sending blue man tv commercial desktop laptop ipaq color smartphone content scaling back target platform best part whole trip wasnt hobnobbing really fact venetian ran rooms decided put us one 10000night high roller rooms put clay one another venetian known largest hotel rooms anywhere ones bigger whole house 8 greg 1 httpwwwfccgovspeechespowell2001spmkp101html 2 httpwwwintelcompressroomarchivespeechescb20010320htm rohit khare wrote cant believe actually read laughoutloud funny profile fcc commissioner fer crissakes following article comes recommended fine explanation michael powells extraordinary equivocation hand also agree werbachs werblog entry rohit trip fcc world nicholas lemann piece new yorker week fcc chairman michael powell one first articles ive seen captures powells real personality way hes viewed washington unfortunately lemann ends endorsing conventional political wisdom describing powell isnt really firebreathing ideological conservative concludes essence powell favors inumbent local bell telephone companies democratic fcc would favor new entrants know thats powell sees world though disagree many issues think hes right resist old dichotomy telecom collapse humbling experience anyone went disaster wasnt regulators fault conservatives argue something clearly went horribly wrong policymakers learn experience contrary lemanns speculation upstart carriers wont successful gore administration late virtually dead wall street turned capital tap foreseeable future may survive small players rather worlddominators battle clecs rbocs lemann astutely parodies old news next important battle telecom want stay within traditional boxes use different models entirely thats open broadband networks open spectrum important whatever regulatory environment going consolidation telecom left consolidation face increasing pressure create new pipes home slowly die victors consolidation game cut back innovation raise prices create pressure alternatives lemann right policymaking looks much drier ambiguous ground lens history hes wrong thinking telecoms future something like past friday october 04 2002 111711 comments 0 httpwwwnewyorkercomprintablefact021007fa_fact chairman nicholas lemann hes powell one sure hes new yorker october 8 2002 last year middle son eighth grade encountering first fairly serious americanhistory course indignantly reported whole subject incomprehensible shocked gettysburg declaration independence selmatomontgomery march look textbook said saw point class got eighteenforties expected big beefing roles sacagawea crispus attucks indeed main difference sons text childhood somebody made disastrous decision devote actually happened american history pages pages tariffs bank charters reciprocal trade agreements skipped ahead past civil war hoping easier going encounter currency floats regulation freight rates decades twentieth century become possible see federal governments main function responding dramatic crises launching crusades social justice instead attempting referee competing claims economic interests even one reveal really goes behind pretty speeches sanctimonious hearings washington youd find thousands lawyers lobbyists madly vying advantage much public agribusiness versus real estate banks versus insurance companies arena competition mainly takes place regulatory agencies commissions congressional committees supervise insiders game less players secretive public pressencouraged players speak jargon cant get interested one corner washington might called fcc world federal communications commission fcc world perhaps five thousand denizens work commission house senate commerce committees washington offices companies commission regulates read communications daily subscription price 3695 year every year around christmastime grumblingly attend chairmans dinner washington hotel high point evening scripted supposedly selfdeprecating comedy routine commissions chairman federal agencies commissions fcc one americans ought interested involved business sector accounts fifteen per cent american economy well important aspects daily lifetelephone television radio newspapers internet right fcc world crisis least soapy lather good portion angry public thinks corporate scandals concerns economic collapse companies regulated fcc qwest worldcom adelphia global crossing among others part fcc world aol time warner part fcc world jack grubman former salomon smith barney analyst seems succeeded kenneth lay enron embodiment corporate scandals part fcc world past two years companies belonging fcc world lost trillions dollars stockmarket valuation collectively served dead weight pulling entire stock market year alarmed acerbic anonymous memorandum state fcc circulating widely within fcc world evokes fcc worlds feverish mood fcc fiddling rome burns suggests nobody besides residents fcc world thought commission connection corporate scandals sentence quoted followed explanation ilecs appear likely enter ld markets within twelve months losing virtually residential customers attackers since 1996 suffering 10 market share loss business lines clecs lot easier think evil ceos decipher even good times fcc world pays obsessive attention commissions chairman bad times attention becomes especially intense chairman celebrity fcc world devotes fulltime chairmanwatching current chairman michael powell celebrity least governmentofficial standards son colin powell secretary state unlike father kind mesmerizing ambiguity generates enormous times apoplectically toned speculation really hes really powell young head federal agencyhe thirtynineand genially charming everybody likes becoming chairman three years one fccs five commissioners fluent fccs incomprehensible patois clintonesque love arcane details communications policy hes always saying hes avid moderate yet rageinciting quality one predecessors chairman reed hundt quoted forbes compared powell herbert hoover mark cooper consumer federation america calls radical extreme often hes accused rightwing ideologue powell gets accused paralytically cautious aint singing kumbayah around campfire another former chairman william kennard says answer one day last spring powell testifying senate subcommittee delivered anodyne opening statement subcommittees chairman ernest hollings south carolina berated dont care regulations hollings said dont care law congress sets thats fundamental thats misgiving administration amazing pellmell road seem care think youd wonderful executive vicepresident chamber commerce chairman regulatory commission government level happy job extremely powell said amiable smile one understand powells maddening effect least democrats liberal activists without understanding stated purpose commission chairs also real purpose fcc created congress 1934 existed prototype well new deal performs function one classic easy cases government intervention private economy making sure broadcasters stick assigned spots airwaves original function preventing american telephone telegraph national monopoly phone company treating customers unfairly decades fcc world grew comfortable wellestablished place fcc segued role industrial supervisionits real purpose supposed manage competition among communications companies didnt become bloody artfully deciding would allowed enter line business addition looking publics interest commission specifically protected interests members congress many regard media companies districts single terrifying category interest groupyou cross local bank president live tell tale local broadcaster according ofttold fcc world anecdote president clinton blocked attempt allow television stations buy daily newspapers city said soandso owned anticlinton little rock democratgazette owned leading tv station little rock clinton would never become president fcc world may con tentious settled reasonably powerful players created secure economic niches nineteeneighties successful breakup tby far biggest important company commission regulateddeposited thick additional sediment selfconfidence onto consciousness fcc world generation ago americans one local phone company one longdistance company one company manufactured telephones customers permitted ownand company illegal plug device phone line midnineteennineties dozen economically viable local phone companies handful national longdistance companies competing offer customers lowest price best service stores everywhere selling telephone equipment many manufacturersand millions americans fax machine modem operating telephone lines argued years natural monopoly requiring protection economic competition total control lines much argument period fcc assisted birth cable television cell phones internet dream federalagency success come true consumers vastly better served industry much bigger prosperous next big step supposed telecommunications act 1996 one massive endlessly lobbiedover pieces legislation people outside fcc world probably felt safe ignore although telecom act sailed rhetorical banner modernization deregulation essence grand interestgroup bargain local phone companies known headline writers baby bells fcc world arbocks pronounced version rbocs regional bell operating companies would permitted offer longdistance service exchange letting longdistance companies smaller new phone companies use lines compete customers consumers would win first time would get benefits competition local service getting even competition already long distance politics economics telecom act shepherded congress vicepresident gore important democrats saw act helping reposition technology partythe party brought internet every home created hundreds thousands jobs new companies least set investment boom whose beneficiaries might become partys new contributor base clintons slogans information superhighway building bridge twentyfirst century like clinton slogans artfully sent different messages different constituencies rhetorical correlates telecom act gores cruise presidency supposed powered substantially acts success fcc crucial role arbocks rich aggressive politically powerful generally republican though like important interest groups work parties immediately filed lawsuits wound tying hands new competitors local phone market three years rulemaking enforcement litigation fcc headed reed hundt gores classmate st albans supposed keep arbocks cages longdistance companies like mci worldcom also whole category new companies seelecks pronounced version clecs competitive local exchange carriers could emerge entailed regulatory equivalent handtohand combat seeleck supposed access arbocks switching equipment arbock wont give seeleck key room kept seeleck asks fcc rule arbock give key partly hundt assured seelecks new companies would protect partly generally booming condition economy investment capital flooded seeleckscompanies names like winstar covad teligentand telecommunications companies even obviously related technology companies like cisco systems benefitted telecom boom demand products supposed come seelecks new players would conflict interests new telecom companies consumers one hundts former lieutenants told reed used joke job make sure prices went stocks went years following passage telecom act peak boom wall street blood meant startups also mergers existing communications companies time warner aol decided throw together comcast surely worldcom telecom bad guys believed selfdealing stockoverselling creative accounting would go unnoticed market undiscriminating time outcome 2000 presidential election determined telecom crash well way nonetheless chairmanship fcc remained one best jobs terms influence visibility available career government regulator three republicans emerged candidates powell commissioner harold furchtgottroth farthesttotheright commissioner patrick wood head texas public utility commission george w bush guy texas however wood crossed powerful person arbock camp edward whitacre ceo sbc communications headquartered san antonio meant arbocks didnt want wood head fcc might proseeleck wood head federal energy regulatory commission michael powell signal arbocks wasnt threatening wood also signalling conservative movement negligibly farther left furchtgottroth powell deftly example december 2000 appeared conservative group called progress freedom foundation gave michael powell speechwhimsical intellectual freeassociative biblical history joseph schumpeter moores lawthat began making fun idea fcc try keep new telecom companies alive wake 1996 act fcc often cast grinch stole christmas powell said like whos whoville feast whopudding rare whoroast beast communications industry preparing feast deregulatory fruits believed would inevitably sprout acts fertile soil feast fcc grinch like least thought thus powell indicating became chairman didnt expect administer first aid seelecks part job appointed chairmanship first day bush administration twenty months administration nearly seelecks dead dying nearly longdistance companies worldcom serious trouble cable companies lost half value satellite companies staggering crash automatically concentrating effect new companies die existing companies market share increases existing companies good shape financially opportunity pick damaged companies bargain prices bush administration financial carnage communications worsened communications industry moved direction concentration bells wind protecting regional monopolies local phone service also merge country way national duopoly local service verizon east sbc west companies could dominate long distance well poor health longdistance companies cable business also seems close two dominant national companies aol time warner comcast unlike phone companies dont share wiring companies fully control material allow enter peoples homes part complicated bargaining interest groups led 1996 telecom act limits concentration radio industry significantly loosened past six years number radiostation owners united states cut twentyfive per cent today large portion local national radio news programming supplied single company westwood one subsidiary viacom situation many democrats liberals think fcc hyperactivethe superhero government regulation springing rescue consumers communications industry try breathe life seelecks new companies disallow mergers maintain ownership limits otherwise restrain forces concentration use governments money muscle get new technologyespecially fast internet connectionsinto homes people cant afford current market prices analogy lot people fcc world make telecom middle east clinton people blame bloodshed bush people disengaged came office bush people blame clinton people raised many expectations stirred many passions michael powells fcc hyperactive powell conducting internal policy reviews reforming management fcc waiting federal courts congress send signals midseptember powell finally initiated formal review fccs limits media concentration doesnt mean inactive rather active way infuriates criticsin manner smoothly blends genial provocative muses whether fundamental premises fcc world really make sense giving impression hes time life chairman first press conference asked going digital dividethat economic inequality access internethe said know think mercedes divide id like one cant afford one national cable telecommunications association convention chicago powell following troupe tumblers stage interrupted walk podium perform somersault long ago went see powell office fcc 1998 commission moved new building southwest washington near citys openair fish market fcc world western edge downtown everybody would encounter everybody else familiar restaurants bars today fcc building looks like office mortgage company suburban office park even chairmans suite though large beige carpeted fluorescent powell bulky man wears goldrimmed glasses walks pronounced limp result injuries suffered jeep accident germany 1987 army officer accident left army went law school became entranced conservative ideas regulation particularly idea government rather trying correct flaws market factprophylactically likes sayshould wait till flaws manifest use antitrust litigation fix worked briefly corporate law firm became protg joel klein head antitrust division clinton justice department man led governments legal case microsoft recently appointed chancellor new york publicschool system testifies powells political skill probably high official bush administration served clinton administration also maintains close ties bushs nemesis senator john mccain arizona one things powell annoy people enduring love law schoolits sort like lawschool study session one democratic former commissioner said confirm charge powell arrived introduced four law students summer interns commission hed invited sit began asking powell whether agreed founding assumptions fcc example could private companies apportioned airwaves among without government involved think well never know powell said dont think automatically bad idea way people argue land probably best analogue dont seize land united states say government issue licenses use land neighbor puts fence one foot onto property line theres whole body law including whether tear wireless company interfering another wireless company similar proposition scholars argueindeed famous ronald coase treatise nobel prize thisthat spectrum policy lunacy market could work kinds ways accustomed talking powell fun unlike high government officials doesnt seem invested appearing dignified commanding slumps chair fiddles tie riffs speaks ironic air quotes hes like libertarian friend college enjoyed staying night asking impertinent rhetorical questions aspects life everybody else takes granted sees sentimental illogical asked whether thought predecessors excitement 1996 telecommunications act excessive would start caveat powell said look cant fault judgments given time people thought ones hysterical opportunities frankly ive always little bit critical first anybody works act knows doesnt come anywhere close matching hyperbole associated president kinds things going open mean dont know provisions informationsuperhighway provisions provisions digitally oriented things big part theatre introduction one starts reading details one searches often vain provisions nonetheless rising dotcom excitement internet excitement people thought historic legislation certainly sucking helium balloons kinds expectations bandied around economy market even gets trouble dramatically exaggerated expectationby leadership commission politicians market companies gold rush led detrimental business decisions ones government encouraged policies frankly everybody wanted see numbers go board powell began imitating imagined true believer telecom act want see ten competitors twenty competitors want see thirtypercent market share fiftypercent market share want bells bleed well know weve succeeded powell returned powell think expectation astonishingly unrealistic short term wanted see theyre starting get drunk juice drinking market getting drunk juice drinking theres question went soon fast many companies took much debt fast market really product business model could telecom act handled better could chosen policies less hellbent single objective slightly balanced put economic discipline system powell said money chased seemed like governmentpromised opportunity problem theres morning problem short fix problem debt going take years bring realistic level ways shortterm gain paid price longterm stability powell went say might turned differently reasonable level investment wouldnt every home america competitive choice yetbut dont anyway dont think remonopolization telephone service dont buy bells prosper anybody believe wouldnt part story didnt materialize people thought would mci worldcom sprint local phone companies added hadnt materialized viable businesses either never might everybodys always saying regulators candidly storys quite opposite think regulators bent backward six years give chance conditions dont get good except every thirty years didnt happen whatever reason looking worldcom thats teetering looking longdistance business rapid decline revenue base breaking sprint struggled could fcc done anything make longdistance companies stronger fcc think ill blunt political answer yes theres kinds things margin try help cant find thirty billion dollars worldcom somewhere cant mitigate impacts accounting scandal sec investigation king would wonderful dont kinds levers dont know whether anybody point companies expected run way keeps dying powell couldnt made much clearer doesnt think responsibility anything telecom crash demonstrated sure political touch making accommodationist gesturesin august example five months disbanding fccs accounting safeguards division powell announced appointing committee study accounting standards communications industry shows powell better riding storm say harvey pitt counterpart securities exchange commission mean plans try shore telecom industry asked powell would bother people one company provided cable television one provided local phone service yes said concerns us theres one things lets diminish importance one things still nice suite communications capabilities even arent direct analogues anyway powell said long phone companies able provide video service lines cable companies provide data service lines choice yeah anxiety one everything question stay way concentration ownership concentrated control information appear trouble powell either said people confuse bigness brings many benefits concentration distorts markets economics easy say mike worry economic concentration know thatthe econometrics antitrust tell markets concentrated prices going rise problem dimensions like political ideological sometimes emotional take question everybodys controlling see assumption somehow therell viewpoint monolithic viewpoint pushed media wont get diversity think thats possibility dont think nearly possibility thats ascribed sometimes powell explained sometimes see pointed political parochial programming gets attacked unfair see people claim want diversity go crazy rush limbaugh exists love diversity somehow run howard stern planet point view becomes accused bias policies likehere tone went ironic sarcasticthe fairness doctrine seems like antithesis thought people cared somebody pointed opinionated stuff name journalistic fairness integrity whatever make balance fcc world abounds theories michael powell one cant make mind address crisis industries regulatesso talks talks talks flamboyantly market order buy time another hes carrying water arbocks big cable companies another planning run senate virginia appointed attorney general second bush term doesnt want anything fcc would diminish chances another hes waiting move consensus course action doesnt wind going first getting caught crossfire arbocks cable companies television networks fcc world known powell doctrine telecom colin powells idea united states never commit militarily without clear objective overwhelming force exit strategy another actually believes says thinks telecommunications crash natural healthy irreversible concentration would fine elections matter reed hundt isnt happy become telecom act told true fccmuch say war afghanistanis case gore administration would acting quite differently bush administration consumers might noticed difference theres question whether communications companies noticed arbocks better internal rivals would done gore next election theyll help party helped republicans win policy tilt arbocks favor lose perhaps arbocks rivalsthe longdistance companies telecommunications upstartswith friends power stage comeback americas present unrecognizably different americas past gregory alan bolcer cto work 19498332800 gbolcer endeavorscom httpendeavorscom endeavors technology inc cell 17149285476 wed 09 oct 2002 184959 0700 lord ringtones arbocks vs seelecks