FCC chairman nominee scrutinized

In a prelude to what is almost certain to be his future tenure as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Bill Kennard appeared before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation last week to face senators' questions and comments.

"In my proposed tenure at the FCC, I will be guided by the three ideals of competition, community and common sense," Kennard said in his opening statement. "I intend to make sure that the communications revolution we are now in is inclusive rather than exclusive."

The committee's questioning focused squarely on the first of Kennard's three FCC ideals: competition. Sens. John Kerry, D-Neb., and Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., asked Kennard how he would balance free and open competition with the FCC's goals of universal service guarantees.

Kennard said he thought universal service should continue to be a cornerstone of FCC policy, agreeing with the characterization of Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that universal service means "the availability of a certain menu of services at a certain price, not the exact offering of the same services at the same price everywhere."

Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., took issue with Kennard's comments that the Telecommunications Act of 1996 has already fostered competition among telcos.

"To sit there and allege that the [telecom act] has been successful does not square with the facts as they exist," he said.

However, McCain said that the problems are not all the FCC's fault and that he looked forward to the committee's approval of Kennard's nomination.

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