February 6, 2009 6:02 PM

The Week in Review -- Dante Alighieri Would Have Been Proud

This "week"-- from a legislative perspective and, given the current interregnum , from an FCC perspective as well -- was a short week, due to the retreat scheduled for House Democrats.  The week may be best remembered for the withdrawal of some notable, high-level nominees over tax problems.  The takeaway -- for all of us -- was the "make no mistake" reminder that politicians (humans?), like the subatomic particles that comprise them, are still subject to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle.  They behave differently when observed than when not observed.

Furthermore, the circumstances of HHS-nominee, Tom Daschle's withdrawal--failure to report and pay taxes of around $140,000--on car services (provided to him by former-telecom exec-cum-financier Leo Hindry) should be a reminder that Dante's Contrapasso is yet another rule of the Universe.  The regrettable fact is that, frequently, we are chastised for our misdeeds in embarrassingly ironic ways.

The "hard" news of the week is that on February 4th, Congress passed the DTV Delay Act, pushing the date requiring broadcasters to cease all analog transmissions, and return unused 700MHz spectrum to the FCC, from February 17th to June 12, 2009.  This delay was deemed necessary because there was simply insufficient time to provide timely funding for the waiting list of 3.7 million people, in line for the $40 coupon to defer the cost of purchasing a digital converter box.   The DTV Delay Act does, permissively, allow stations in markets that would not be severely impacted to adhere to the original February 17th date for ceasing most analog transmission.  The FCC today, has asked that stations planning to discontinue service on February 17th, submit applications by Tuesday, February 9th.

Finally, on Monday, February 2nd, Commissioner McDowell gave a very insightful speech in an effort to advance the dialogue on FCC reform. Commissioner McDowell presented some very thoughtful ideas designed to make the Agency more efficient for industry participants ("regulatory fees" should not be collected in excess of the amount needed to run the Agency), and for consumers (the Agency should thoroughly investigate and act on the FCC's Inspector General's report asserting that almost $1 billion dollars in "contributions" from consumers are being wastefully and/or fraudulently collected by the high-cost fund).  Commissioner McDowell's previous suggestions regarding some FCC Reform have been receptively encouraged by Acting-Chairman Michael J. Copps, who has expressed support for some changes, including the notion of additional transparency, while cautiously advising against undertaking major reforms, which are more appropriately reserved for the Commission's longer term leadership.

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