New Rules Eyed For New Services

Cable World, Feb 26, 2001 by David Connell

Cable Services Bureau Chief Deborah Lathen proposed a big idea for easing regulation in telecommunications markets.

During a Federal Communications Commission meeting that was mostly an overview of work under way at the commission, Lathen told Chairman Michel Powell and the other commissioners that the FCC should consider implementing a regulatory "safe harbor" to allow new services to grow before being saddled with existing regulatory constraints.

"Increasingly, we're beginning to see services that don't fit into a regulatory box, or it isn't appropriate to put them in a box," Lathen said. "What I would like for us to do is say, `For these things that are new, let's create some sort of safe harbor to allow them to grow.'" She added that such a program could be formed through a legislative initiative.

As an example of the type of service that might qualify, Lathen cited an Internet service provider that sends videostreaming through Digital Subscriber Lines and would compete with cable.

Such a service, Lathen added, should be allowed to grow without the typical must carry rules cable companies are saddled with.

She added however, that when services gain a foothold in the market, they should be held to the same regulatory scrutiny as other competitors in a market.

Lathen said the issues facing the commission mostly revolve around access to facilities. She pointed to interactive television, must carry, inside wiring, the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act, poll attachments, set-top boxes and open access as examples.

"All the immediate issues center around the battle for access," Lathen said, "which comes in various flavors."

Generally the bureau chief complained of backlogs of regulatory filings and a trend of having more responsibilities and fewer staff members.

Lathen noted, in particular, that the Cable Services Bureau staff has shrunk from 240 to 86 since the 1996 Cable Act and that the bureau has moved from oversight responsibilities to a "broadband policy shop" in that time.

"Just as the cable industry has exploded, so have our responsibilities," Lathen said.

Lamenting the loss of talented staffers, Common Carrier Bureau Chief Dorothy Atwood said the FCC had become a "breeding ground for the nation's best lawyers." She said low salary and few advancement opportunities are chasing off the commission's best talent.

International Bureau Chief Don Abelson said the FCC should consider rotating staff members between the various bureaus to keep their knowledge well-rounded and employees challenged.

Several commissioners also suggested bringing in industry experts to brief them on new technology to help increase the commission's knowledge base.