(Credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
As former Federal Communications Commission chief Kevin Martin begins the next chapter in his career this week as a senior fellow at the Aspen Institute Communications and Society Program, National Journal's Winter Casey spoke with him about what advice he would offer his FCC replacement and the key issues he anticipates the commission will be grappling with this year.
NJ: What advice would you like to give to whoever takes over as FCC commissioner?
Martin: I would tell them that they should make sure and look hard at the facts and the underlying arguments that are being made and -- while they will have whatever ideology they bring to the issues -- they should be prepared to actually examine the underlying facts and have it be more of a fact-based decision-making process as opposed to just an ideological one.
NJ: Is there anything in the telecommunications realm that needs to be changed that you think could move forward with bipartisan support this year?
Martin: I think that we need to make changes to our universal service mechanism to make sure that we move it from a voice-grade connections to broadband connections. We should make some more progress on cable rates -- cable rates have doubled over the last decade and I think consumers need relief in terms of additional choices and additional competition. And I think there needs to be a continued emphasis on how we make sure the regulatory environment provides an opportunity and incentive for people to invest in the infrastructure and at the same time maintain an open platform to any kinds of application or devices on the edge.
NJ: Will the new chief technology officer have any impact on what the FCC does?
Martin: I don't know. The FCC is at the bottom a creature of Congress and it's regulatory authority stems from Congress' authority. I am not sure that there can be an additional executive branch position that can have any direct impact on the commission because the commission is still an independent agency.
NJ: What issues do you think will be big ones in the next year for the FCC?
Martin: I think network neutrality will continue to end up being a big issue. I think media ownership will, and universal service.
NJ: Do you have a proudest achievement?
Martin: Finding that balance of making sure that you have incentives for people to invest in the network and have it open. But specifically... ushering in a wireless broadband world in which we had the two most successful auctions of wireless spectrum ever and at the same time we transformed the wireless industry so that it's more open to applications and devices.
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