FCC Comr. Martin Fri. proposed speed-up in Commission action on f...

FCC Comr. Martin Fri. proposed speed-up in Commission action on formal complaints. Speaking at FCBA lunch, he said draft orders on formal complaints should begin circulating among commissioners within 8 months of their filing. That’s “reasonable goal” in light of other deadlines agency now follows for action on mergers and environmental issues, he said. Basing his speech on tenets of book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Martin said facilities- based telecom competition was example of book’s “play fair” rule. Without move to facilities-based competition, “we will always need government regulators to manage and control the game, setting wholesale and retail prices,” he said. Martin said book’s tenet of “put things back where you found them” should be FCC’s “overriding goal for the digital transition.” Commission can do several things to “hasten” broadcasters’ return of spectrum, he said: (1) FCC may have to step in if talks among movie studios, broadcasters, cable providers and consumer electronics industry don’t produce agreement soon on protecting digital content. “The lack of progress is seriously impeding the availability of digital content and thwarting any progress in the transition.” (2) “Broadcasters’ must-carry rights in the digital world” must be defined. For example, FCC should quickly conclude rulemaking started last year on meaning of “program-related” in digital world. It also should act on petition to reconsider its conclusion on definition of “primary video,” he said. “Broadened interpretation” of primary video may warrant consideration, he said. (3) FCC should address cable compatibility. “Cable operators need to make firm commitments to technical standards for a plug-and-play set and the consumer electronics industry needs to accept those commitments and start building.” Consumers would be more likely to pay high price tag for HDTV if they knew it would work with their local cable system, he said. Martin drew laughter when he said “don’t take things that aren’t yours” tenet obviously applied to NextWave re-auction. He began his speech by comparing FCC commissioners to characters in movie Shrek, showing slides comparing Chmn. Powell to movie’s “lovable ogre” Shrek, Comr. Copps as Lord Farquaad who “desperately wants to be in charge of the kingdom,” apparent reference to Copps being lone Democrat. Comr. Abernathy was compared with Princess Fiona and he compared himself to Shrek’s sidekick donkey. Martin also made fun of his youthful appearance, showing pictures of his similarity to Harry Potter, both in books’ illustrations and in actor who plays Harry Potter in movie.