FCC Should Use Relocation to Reorganize, Say ex-Commissioners and Others

The FCC should use its upcoming relocation as an opportunity to break up its “siloed” organizational structure, said a joint letter to all five commissioners signed by a collection of former officials, academics and longtime advocates. They included ex-Commissioners Henry Rivera and Deborah Taylor Tate and former General Counsel Henry Geller. “Because companies offering essentially substitutable services are often regulated by different bureaus, and thus receive different treatment, the FCC's legacy 'silo structure' is no longer viable.” The agency should replace the current Media, Wireless and Wireline bureaus with three “function-based” divisions: Economics and Policy, Licensing and Grantmaking, and Engineering, the letter said. They suggested an alternative, incremental plan that would replace the Wireless and Wireline bureaus with one focused on universal service, and another focused on competition, pricing, broadband and network deployment: “This would effectively maintain the current bureau divisions while removing their traditional industry silos.” Function-based bureaus make it tougher for industries to “capture” the agency, since it's more difficult for any one firm to use intense lobbying and “the revolving door” to dominate a pan-industry entity, the ad hoc group said. The reorganization could also aid diversity by applying nondiscrimination regulations across all industries regulated by the agency, the letter said. The FCC's upcoming move to new headquarters is a “a rare opportunity” to reorganize, the letter said. “If past relocations are a guide regarding what we may expect, many employees will use this opportunity to retire or take jobs in the private sector -- thereby creating an opportunity for a relatively painless restructure of the agency.” The agency doesn't have to wait for congressional action to reorganize, but it would be wise to make sure Congress is involved in the process, Multicultural Media Telecom and Internet Council Senior Adviser and letter signatory David Honig told us. The letter suggests the agency open a rulemaking and seek comment on such an organization, and convene an advisory committee to study the issue. Other signatories include Free State Foundation President Randolph May, former NAB General Counsel Jane Mago, former Cable Bureau Chief Deborah Lathen, and University of Florida Public Utility Research Center Director and Trump transition team member Mark Jamison. The agency and Chairman Ajit Pai's office didn't comment.