Michael Powell

(Michael Powell)

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Michael K. Powell announced last week that he is leaving the powerful independent agency . In his resignation letter to President Bush, Powell said he was stepping down with a "mixture of pride and regret." "Having completed a bold and aggressive agenda, it is time for me to pursue other opportunities and let someone else take the reins of the agency," Powell stated in the letter. "The seeds of our policies are taking firm root in the marketplace and are starting to blossom.(www.Britancica.com) He gave no indication of his future plans other than spending some time with his family. In addition to opportunities in the private sector, Powell has been mentioned as a possible Virginia gubernatorial candidate.Powell was appointed to a Republican seat on the FCC by President Clinton in 1997, only one year after Congress passed the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Act. President Bush selected him as chairman in 2001, replacing Democrat William Kennard. Powell was appointed to a Republican seat on the FCC by President Clinton in 1997, only one year after Congress passed the landmark 1996 Telecommunications Act. President Bush selected him as chairman in 2001, replacing Democrat William Kennard. Powell and the Republican majority that(www. Alwayson-network.com)

gained control of the FCC following Bush's 2000 election brought a different and often controversial approach to telecommunications

and the Internet. Powell aggressively supported moving voice, video and data transmissions away from the copper legacy networks of the Bells to a variety of minimally regulated broadband platforms. Often accused by consumer groups of serving the Bells' interests, Powell said competition, particularly in the then nascent broadband industry, was better served by multiple platforms providing bundled packages than the Kennard approach to mandating that the Bells provide open access at government-mandated prices to all competitors. The courts repeatedly sided with Powell. "For four years, Chairman Powell fought hard to promote competition and deregulation in key parts of the telecommunications arena," U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, a member of the House Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, said in his statement. "It was a difficult job that often made him a target for criticism, but I believe his leadership on