Julius Genachowski, chairman of the FCC and friend of the president, on Friday announced his resignation after a mixed tenure that has disappointed some of the consumer groups that were his earliest supporters but also sketched a plan to bring Americans more access to broadband Internet for years ahead.
President Obama is expected to announce a successor soon with Tom Wheeler, a former lobby group chair and venture capitalist, as one leading contender.
Multimedia
VIDEO | The Washington Post's Ezra Klein and Neil Irwin of WonkBlog discuss a Cyprus bailout proposal that would tax all deposits in Cypriot banks.
More business news
Cecilia Kang
Genachowski had a mixed tenure that has disappointed some consumer groups.
Jennifer Reingold, Allan Sloan and Doris Burke
Wall Streeters attempt to turn around troubled chains and learn the hard way that retailing isn’t easy.
Cecilia Kang
A question-and-answer session with Markham Erickson, a top Internet attorney.
More business news
In Genachowski’s four years, the price of cable, wireless and broadband Internet have gone up for American homes at a time when they have come to rely greatly on mobile devices as their main method of communication.
This has come amid greater concentration in the broadband Internet market, analysts have said, giving consumers fewer options for providers.
Genachowski was touted early in his tenure as a rare combination of savvy businessman and public advocate. But he struggled from the start with controversial Internet access rules that have drawn lawsuits against the agency and may have undermined the FCC’s role as arbiter of Internet policies.
This summer, a federal court will hear arguments against Genachowski’s net neutrality rules that dictate how Internet service providers operate their networks. The decision by the DC appeals court could be used as the underlying framework for how the deep-pocketed telecom industry will fight against other regulations of their Internet services, some consumer advocates and tech policy experts say.
“When Julius Genachowski took office, there were high hopes that he would use his powerful position to promote the public interest,” said Craig Aron, president of consumer media reform group Free Press. “But instead of acting as the people’s champion, he’s catered to corporate interests. His tenure has been marked by wavering and caving rather than the strong leadership so needed at this crucial agency.”
From the start of his tenure as the nation’s top telecom cop, Genachowski made his mission clear: to focus the agency on expanding Internet access and creating so-called net neutrality rules that ensure Silicon Valley Web firms are shut down by wireless and cable firms with competing products.
The FCC spend an estimated $100 million on a national broadband plan, a thick reports with many recommendations for how to bring wireless, cable modem and fiber broadband connections to more American homes.
Genachowski, a Harvard Law School classmate of President Obama, had the White House’s backing. Obama talked about the need for more wireless airwaves to be available for commercial wireless firms to fuel Internet access on smartphones and between machines within businesses.
“Over the past four years, we’ve focused the FCC on broadband, wired and wireless, working to drive economic growth and improve the lives of all Americans,” Genachowski said in prepared remarks ahead of a news conference.
“And thanks to you, the Commission’s employees, we’ve taken big steps to build a future where broadband is ubiquitous and bandwidth is abundant, where innovation and investment are flourishing,” he said.
President Obama is expected to announce a successor soon with Tom Wheeler, a former lobby group chair and venture capitalist, as one leading contender.
Multimedia
VIDEO | The Washington Post's Ezra Klein and Neil Irwin of WonkBlog discuss a Cyprus bailout proposal that would tax all deposits in Cypriot banks.
More business news
Cecilia Kang Genachowski had a mixed tenure that has disappointed some consumer groups.
Jennifer Reingold, Allan Sloan and Doris Burke Wall Streeters attempt to turn around troubled chains and learn the hard way that retailing isn’t easy.
Cecilia Kang A question-and-answer session with Markham Erickson, a top Internet attorney.
More business news
In Genachowski’s four years, the price of cable, wireless and broadband Internet have gone up for American homes at a time when they have come to rely greatly on mobile devices as their main method of communication.
This has come amid greater concentration in the broadband Internet market, analysts have said, giving consumers fewer options for providers.
Genachowski was touted early in his tenure as a rare combination of savvy businessman and public advocate. But he struggled from the start with controversial Internet access rules that have drawn lawsuits against the agency and may have undermined the FCC’s role as arbiter of Internet policies.
This summer, a federal court will hear arguments against Genachowski’s net neutrality rules that dictate how Internet service providers operate their networks. The decision by the DC appeals court could be used as the underlying framework for how the deep-pocketed telecom industry will fight against other regulations of their Internet services, some consumer advocates and tech policy experts say.
“When Julius Genachowski took office, there were high hopes that he would use his powerful position to promote the public interest,” said Craig Aron, president of consumer media reform group Free Press. “But instead of acting as the people’s champion, he’s catered to corporate interests. His tenure has been marked by wavering and caving rather than the strong leadership so needed at this crucial agency.”
From the start of his tenure as the nation’s top telecom cop, Genachowski made his mission clear: to focus the agency on expanding Internet access and creating so-called net neutrality rules that ensure Silicon Valley Web firms are shut down by wireless and cable firms with competing products.
The FCC spend an estimated $100 million on a national broadband plan, a thick reports with many recommendations for how to bring wireless, cable modem and fiber broadband connections to more American homes.
Genachowski, a Harvard Law School classmate of President Obama, had the White House’s backing. Obama talked about the need for more wireless airwaves to be available for commercial wireless firms to fuel Internet access on smartphones and between machines within businesses.
“Over the past four years, we’ve focused the FCC on broadband, wired and wireless, working to drive economic growth and improve the lives of all Americans,” Genachowski said in prepared remarks ahead of a news conference.
“And thanks to you, the Commission’s employees, we’ve taken big steps to build a future where broadband is ubiquitous and bandwidth is abundant, where innovation and investment are flourishing,” he said.