POWELL PLEDGES STRUCTURAL REVIEW OF FCC
FCC Chmn. Powell would like to see changes in Commission’s operation so agency could react better to new technology and other developments, he told news media Thurs. after Commission’s open meeting. He wouldn’t outline his specific plans -- “stay tuned,” he said in answer to reporter’s request for more details. However, he endorsed calls by agency staff for hiring and retaining more engineers, beefing up technical expertise of agency, improving coordination among bureaus in areas such as spectrum management. Agency needs to be smarter and faster, Powell and others said. When reporter noted that many chairmen had pledged better operations, Powell responded: “It’s clear where we want to go. I'm going to die trying… You can judge me when we're finished. It’s not window dressing.”
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Powell’s comments came after unusual open meeting where no votes were taken or items debated. Instead, FCC bureau chiefs and office heads reviewed operations of their departments and suggested areas of improvement. Powell said format of 3-hour meeting wasn’t in reaction to congressional calls for FCC reorganization nor was it prelude to reducing agency’s responsibilities or size. “It’s not about downsizing, it’s about optimizing,” he said. “To know where we are going, we have to take stock of where we are,” he said. Powell “forced us to look inside,” Mass Media Bureau Chief Roy Stewart said.
Most of bureau chiefs urged changes to speed approvals of new services, saying regulatory delays could affect rollout of new services to consumers. “We have to be faster,” Stewart said, noting that Powell laid down that challenge to every bureau chief. Comr. Tristani warned that agency also had mandate to serve public interest. “As much as we want to move fast, we need [take time] to ask questions” about public benefit, she said. But Powell said that “it’s in the public interest to be faster and more responsive.”
Staffers also said agency must find ways to retain employees. Of 330 Common Carrier staff members in 1996, only 100 still are employed by agency, Bureau Chief Dorothy Attwood said. She said bureau served as training camp for corporate lawyers. “Most people come here because they have a driving force to do public service,” said Cable Bureau Chief Deborah Lathen, who joined agency after 22 years in private sector. FCC’s challenge is to help them develop their skills without leaving, “train them the way industries train their own people,” she said.
Powell and others emphasized need for agency to have independent technical capability so it could weigh issues without being dependent on experts from companies it regulated. “We are challenged to develop technical acumen to understand new technologies,” Lathen said. Comr. Ness said it was particularly important to keep FCC’s laboratories “state of the art.” With new wireless technologies raising issues about acceptable degree of signal interference, she said agency needed its own engineers to make that determination because it couldn’t depend upon studies by competing industries.
Common theme was need to maintain experienced engineers at FCC, particularly because 30% are due for retirement soon and figure will climb to 45% shortly, Powell said. At same time, agency is growing more dependent on engineers to help it make decisions brought on by new technology, staff said. Enforcement Bureau Chief David Solomon said some 40% of engineers manning bureau’s field operations would be retiring in next few years. He said he hoped FCC could hire some of their replacements ahead of time so experienced engineers could train newcomers.
Ness said she was very concerned about attracting and retaining talented engineers because agency was competing against private sector, where salaries were much higher. Powell agreed, saying that FCC faced “profound labor competition” in Washington area. “You know what?” he asked. “AOL wants them too.” Powell said Commission also needed more lawyers who understood engineering and economic issues.