Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said Friday he’ll be stepping down “in the coming weeks” before his term expires at the end of June.
The following statements from telecommunications and technology policy experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – may be used for attribution. For more comments, refer to the contact information below. To book a Heartland guest on your program, please contact Director of Communications Jim Lakely at [email protected] and 312/377-4000 or (cell) 312/731-9364.
“Julius Genachowski never let the will of Congress, the opinion of the American people, or even federal court decisions get in the way of his determination to regulate the Internet. And in the one area where he could have made a difference – freeing up spectrum for use in the exploding wireless broadband market – he failed miserably.
“The next chairman of the FCC should enter the office with a greater sense of humility and with the mind set of an entrepreneur rather than a bureaucrat. The commission would best serve the public if it would get out of the way of a digital economy poised to grow and innovate in ways regulators can hardly imagine.”
Jim Lakely
Co-Director, Center on the Digital Economy
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000
“Let’s wish Chairman Genachowski the best of luck in all his future endeavors – as long as his career path takes him as far away from policymaking as possible. His tenure at the Federal Communications Commission has been disastrous.
“From scuttling the merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, hamstringing the NBC-Universal merger with Comcast with outrageous demands, illegally imposing network neutrality as the law of the land, and redirecting the Universal Service Fund to expand broadband coverage in a country that already boasts 95 percent coverage, the chairman has time and again shown he’s no friend of business. But, more important, he has exhibited reckless disregard for American consumers and taxpayers.”
Bruce Edward Walker
Policy Advisor, Telecom
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
989/430-5557
The Heartland Institute is a 29-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.
Jim Lakely is the Vice President and Director of Communications of The Heartland Institute.
Bruce Edward Walker was managing editor of InfoTech & Telecom News from 2010 to 2012.
