Titled ?Back to the Future ? Revisiting the Telecommunications Act of 1996,? the luncheon discussed such policies in the context of whether Congress should revise the Telecommunications Act to address the decreasing diversity in ownership in the media and telecommunications space, as well as the rapid growth of broadband Internet and its convergence on ?silos? or specific sectors of the communications industry.
The luncheon came on the heels of a recent FCC report of commercial broadcast ownership, which demonstrates that minorities own what many consider a paltry number of the nation?s broadcast stations.
Moderated by S. Jenell Trigg, member of Lerman Senter PLLC, luncheon panelists included Jane Mago, executive vice president and general counsel of the National Association of Broadcasters; James Winston, executive director and general counsel of the National Association of Black Owned Broadcasters; David Honig, cofounder and president of MMTC; Howard Woolley, senior vice president of strategic alliance and wireless public policy with Verizon Communications; Matt Wood, policy director of Free Press; and Carolyn Fleming Williams, senior deputy director of the FCC?s Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO).
The panelists discussed specific provisions of the 1996 Act and evaluated whether they were successful in improving industry diversity. Those sections included Section 257, which requires the Commission to report to Congress on market entry barriers facing entrepreneurs and small business in the telecommunications space, and Section 714, which created the Telecommunications Development Fund (TDF) to address the lack of access to capital experienced by minority and female entrepreneurs.
What About Diversity?
Trigg maintained that three main principles guided the development of the 1996 Act: diversity, innovation, and competition. ?However, many of the panelists? remarks underscored the sentiment that the Act did provide significant increases in industry diversity.
Winston said the 1996 Act promoted deregulation of broadcast media that suppressed the growth of minority-owned broadcast stations.
?As a result, we?ve seen since 1996 a 40 percent drop in the number of companies, African American-owned companies, that own broadcast stations,? he said.
Several of the panelists expressed dissatisfaction that Sections 257 and 714 have not garnered strong enforcement and support by policymakers. Mago, for instance, said that TDF gradually lost funding from the federal government.
Fleming Williams, however, said that ?in recent years,? the FCC has ?taken steps to make the Section 257 report more meaningful. We?re trying to make it more proactive, as opposed to a retroactive report.?
Fleming Williams added that the Commission has convened ?an intra-agency task force from the rule writing bureaus, so as they are going about their agendas, they can think about market entry barriers, rules, and regulations, and we hope that we will see the results of those efforts in the next report.? ?She also stated that while the new 257 report is ?under review,? she could ?make no predictions as to when it will actually be released.?
The panelists also discussed the Commission?s challenges in creating race-specific policies to advance diversity, given Supreme Court cases like Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pe?a, which require the Commission to collect specific data to support the implementation of these policies.? However, Honig mentioned that the Commission has not fully considered race neutral policies that could advance diversity, some which have been pending at the Commission for many years. ?He also mentioned Supreme Court precedent that requires the Commission to consider race neutral initiatives before implementing race conscious ones.
Do We Need a Revised Act?
The panelists emphasized the need for new telecom policy efforts to promote greater investment in growing technologies and encourage stronger diversity measures.
Woolley, for example, referenced the dramatic growth of the mobile wireless sector and the increased use of mobile wireless technologies by minorities.? His comments implied that tech policy should reflect such changes in the marketplace.
?Going forward, we?ll want policies that will allow companies to continue to invest, develop these platforms, and create opportunities for all who want to compete,? said Woolley.
The luncheon also included recognition of Rey Ramsey, president and chief executive officer of TechNet, who received a Lifetime Achievement Award for his accomplishments in the telecom industry.
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