Shutdown Will Have Lasting Consequences for FCC, Wheeler Says
The partial government shutdown could have lengthy FCC aftereffects, said former Chairman Tom Wheeler in a blog post for the Brookings Institution Tuesday. Returning from month-plus shutdown “is not a situation where employees walk back in and pick up where…
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they left off a few days before,” Wheeler said. “So much new has piled up on the Commission’s plate that the first thing to do upon returning is to assess the new pile, the second step is to catch up on other developments in the intervening period, then the third step is to reprioritize.” Only then “can the Commission get back to full productivity.” By making it difficult to get new tech reviewed or consult with FCC experts, the shutdown is likely causing delays for the advance to 5G and slowing progress on T-Mobile buying Sprint, Nexstar/Tribune and the resolution of the Sinclair hearing designation order, Wheeler said. He criticized “the Trump FCC” for using the shutdown as reasons not to respond to congressional requests for information on carriers selling location information and to delay the net neutrality court case. The shuttering has “proven a convenient excuse” for the FCC “to avoid unpleasant explanations of their activities,” Wheeler wrote. Wednesday, the agency didn’t comment.