FCC Chair's Future Unclear

Julius Genachowski

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski lives by his Apple iPad. He reads speeches off it. He marvels at using an app to identify constellations in the night sky. He wants everybody to be as connected as he is.

The Democrat who touts “our mobile future” started his tenure by writing a plan to spread high-speed Internet to rural America, and calling for more airwaves and higher speeds for mobile networks. Last week he joined an effort to ensure access for the roughly 100 million Americans who haven’t adopted broadband at home.

“Since I arrived at the FCC, it’s been broadband, broadband, broadband,” Genachowski said in an e-mail to Bloomberg News. “That’s been our focus, and we’ve taken big steps.”

Whether Genachowski will be at the FCC to see through his vision is considered an open question in Washington, where political appointees often leave early in a president’s second term. Genachowski’s term ends July 1, though he could be reappointed by President Barack Obama or stay without presidential action until late next year.

“If you’re asking me whether I’m leaving, I’ll tell you that I have a lunch reservation in 10 minutes, and so we should keep the press conference moving,” Genachowski, 50, told reporters Jan. 31. “We have a terrific agenda. I’m focused on the agenda, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

Matt Lehrich, a White House spokesman, declined to comment because the matter is about personnel.

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