FCC Nominee Wheeler Supports Competition

Washington Post photo

Tom Wheeler, President Barack Obama's pick to lead the Federal Communications Commission, on Tuesday pledged to champion competition in the telecommunications industry and said an upcoming auction of airwaves is the biggest challenge facing the regulator, according to a story at Reuters.

Acknowledging his past as a lobbyist, Wheeler told lawmakers at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on his nomination that at the FCC, he would advocate for the consumers' interest first: "My client will be the American public."

Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, a West Virginia Democrat, said he was certain the Senate would approve Wheeler to succeed Julius Genachowski as FCC chairman. 

The next step for Wheeler will be a vote by the committee on his nomination. No date has been set.

"I am an unabashed supporter of competition," he said. "The role of the FCC has evolved from acting in lieu of competition to dictate the market, to promoting and protecting competition with appropriate oversight to see that it flourishes."

Addressing a critical issue he will have to tackle as FCC chair - decades-old rules that limit cross-ownership of different U.S. media outlets in one market - Wheeler said he understood the seriousness of the issue and was "specifically trying not to be specific." "I want to become more informed," he said.

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