FCC REORGANIZATION TO GO INTO EFFECT MARCH 25
Having gained approval from Congress and National Treasury Employees Union Local 209, FCC will begin operating with reorganized bureaus starting March 25, agency announced Fri. Affected bureaus are: (1) Media Bureau, combination of former Cable Services and Mass Media Bureaus; (2) Wireline Competition Bureau, former Common Carrier Bureau; (3) Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, ex-Consumer Information Bureau; (4) Office of Legislative Affairs, ex- Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. Also undergoing some reorganization, though not renamed: International, Enforcement and Wireless Telecommunications Bureaus. Commission also announced new Web site concentrating on FCC reform: http://www.fcc.gov/fcc_reform/.
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Most significant change is combination of Mass Media and Cable bureaus into new Media Bureau. Other changes generally concentrate on combining similar functions from several bureaus into one, or condensing divisions within bureaus. In most cases, staff members appear to have followed their functions to new bureaus or divisions and there aren’t any big surprises in staffing. Similarly, their phones numbers appear to have followed them in many cases. Phone number for new Media Bureau is same as old Cable Bureau -- 202-418-7200 -- which means phone number for Media Bureau Chief Kenneth Ferree, former Cable Bureau Chief, won’t change. Roy Stewart, ex-Mass Media Bureau Chief who now heads licensing functions for combined bureau, maintains his old number -- 202-418-2600.
Ferree said he was confident his newly integrated staff would work well together. “The new Bureau draws upon some of the best senior personnel in the Commission,” he said. Ferree named Deborah Klein, former chief of Consumer Protection & Competition Div., as his chief of staff, overseeing all aspect of Bureau’s operations. “Deborah has been instrumental in making the transition to the new Bureau smooth and efficient,” Ferree said. Klein joined FCC in 1994 after dealing with antitrust investigations and litigation at FTC.
Ferree also gave details about major divisions and their new duties: Office of Broadcast License Policy, under Stewart, will develop and administer policies and programs for analog and digital broadcast services and oversee Audio and Video Divs. Audio Div. will license commercial and noncommercial educational AM, FM, Low-Power FM, FM Translator and FM Booster broadcast services, and provide legal analysis of broadcast, technical and engineering radio filings and will recommend appropriate disposition of applications, requests for waivers and other pleadings. Video Div. will license commercial and noncommercial educational TV, Low- Power TV, Class A TV, TV translators and TV Booster broadcast services and make recommendations on applications, requests for waivers, other pleadings.
Policy Div. will conduct proceedings on broadcast, cable and postlicensing DBS, including the Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act (SHVIA), digital transition, access to programming and distribution platforms. Div.’s duties also include facilitating competition in multichannel video programming market by resolving carriage and other complaints involving access to facilities, as well as petitions for findings of effective competition. It also will administer FCC’s programs for political broadcasting and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) matters. Industry Analysis Div. will conduct proceedings on media ownership and economic aspects of rules and policies. Div. reviews license transfers that implicate significant policy issues, and will develop reports on industry data, including preparing annual report to Congress on status of competition in MVPD market. Engineering Div. will conduct technical reviews of media- related matters, process Cable TV Relay Service (CARS) applications, special relief and show cause petitions involving technical matters, and requests for rulings on technical matters and requests for waivers of rules. Unit will process signal leakage performance reports filed by cable system operators, analyze aeronautical frequency usage data and ensure compliance with FCC requirements. Finally, Office of Communications and Industry Information, in coordination with Office of Legislative Affairs, will respond to inquiries from members of Congress and their staffs, provide analysis of legislative proposals, distribute official Bureau decisions and reports and process FOIA requests.
Common Carrier Bureau Chief Dorothy Attwood said changes there amounted to reducing 6 bureaus into 4 and combining similar functions. Bureau issued news release explaining which functions would move to new divisions: (1) Administration and policymaking for numbering and Telecom Relay Service (TRS) will move to new Telecom Access Policy Div., formerly known as Accounting Policy Div. That puts all fund administration and policy in one place, bureau said, because div. also will oversee Universal Service Administrative Co. (USAC), NECA and other fund administrators. (2) Policymaking for network-related local competition issues will move to new Competition Policy Div., ex-Policy & Program Planning Div, putting all local competition policymaking into one div. (3) Collection of ARMIS data will move to Industry Analysis & Technology Div., former Industry Analysis Div., which is responsible for analyzing other industry data to identify trends. Administration of CALEA for wireline common carriers also will move to that div. (4) Review of ILEC costs through Uniform System of Accounts (USOA) will move to Pricing Policy Div., formerly Competitive Pricing Div., which puts all aspects of USOA and policy areas affected by it in same div.
Plan also includes shift of regulatory issues related to ITFS and MMDS services from former Mass Media Bureau to Public Safety & Private Wireless Div. of Wireless Bureau. As expected, regulatory duties that Wireless Bureau will assume include licensing and legal matters.
Following is FCC’s list of top positions under new structure:
Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau: Bureau Chief, Dane Snowden; Assoc. Bureau Chief-Chief of Staff, Barbara Douglas; Deputy Bureau Chief, Complaints and Inquiries, Thomas Wyatt; Deputy Bureau Chief, Policy, Margaret Egler; Asst. Bureau Chief, Administrative and Management Office, Patricia Green; Chief, Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Div., Jack Forsythe; Chief, Policy Div., Michele Walters; Chief, Consumer Affairs and Outreach Div., Martha Contee; Dir., Reference Information Center, Bill Cline.
Enforcement Bureau: Bureau Chief, David Solomon; Deputy Bureau Chief, Linda Blair; Assoc. Bureau Chief-Chief of Staff, Suzanne Tetreault; Asst. Bureau Chiefs John Winston, Lisa Fowlkes, Kathleen Costello; Asst. Bureau Chief, Office of Management and Resources Staff, Robert Crisman; Chief, Investigations and Hearings Div., Charles Kelley; Chief, Market Disputes Resolution Div., Alexander Starr; Chief, Technical and Public Safety Div., Joseph Casey; Chief, Telecom Consumer Div., Colleen Heitcamp.
International Bureau: Bureau Chief, Donald Abelson; Deputy Bureau Chiefs, Anna Gomez and Roderick Porter; Assoc. Bureau Chiefs, Jacqueline Ponti and Linda Haller; Asst. Bureau Chief, Jackie Ruff; Chief Engineer, Richard Engelman; Asst. Bureau Chief, Management and Administrative Staff, Thomas Sullivan; Chief, Policy Div., James Ball; Chief, Satellite Div., Thomas Tycz; Chief, Strategic Analysis and Negotiations Div., Kathryn O'Brien.
Media Bureau: Bureau Chief, Kenneth Ferree; Special Counsel-Chief of Staff, Deborah Klein; Deputy Bureau Chiefs, William Johnson and Robert Ratcliffe; Assoc. Bureau Chiefs, Rick Chessen (head of DTV Task Force), Barbara Esbin, Marjorie Greene, Sarah Whitesell; Asst. Bureau Chief, Management and Resources Staff, Janet Amaya; Chief, Office of Broadcast License Policy, Roy Stewart; Chief, Audio Div., Peter Doyle; Chief, Video Div., Barbara Kreisman; Chief, Office of Communications and Industry Information, Michael Perko; Chief, Policy Div., Mary Beth Murphy; Chief, Industry Analysis Div., Royce Sherlock; Chief, Engineering Div., John Wong.
Wireless Telecommunications Bureau: Bureau Chief, Thomas Sugrue; Deputy Bureau Chiefs, Gerald Vaughan, James Schlichting and Kathleen Ham; Assoc. Bureau Chief-Chief of Staff, Catherine Seidel; Asst. Bureau Chief, Management and Planning Staff, Bonnie Westbrook; Chief, Auctions and Industry Analysis Div., Margaret Wiener; Chief, Commercial Wireless Div., William Kunze; Chief, Data Management Div., John Chudovan; Chief, Policy Div., Kris Monteith; Chief, Public Safety and Private Wireless Div., D'Wana Terry.; Acting Div. Chief, Barry Ohlson.
Wireline Competition Bureau: Bureau Chief, Dorothy Attwood; Senior Deputy Bureau Chief, Jeffrey Carlisle; Deputy Bureau Chief, Carol Mattey; Assoc. Bureau Chief, Jane Jackson; Assoc. Bureau Chief-Chief of Staff, Richard Lerner; Asst. Bureau Chiefs, Jeffrey Dygert and Diane Griffin; Asst. Bureau Chief, Administrative and Management Office, Joseph Hall; Chief, Competition Policy Div., Michelle Carey; Chief, Pricing Policy Div., Tamara Preiss; Chief, Telecom Access Policy Div., Katherine Schroder; Chief, Industry Analysis and Technology Div., Peyton Wynns.