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from: Broadband Reports

FCC's Martin Gets His Wrist Slapped
Dems lament lack of previous oversight...

House Commerce Committee chairman John Dingell says the FCC has overstepped its authority with its recent telco friendly changes to the video franchise system. Opponents of the changes (that includes both cable execs and consumer advocates) say the changes are aimed primarily at legalizing telco cherry picking (deploying next-gen services only to affluent areas). The phone companies had no luck passing similar laws via Congress, so they turned to the FCC and state lawmakers. However, it's not legally clear if the FCC has the authority to make such changes without Congressional approval, so a legal battle is expected.

After noting that this was the first such hearing in several years, Dingell said the FCC lacked "an appropriate level of congressional oversight" that has led to some "unwelcome consequences." Dingell then suggested that they may need to have monthly FCC oversight hearings. Martin has increasingly annoyed cable companies as well with decisions that are primarily pro-telco; yesterday a major cable industry spokesman said Martin was engaged in a "one-man crusade against cable."