[RFI] From Communications Daily re: BPL

[Ron Feutz]

At 02:21 PM 9/1/2004 -0400, Tom Rauch wrote:

>If technical people still ran the FCC, BPL would never have
>hatched. Unfortunately it is money running the FCC now. The
>question is how we get a voice.


No argument with Tom's thesis, but before someone turns this into a 
partisan wrangle, it doesn't matter who is in the White House.  During the 
previous administration, the FCC changed the rules on 800Mhz to put small 
business out of the 800Mhz Specialized Mobile Radio business and "turn 
over" the spectrum to a little company you may have heard of, 
Nextel.  There was a revolving door from top FCC posts to well-paid Nextel 
jobs, culminating with a directorship for William Kennard when he was 
replaced as chairman of the FCC: "Job Well Done".

How do we get heard?  Your guess is as good as mine.  My industry's 
established  lobbying groups were all co-opted by Nextel early on.  We 
formed our own, Small Business in Telecommunications, which had no 
measurable success (that I know of) in presenting our case.


Ron Feutz, WA9IRV
Air Communications of Central Wisconsin, Inc.
715-424-3050 days
715-423-7662 nights
715-572-3621 cell