Genachowski to Head FCC–Maybe He Can Finally Fix My Broadband!
by Kara Swisher
Posted on January 13, 2009 at 2:02 AM PT
Finally, someone who might actually understand the Internet will be taking charge of the thus-far lackadaisical government body that plays the largest role in spurring its growth.
The Washington Post is reporting that Julius Genachowski (pictured here) will be tapped to take on the always controversial job of chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Sources with knowledge of the situation also confirmed the appointment, which will be announced in the next few days, to BoomTown.
Genachowski has previously worked for the FCC as its chief counsel under former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt. But he is better known to Silicon Valley as a longtime Internet exec at Barry Diller’s IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI).
He is now a founder of a Washington, D.C.-based venture firm called LaunchBox Digital, which has invested in a plethora of unusually trendy Web 2.0 companies.
One of its investments, the social news aggregation service Socialmedian, was recently acquired by the German-based business networking site Xing for $7.5 million.
And Genachowski is also a co-founder and managing director of Rock Creek Ventures, another venture firm, and a special adviser at General Atlantic.
Perhaps most notably, he went to law school with President-Elect Barack Obama.
Thus, Genachowski worked the tech sector tirelessly for Obama’s election, along with organizing the campaign’s successful social-networking and online fund-raising campaign.
He was also clearly on the short list to be America’s first chief technology officer, which might be too light on policy-making and too heavy on pontificating for Genachowski’s tastes.
As top telecom and, really, Internet regulator, Genachowski will have a lot more power and even more on his plate, including the rocky shift from analog to digital television, now set to take place next month, as well as dealing with net neutrality and a range of other key Web issues.
But top of the agenda will likely be how to make real Obama’s promise to drastically improve broadband access across this nation and lowering prices.
The slow speeds and high costs are an appalling legacy of Washington regulators and politicians, who have lived too long and too deep in the pockets of big telecom companies.
That has made the U.S. exactly what Softbank founder Masa Son once called in an interview I did with him at a D: All Things Digital conference: the “Third World of broadband.”
Hey, Julius, you’ll fix that, right?
Comments
Hey Kara, I completely agree. Now could you do us all a favor and drop Mr. Crovitz a line at the WSJ editorial page, and let him know that these things matter more than Comcast’s desire to throttle video distribution competitors?
Posted by Rod Gammon at January 13th, 2009 at 6:41 amBroadband? That is a word that is thrown around allot. I live in a rural community, I can tell you that we need change in this industry. Why are there several upgrades to those in urban markets, and my phone line is only gets me 22K? Could rural areas at least get DSL, before urband area get FIOS?
Posted by Randall Dutter at January 13th, 2009 at 2:19 pmAs for my alternatives I’ve tried WildBlue, it was horrible and with very expensive setup costs. I currently have Verizon EVDO Rev. A, which is internet through cell phone tower. This service is better, but it’s $59.99/M, and it doesn’t allow me to stimulate the economy by buying music, or Playstation Store items. They cap your service at 5GB/m, what gives? I feel that a decent internet should be available to all, not just those in urban areas. I hope that Mr. Genachowski brings “change”!
Ohh and start with Vermontville, MI:)
R:
I shall! I know G-man well. But he is what he is!
Posted by Kara Swisher at January 13th, 2009 at 7:20 pmR:
I am talking about Vermontville, MI and not just NYC.
Universal high-speed broadband.
Posted by Kara Swisher at January 13th, 2009 at 7:21 pm