The Senate last night unanimously approved the nomination of FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin to serve another term at the FCC.
President Bush earlier this year called for Martin’s tenure to be extended.
The 39-year-old Martin has overseen the FCC since March 2005, when he succeeded Michael Powell. Some of the issues he faces include revising the contribution methodology of the Universal Service Fund, tackling intercarrier compensation rules and addressing special access guidelines.
It also is unknown whether Martin will be able to convince the FCC’s two Democratic commissioners to approve the AT&T Inc.-BellSouth Corp. merger any time soon. With an incoming Congressional Democratic majority, many analysts speculate AT&T will have to concede to more conditions than it has proposed.
AT&T Inc. www.att.com
BellSouth Corp. www.bellsouth.com
FCC www.fcc.gov
