By Michael Torrice
Although not flashy, the FCC's web site does contain a useful source
of information about its policies and future plans. The FCC Handbook
link allows users to learn about all of the many bureaus under the
FCC and their roles in regulating television, radio, and telecommunications.
On the main page is a list of recent headlines that describe recent
activity by the Commission. Also on the main page are links to the
FCC's major initiatives. Each link describes what the FCC sees as
the problem and current efforts to try to fix these problems.
All of these features, along with statements from the commissioners
of the FCC, allow users to understand the role of FCC as a regulator
of the nation's communication outlets. When the FCC was established
in 1927, then called the Federal Radio Commission, its charter stated
that it was to regulate the airwaves in a way to secure the "public
interest". With the advent of television, of course, the FRC
became the FCC and began to regulate television broadcasts also. Now
the FCC not only is in charge of making sure the "public interest"
is met in radio and television broadcasts, but it also regulates telecommunications,
which includes wireless networks, broadband, and satellites.
Currently the FCC has many initiatives towards meeting the "public
interest". The Children's Television Act of 1990 and its subsequent
"strengthening" in 1996 hope to improve the quality and
availability of educational and children's programming on television.
The Act and its amendment move to require networks to have at least
three hours per week devoted to material that is of a nature appropriate
to children and education. In radio, the FCC has begun to hand out
low power FM licensees to non-commercial broadcasters in several states.
These low power FM stations will only have a broadcast radius of 1
to 3 miles. Finally, the FCC is "vigilantly" observing the
spread of broadband availability across the nation. The FCC believes
that access to this high-speed Internet connection is moving reasonably,
but still is not accessible to people in rural regions and to low-income
households. Future intervention may be needed, the Commission says,
to help access improve in those areas. A quick look at these last
three major initiatives should give any citizen pause.
Mandating content for television is censorship hidden by the motives
of the "public interest". No matter if this programming
has good intent, the mandate infringes on free speech. At the same
time, the threat of speeding up broadband access to those in rural
and low-income areas has underlying socialistic tones. Implicit in
their "observations" of broadband availability is the idea
that broadband providers must provide Internet connections to anyone
who wants one, no matter if it is feasible to get a connection to
them or if they can not afford the service. By this reasoning, is
Chevrolet obligated to give a Corvette to anyone who desires one?
When the government forces an industry to lower prices or give service
to those which it is not feasible to give to, it endangers the progress
and sustainability of that industry. One needn't look any further
than the current energy crisis in California where government enforced
price caps have lead to many companies to near bankruptcy. The crux
of the FCC's intrusive policies revolve around its original charter.
Founded on the vague, progressive terminology of the "public
interest", the FCC has slowly adopted wider jurisdiction and
exercised more and more power. To secure freedom of the airwaves and
free trade amongst consumer and media providers and producers, the
nation should move to reform, if not eliminate, the FCC.