Bob Pepper, Chief of Policy Development for the FCC, was supposed to be here, but he's ill. Some of the FCC people in the room are taking the stage for an informal town-hall. Peter Tenhula, Director of FCC Spectrum Policy Task Force; Barbara Ezben, Associate Bureau Chief in the Media Bureau; Robert Cannon, Office of Strategic Planning; Scott Marcus, Senior Advisor for Internet Tech; Rob Tanner, Legal Advisor in Common Carrier Bureau
It's easier than it's ever been for the public to reach us. We hear from lots of people who are beltway outsiders.
It's hard for an administrative agency to be contacted by a public that is accustomed to talking to elected officials and getting a response. Expert agencies with technical expertise are being directed comments that are more appropriate to legislative arenas.
Valuable commentary helps us to work out a reasonable solution. It's a data-point that 750,000 Americans would prefer that we don't do something in particular [Ed *cough* media consolidation *cough*]. At the end of the day, that's not as helpful as feedback from someone who has economic expertise.