The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio,television,wire,satellite,and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction over the areas of broadband access,fair competition,radio frequency use,media responsibility,public safety,and homeland security.
The Communications Act of 1934 is a United States federal law signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on June 19,1934,and codified as Chapter 5 of Title 47 of the United States Code,47 U.S.C. § 151 et seq. The act replaced the Federal Radio Commission with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). It also transferred regulation of interstate telephone services from the Interstate Commerce Commission to the FCC.
Michael Kevin Powell is an American attorney and lobbyist who served as the 24th chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005. Since leaving office,Powell has since worked as the president of the National Cable &Telecommunications Association (NCTA),a broadband industry trade association.
James Henry Quello was a broadcaster and government official who notably served as acting Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in 1993. Described as a "conservative Democrat",Quello was first appointed to the FCC by Republican president Richard Nixon. Quello's term as acting chairman ended when Reed Hundt was confirmed by the Senate,and he stepped down from the FCC entirely in 1998.
Newton Norman Minow was an American attorney who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He is famous for his 1961 speech referring to television as a "vast wasteland". While still maintaining a law practice,Minow served as the Honorary Consul General of Singapore in Chicago,beginning in 2001.
Kevin Jeffrey Martin is a lobbyist for Facebook and former member and Chairman of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC),an independent agency of the United States government. He was nominated to be a commissioner by President George W. Bush on April 30,2001,and was confirmed on May 25,2001. On March 16,2005,President Bush designated him as FCC chairman,to replace Michael K. Powell. President Bush renominated Martin to a new five-year term on the Commission on April 25,2006,and he was reconfirmed by the U.S. Senate on November 17,2006. In January 2009,Martin announced that he would step down from the FCC and join the Aspen Institute,as a senior fellow in the think tank's Communications and Society Program. He since became a partner with the law firm Squire Patton Boggs LLP,and was hired as Facebook's head of U.S. Public Policy.
William Earl Kennard is an American attorney and former government official. Kennard served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 1997 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton,and was the first African American to lead the agency. In 2009,Kennard was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Ambassador to the European Union,serving until 2013.
CTIA is a trade association representing the wireless communications industry in the United States. The association was established in 1984 and is headquartered in Washington,D.C. It is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit membership organization,and represents wireless carriers and suppliers,and manufacturers and providers of wireless products and services.
Wiley Rein LLP,sometimes shortened to Wiley,is an American law firm based in Washington,D.C. With 240 lawyers,the firm represents clients in complex regulatory,litigation,and transactional matters. Many of the firm's lawyers and public policy advisors have held high-level positions in the White House,on Capitol Hill,and in federal agencies,including the U.S. Department of Defense,the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office,and the U.S. Department of Justice. The firm operates in industries including energy,manufacturing,defense,aerospace,intelligence,information technology,professional services,telecommunications,health care,architectural and engineering (A&E),and construction.
Dennis Roy Patrick served as the chairman of the FCC from April 18,1987,through August 7,1989,appointed by Ronald Reagan,notably helping to finalize the repeal of the Fairness Doctrine. He currently serves as president and chief executive of Pillar Productions,an independent film and television production company.
The James H. and Mary B. Quello Center for Telecommunication Management &Law is a research center at Michigan State University in East Lansing,Michigan. Part of the Department of Media and Information at the College of Communication Arts and Sciences,the Quello Center is dedicated to original research on issues of information and communication management,law and policy. It is named for former Federal Communications Commission chairman James H. Quello.
Robert Malcolm McDowell is a lawyer and lobbyist who served as a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission from June 1,2006,to May 17,2013. He is currently a partner in the law firm Cooley LLP.
Andrew Gallagher Haley was an American lawyer. He devoted much of his legal career to federal administrative law,principally communications law. Haley has been described as the world's first practitioner of space law. He coined the term Metalaw,which refers to a field of legal thought now closely related to the scientific Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI).
Meredith Attwell Baker is the president and chief executive officer of CTIA,an industry trade group that represents the international wireless telecommunications industry. From 2009 to 2011,Baker was a member of the United States Federal Communications Commission,nominated by U.S. President Barack H. Obama. She also served in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as a political appointee,and was subsequently named a deputy assistant secretary of the Commerce Department by President George W. Bush in February 2007.
Direct lobbying in the United States are methods used by lobbyists to influence United States legislative bodies. Interest groups from many sectors spend billions of dollars on lobbying.
Ajit Varadaraj Pai is an American lawyer who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from 2017 to 2021. He has been a partner at the private-equity firm Searchlight Capital since April 2021.
Communications law refers to the regulation of electronic communications by wire or radio. It encompasses regulations governing broadcasting,telephone and telecommunications service,cable television,satellite communications,wireless telecommunications,and the Internet.
Thomas Edgar Wheeler is an American businessman and former government official. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as the 31st Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
The Wireless Infrastructure Association (WIA),formerly known as PCIA,is an American trade association for wireless providers and companies that build cell phone towers,rooftop wireless sites,and other facilities that transmit wireless communication signals. The Washington Post described the industry as "the people who build all those cell towers so you can actually make those calls,download that data." These technologies are collectively referred to as "wireless telecommunications infrastructure."
Brendan Thomas Carr is an American lawyer who has served as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since 2017. Appointed to the position by Donald Trump,Carr previously served as the agency's general counsel and as an aide to FCC commissioner Ajit Pai. In private practice,Carr formerly worked as a telecommunications attorney at Wiley Rein.
