Add former acting chairman Michael Copps to the list of attendees at the reg reform Hearing Jan. 15 featuring former FCC chairmen.
His participation has been confirmed, according to the committee, along with confirmed participants Michael Powell, Reed Hundt and Richard Wiley.
The hearing is a kickoff for a multi-year effort to revamp communications regs in light of the sea change in technology wrought by the internet.
Somewhat conspicuous by his absence is the chairman that took the reigns from Copps, Julius Genachowski.
Copps was in the center seat for the June 9, 2009 transition to digital television and was widely praised for his collegial management style while atop the commission.
“The perspectives of chairmen who served during a range of time periods and technological developments can inform potential legislation and address pitfalls that have been encountered in the past,” the committee majority said in a memo to staffers.
A spokesperson for the committee did not have a comment on whether former FCC Chairs Julius Genachowski, Kevin Martin or acting chair Mignon Clyburn had been asked to participate. The committee does not generally comment on who it invites unless they say yes. Clyburn was not invited, said an FCC source, and Martin told B&C he had not been asked to testify.
