FCC Chairman Opposes More Web-Related Telecommunications Regulation.

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

Sep. 3 -- Believing that the Internet is still developing in unpredictable ways, FCC Chairman William E. Kennard said Thursday in Miami that he is opposed to further regulating the cable and phone lines that bring the World Wide Web into persons' homes -- at least for now.

In an interview before giving a speech, he said: "We don't want to hang a dark cloud over this whole vibrant industry when it's in its infancy."

The Internet has been changing so rapidly, he believes, that government would be making a mistake if it passes laws to stop problems before they happen. Such moves might hamper the rapid growth that's now taking place in the telecommunications industry.

"We have to have a sense of humility here," he said.

In July, the Broward County Commission required cable companies to give other Internet service providers access to their wires. The Miami-Dade Commission has been considering similar legislation.

AT&T is appealing the Broward statute, and the FCC has filed a brief in support of cable companies' attempt to overturn a similar statute by the city of Portland, Ore., saying that any regulation on the subject should be handled by the feds.

While praising "local officials with the noblest of intentions," Kennard said, "it's too soon to send in armies of government lawyers and engineers and start making regulations."

Kennard was in Miami to speak to the Florida Conference of Black State Legislators. The 42-year-old lawyer, a product of Stanford and Yale Law, became the first African-American to be chairman of the Federal Communications Commission after he was nominated by President Clinton in 1997.

In his speech to the legislators, Kennard called access to the Internet "the greatest civil rights challenge of the next millennium."

Surveys show that children in families with incomes of $75,000 or higher are 20 times more likely to have Internet access than kids from poorer homes, he said.

Not only are impoverished inner-city youth being deprived, he said, but also many Indians on reservations and youth of all races in isolated rural areas.

Because the Internet provides such a wealth of information, he said, it is crucial that all students be able to browse the Web. He said he had been a prime mover, over congressional opposition, of the program that is now attempting to wire up every school in America to the Internet.

The federal government spent $1.7 billion last year to wire up schools and is scheduled to spend $2.25 billion this year, he said. "By the year 2000, just about every classroom in America should be wired."

During a question-and-answer session, Miami-Dade County Commissioner Dennis Moss said the commission had been uncertain about what to do about requiring open access of cable companies.

Kennard said the federal government and local politicians "basically want the same things."

No one wanted to see a monopoly develop that shut out all competition. "So do we regulate open access or do we facilitate a marketplace solution?"

Right now, he said, politicians should let the marketplace function, because it is encouraging wide-open competition, with many providers racing to link up residences with lines that provide high-speed Internet connections.

Kennard encourages the concept of "many pipes" -- cable, phone line, wireless, satellite -- competing to provide the best service.

He said the FCC is "monitoring this marketplace carefully." If it turns out that there are problems with consumers gaining free access or reasonably priced service, then it will be time for the government to act.

Before flying to Miami, Kennard told the audience, he gave a speech Thursday morning to a convention of broadcasters in Orlando. There, he talked about how many Web surfers were now listening to radio on the Internet and how this was creating a major shift in listening patterns.

After his Orlando speech, he told his Miami audience, a radio broadcaster came up to him and complained that the shift was hurting his business.

"Well," Kennard replied with a smile, "shift happens."

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