The House Energy and Commerce Committee is demanding numerous records and materials from FCC Chairman Kevin Martin as part of a Congressional investigation into Martin's management practices at the agency and his handling of various telecom regulatory matters. The investigation is specifically targeting his "management practices that may adversely affect the Commission's ability to both discharge effectively its statutory duties and to guard against waste, fraud, and abuse."
Engadget Mobile speculates that the investigation could also involve some of the drama surrounding the open access provisions for the nearly over 700 MHz auction: Last September FCC chairman Kevin Martin was "aggressively" trying to repeal the open access requirements [1] for the 700 MHz auction, according to reports at the time. The maneuver followed a lawsuit by Verizon Wireless [2] against the FCC over the provisions.
For more:
- see this post [3] at Ars Technica
- check out the speculative piece [4] at Engadget Mobile
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/martin-tries-scale-back-open-access-provisions/2007-09-27
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/no-fast-track-vzws-open-access-suit/2007-10-05
[3] http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080313-congress-dons-rubber-glove-prepares-probe-of-fcc-chairman.html
[4] http://www.engadgetmobile.com/2008/03/13/fcc-chairman-to-get-fat-congressional-probe/