Live from the FCC Chairman's one-on-one

So has the nation's transition to digital television gone completely off track, and is it time for the incoming Obama administration to call time out? Kevin Martin, Chairman of the FCC, speaks directly to CES 2009.

2:35pm PT: Going Forward: "We have to continue investing in the underlying infrastructure. We need to not inadvertently upset balance; you don't want to disturb anyone's infrastructure investment."

Advice for Julius Genachowski (the Rock Creek Ventures director who sits on the Obama transition team): "If you try to go back to some of the rules that were in place in, oh, 2001, you will depress the telecommunications industry. And you have to be prepared to make hard decisions."

Shapiro is grossing me out badly with the slavish praise, but Martin's done -- and in 10 days, so is his tenure as chair. Selah.

2:25pm PT: What about subliminal messaging in IP advertising? Everyone is a bit baffled; Martin invokes Mrs. Loveloy.

Shapiro: See anything you like at the show?

Martin: Windows Media Center, high-def 3D TV, super-thin screens. I think there's all kinds of excitement on the floor, there always is.

2:24pm PT: Content regulation -- does Martin believe that fines and policy changes work? He believes that government has roles in Protecting the Children, and cites Carlin. There is surely a thunderbolt about to smite us. He says the government's role re kids should go beyond current standards to regulate exposure to violent content, ads for obesity-making foods targeted at kids.

Shapiro: Smoking, fast foods?

Martin: Yeah I'd have a problem wih Big Bird lighting up.

Shapiro: Should we monitor the Internet?

Martin: No and here's why -- the kids of the most susceptible age don't have access to that stuff online. (Oh, *now* he's a platform-differentiated.) All this only regulated during the children's hour.) The V-chip is an effective tool but the ratings are inconsistent or confusing. All of the programs we have pursued were rated appropriate for children.

2:14pm PT: Net neutrality -- ahh. The commission has shown that they'll take action if they see any provider hamstringing access -- cf. Comcast/BitTorrent. He says protecting openness on edges of platform is "critical" but one must balance that with need for infrastructure innovation.

2:09pm PT: The DTV launch, two complaints: The money was limited, and the coupons expire after 90 days. Does Martin believe he should open the market for white space devices? Says one of the proudest achievements of his tenure is the progress on wireless broadband. Thinks that using the blank spaces between channels is going to open up a whole new wave of innovation.

What can the FCC do to help when the market fails to offer broadband access? Martin says it's important and will affect every aspect on life, and says we should take the $5 billion we currently spend to subsidize rural voice service and turn it to pushing on broadband.

2:05pm PT: Shapiro asked if regulation makes any sense for broadband since there's so much of it. Martin responds that the pipe is still owned by one entity -- e.g., the cable operator. That isn't a tech issue; that is a business choice. Shapiro is pushing to get Martin to say that he'd be in favor of having no regulation. Martin cites high-cost areas (e.g., rural) where it's not enough to let the free market do its thing. Martin says he has been a strong regulation of removing regulatory obstacles, but who in their right mind right now would say that the market [COUGHberniemadoffCOUGH] would follow Shapiro down this path? Martin notes that cable is a glaring exception to the overall trend, in his tenure, to lower prices and better speeds.

1:57pm PT: In the Wilmington trial run, around 2-3 percent of population complained -- but when asked, most of those said it's not that they weren't aware but that they 'didn't believe the government would do it.'" Lovely.

1:56pm PT: And now the DTV question for real. Martin is worried, but says this is ultimately Congress's decision -- but they have been (he agrees) worrying about the coupon program for a year. He was among the voices of concern after the trial DTV run in Wilmington, Delaware, saying that coupon demand would be high. Congress could move the date, he says, but there would be consumer confusion and real business implications. 'I realize we have a problem and we need to address it, but there could be confusion."

Shapiro and Martin seem to feel that knowledge of changeover is nearly 100 percent. ORLY?

1:53pm PT: Shapiro asks if the FCC is constructed correctly. (He also raises, briefly, the other commissioners' critiques of his leadership.) Martin says it's a function of seeking compromise that that might be the perception, but though structural reforms could help the agency has done much to bring and operate on the level regulatory playing field.

So you wouldn't change anything, presses Shapiro? Not quite, but it's most pressing to work on making that structural less platform-focused. He has an interesting idea for posting votes publicly, and says that the commissioners have been resistant. Says he may have allowed too much uncertainty and strangeness in the 700 MHz spectrum auction, and wishes they'd make more progress on consumer choices for high-bandwidth services.

Present for this conference is Rep. Darrell Issa (R - Calif.), the ranking Republican member of the House Committee on Government Reform.

1:43pm PT: He is claiming that the digital changeover mess took everyone by surprise, and seems to be blaming conflict. Advises others that sometimes you have to make hard calls. Considering what we heard from the career FCC guys, that's a jaw-dropping thing to claim.

About the XM / Sirius merger, the decision to allow the merger was based in part on the difficulties that market's having. The rule specifically prohibiting it was a hindrance. He compares the DirectTV / Echostar decision, in which the agency ruled that they were jointly a separate market from TV.

1:37pm PT: US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin is being questioned by Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association.

Shapiro asks for an overview of how the chairmanship works; no Senate confirmation required. Shapiro asks if we are about to have an FCC with "no institutional memory." How insulting to whoever's next -- and Martin says that the true institutional memory really is contained in the folks who are career FCC.