Logo

Venture Capitalist in Line to Become FCC Chairman

May 1, 2013  •  Post A Comment

A venture capital investor is set to be nominated today as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. The New York Times reports that President Barack Obama today will nominate Tom Wheeler for the post.

Wheeler, a former lobbyist for the cable and mobile phone industries, has prompted some concern among consumer advocacy groups that "anticipated his nomination and said they were troubled by his background investing in and lobbying for cable and wireless companies," the piece notes.

Some of those advocacy groups claim that the outgoing chairman, Julius Genachowski, didn’t stand up against big telecommunications companies, the story says.

Wheeler received "cautious approval" from Public Knowledge, a critic of Genachowski’s, which noted that Wheeler had lobbied for mobile phone and cable companies when those industries were much smaller.

Wheeler is a managing director at Core Capital Partners, which manages $350 million and invests in start-ups and small to midsize technology businesses, the story says. He also serves on the board of Internet service provider EarthLink, which competes with other telecom companies such as Verizon.

tom-wheeler.jpgTom Wheeler

One Comment

  1. Once again, we are shown that Big Money rules. We now have a vulture capitalist/lobbyist, a man in bed with Cable and Wireless Phone companies, not a broadcaster, about to run the FCC. Beware little independent broadcasters, and be afraid… Be very afraid.

Your Comment

Email (will not be published)