Rosenworcel: FCC Should Hold Open Internet Field Hearings

FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said Wednesday that the FCC should hold field hearings on network neutrality featuring all the commissioners and held outside the Nation's Capital.

She was preaching to the choir, since the venue was a field hearing/forum on network neutrality hosted by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) in Sacramento. Rosenworcel and commissioner Mignon Clyburn were in attendance.

In her opening remarks, Rosenworcel cited the FCC's series of Open Internet forums being held at FCC headquarters in Washington.

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler has told B&C/Multi that he didn't think there needed to be field hearings given that the forums were streamed and open to participation across the country.

Rosenworcel said she thought the FCC should be doing more than holding discussions inside the Beltway, and said she wished all the commissioners would attend events like the Sacramento forum across the country.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.