FCC Urged to Weigh Updating Rules to Help 'Unleash New Business Models'

If the FCC can update its rules to “help unleash new business models” that already have interested investors and consumers, ”shouldn’t it consider doing so?” asked FCC General Counsel Jonathan Sallet while discussing the commission’s open proceeding on redefining what constitutes a multichannel video programming distributor (http://bit.ly/104DVF6). Sallet’s remarks were part of a speech at the Duke Law Policy Center policy conference in Washington Friday. The FCC “doesn’t root for one business model over another,” Sallet said. “But it does -- and it should -- look to see if any of its rules should be updated to facilitate the innovation that is occurring in the marketplace,” he said. Sallet asked if broadening the definition could increase competition for cable and boost broadband deployment. The “whole point” of the proceeding is to apply the Communications Act on a technology-neutral basis, Sallet said.