The End of the Road for Wheeler

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Duh! 9/19/2016 | 11:05:49 AM

Re: Balance I was an admirer when he was appointed, and remained one when he became #NOTADINGO. He's been a fine public servant, with the right balance of industry knowledge, pro-consumer activism and temperament.

As I understand it, President Clinton (IFF elected), can appoint him for a second term. Whether there would be cloture for his Senate confirmation vote is a different question. I also wouldn't fault him if he decided to retire to a life of golf and grandkids.

It would be sad to see him go.

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KBode 9/19/2016 | 8:04:41 AM

Re: Balance I've generally been impressed by how he has handled himself. You never see him get vengeful or petty despite being kicked repeatedly by ISPs, consumers and Congress (all for, by most objective accounts, doing the right thing). Whether he's allowed to stick around will speak volumes of Clinton's plans for the telecom space.

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cnwedit 9/16/2016 | 5:16:28 PM

Re: Balance Brian,

You make a good point about people not really hearing Wheeler. And he gave them lots of chances, he spoke at so many industry events, he definitely didn't duck any invitations.

It's another thing I liked about him.

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inkstainedwretch 9/16/2016 | 2:03:57 PM

Balance Agree or disagee with any (or all) of his actions, Tom Wheeler consistently gave consumer considerations equal weight to industry demands, and that rankled many in the industry. Because he knew the industry inside and out, he was often able to distinguish between legitimate concerns and whining -- and telcos' and MSOs' whining can be as world-class as the performance of some of their networks.

Part of his problem wasn't really a problem he created. Even though he was a pretty straight shooter, the industry refused to believe what he said (I attended a few of his speeches where the audience didn't seem to even hear what he said), even when he followed words with deeds. I'm thinking about how he presided over the Comcast/TWC and Charter/TWC deals, here, but there are other examples.

-- Brian Santo

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cnwedit 9/16/2016 | 12:29:09 PM

Can Wheeler Make Any of This Happen? I admire a dedication to an agenda, and Tom Wheeler has been nothing if not transparent about his agenda and dedicated to getting it done.

But I honestly can't see him succeeding on any of these three agendas, and I'm not sure the industry would be worse for the failure.

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