...and who will lead us?

Most of this week I have been thinking about what actions or policies of the President-Elect's administration will influence the business strategy of Broadvox and other ITSPs. It appears that from a policy standpoint, I am mostly in agreement with the broad statements on addressing USF Reform and Net Neutrality. However, questions remain as to what the specific policies and guidelines will be and who will implement them.  Many observers of Barack Obama's current choices for advisors see a return to selecting people involved with the Clinton Administration. Since he is a Democrat looking for experienced people, that's not surprising. The real question is what does experience mean for an administration with a change agenda as its central tenet. For example, this morning we learn that Hillary Clinton may be asked to become Secretary of State. If that were to become true, who would establish the direction of foreign policy the most? Clinton, Obama or Biden as each has significant experience and opinions as to what needs to be accomplished.

Henry Rivera will be leading the FCC transition team. He is well known to have interests that support net neutrality but also more ownership of communications assets by minorities. How will he balance those interests against future mergers and proper policy on USF Reform? Jonathan Adelstein is expected to play an important role, assuming he is reconfirmed by the Senate. His stance against the Sirius/XM merger was not clearly explained and I don't want to assume I know any more than his public statements. However, does it indicate an opposing position on future mergers and acquisitions? Finally, how will telecommunications and technology overall be regarded by the incoming administration? If someone like Bill Joy is selected as our country's first CTO, the role may have more of a philosophical approach to policy than gee whiz.

I know, a lot more questions than answers, but heck, it's Friday. It's time to wind down for the weekend. Check out Monday's new recipe, it will be one of my personal favorites.