Tom Wheeler urges Trump to protect consumers, not corporations

FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler testifying before the House Communications and Technology Subcommittee in March 2016. (credit: House Energy and Commerce Committee)

As Republicans prepare to take over the Federal Communications Commission, outgoing Chairman Tom Wheeler today defended his Democratic majority’s decisions and said he hopes the FCC will continue to protect consumers under President Donald Trump.

Wheeler made the remarks in a press conference after a very short FCC meeting. The agenda was stripped bare after Republicans in Congress asked Wheeler to halt any controversial rulemakings until the Trump inauguration in January.

The agenda originally included votes on reduced price caps and other regulations for “special access” business data services, Universal Service funding to expand mobile broadband networks, wireless roaming obligations, and requirements for audio description of TV programming for blind and visually impaired people. All of those were taken off the agenda; Wheeler said that any item that drew objections from at least one commissioner was deleted.