Bush picks Powell's son for top communications post

The widely expected designation as chairman does not require Senate confirmation.

Top telecommunications lawmakers and industry lobbyists praised the selection and said they view Powell as a thoughtful policy-maker who will advance the goals of deregulating communications markets as they become more competitive.

"Michael is going to define his role and his vision, and I have great faith in the way he will manage the FCC," said House Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La., a fierce critic of the agency under its Democratic leadership.

Tauzin has sought to rein in the FCC's jurisdiction in areas such as its ability to attach conditions to merger approvals.

In reviews of recent communications deals, like the marriage between America Online and Time Warner, Powell has taken a more limited approach to imposing requirements on the companies than his Democratic counterparts.

That has raised fears among public interest groups that Powell will shy away from addressing thorny new questions that arise in the context of merger reviews.

"For 70 years, the FCC has regarded mergers as an appropriate forum for considering new regulatory issues," said Andrew Jay Schwartzman of the Media Access Project.

The group also worries that Powell won't push for greater requirements on broadcasters in exchange for their free use of the nation's airwaves.

Powell "seems uncomfortable exercising the commission's power to require broadcasters to carry programming that meets the needs of the public," Schwartzman said.

His critics among the public interest groups still concede that Powell is bright and a good listener, even if he doesn't always come around to their point of view.

"What people like about Michael Powell is that, agree or disagree, his positions are well thought out," said Scott Cleland, an analyst with The Precursor Group in Washington. "What you see is what you get."

Powell will become chairman of the FCC almost five years after passage of a landmark law freeing the cable, local and long-distance phone industries to compete. The agency is largely responsible for implementing rules to deregulate and promote competition in these markets.

"He has been a consistent voice advocating market competition over regulation and has shown a clear vision for shaping our nation's communications future," said Priscilla Hill-Ardoin, a vice president at SBC Communications, the nation's second largest local phone company.

Born March 23, 1963, in Birmingham, Ala., while his father was in Vietnam, Michael Powell had his own military career cut short when he was injured in a 1987 training accident. He was retired from the service and went on to earn his law degree at Georgetown University.

Before coming to the FCC, he served as chief of staff to the Justice Department's former antitrust chief, Joel Klein.

He replaces William Kennard, the agency's first black chief, who left the post last week.

Until another commissioner is nominated, the FCC will have two Democrats and two Republicans, including Powell, sitting on the panel.<