Office of Telecommunications Policy
Encyclopedia
After President Nixon took office in 1969, Clay T. Whitehead
, Special Assistant to the President, pushed to establish an executive office dedicated to telecommunications policy. The White House Office of Telecommunications Policy (OTP) was established in 1970. In 1978, it was merged, along with the Commerce Department's Office of Telecommunications, into the newly created National Telecommunications and Information Administration
(NTIA).
who served from 1970-1974. After Whitehead resigned, John M. Eger served as acting director from 1974 to 1976 until Thomas J. Houser was appointed OTP Director in 1976.
Notable individuals who worked at OTP include Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
, who served as General Counsel, and C-SPAN founder and CEO Brian Lamb
, who handled Congressional and press relations.
The OTP was also responsible for Nixon Administration policy towards the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
.
OTP took a strong interest in supporting cable’s development in part because Whitehead saw that “cable promises a revolutionary diversity and a fundamentally new system of communication.”
In 1971 and 1972, cable operators were blocked by copyright owners and broadcasters who demanded fees for distributing their programs. OTP facilitated a Cable Copyright Compromise that pacified cable opponents enough to permit some industry growth.
Two years later, a Cabinet Committee on Cable chaired by Whitehead released a report denouncing industry regulation. Until the Committee’s report, cable had been seen as an extension of broadcast television, and subject to its regulations. But the 1974 Cabinet Committee on Cable Communications Cable: Report to the President advocated applying a different regulatory model to cable. It argued in part that cable did not use the publicly owned airwaves and promised a multitude of channels instead of the limited number necessitated by spectrum scarcity, which meant that cable and the television networks were not analogous businesses. Accordingly, the report reasoned, cable should be afforded the same freedom of expression as the print media.
The Nixon Administration launched its first volley against AT&T in January 1970 when it announced its “Open Skies” policy that allowed all qualifying companies to launch commercial satellites. This defeated AT&T’s expectations that the White House would give monopoly control to Comsat, of which AT&T owned 29 percent, the largest share held by any single company.
OTP further weakened AT&T’s monopoly by supporting a Department of Justice antitrust investigation of, and then litigation against, AT&T.
OTP’s chief economist, Bruce Owen
, favored breaking up AT&T and persuaded Whitehead that the best way to split the company was the way in which it was finally done, by separating long distance from local service – known as horizontal divestiture.
OTP supported the Department of Justice through testimony before a Senate Antitrust and Monopoly subcommittee hearing concerning a bill that would break up big businesses in industries including communications. Whitehead’s testimony explained that historically, competition was the preferred regulatory tool in the U.S., and that it applied equally in telecommunications as in any other industry. Monopoly in the telephone business, he explained, was not a necessary structure in the nation’s telecommunications industry and, in fact, the existing regulatory scheme had become “a barrier to competition and innovation required for the future direction of communications.” Whitehead stated that, moreover, no special public policy considerations such as national defense necessitated the AT&T monopoly. It was unbecoming for “AT&T to use its legal, political and economic power to seek to extend its monopoly” where monopoly was not warranted, and “the Government cannot let such an effort go unnoticed or unchecked.” He also said that “the anti-trust laws should be enforced to ensure that regulatory mechanisms cannot become a haven for escape from competition.”
Some weeks later, the Department of Justice filed the antitrust case that ultimately led to the break-up of AT&T along the lines that Bruce Owen
had suggested, with AT&T retaining its long distance services, Western Electric and Bell Laboratories, and giving up its local telephone companies.
Clay T. Whitehead
Clay T. "Tom" Whitehead was a United States government official who served as director of the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy from 1970 to 1974, during the Nixon administration...
, Special Assistant to the President, pushed to establish an executive office dedicated to telecommunications policy. The White House Office of Telecommunications Policy (OTP) was established in 1970. In 1978, it was merged, along with the Commerce Department's Office of Telecommunications, into the newly created National Telecommunications and Information Administration
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce that serves as the President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the United States' economic and technological advancement and to regulation of the...
(NTIA).
Directors and Staff
The first director of the OTP was Clay T. WhiteheadClay T. Whitehead
Clay T. "Tom" Whitehead was a United States government official who served as director of the White House Office of Telecommunications Policy from 1970 to 1974, during the Nixon administration...
who served from 1970-1974. After Whitehead resigned, John M. Eger served as acting director from 1974 to 1976 until Thomas J. Houser was appointed OTP Director in 1976.
Notable individuals who worked at OTP include Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. As the longest-serving justice on the Court, Scalia is the Senior Associate Justice...
, who served as General Counsel, and C-SPAN founder and CEO Brian Lamb
Brian Lamb
Brian Patrick Lamb is the founder and chief executive officer of C-SPAN, a television network dedicated to coverage of government proceedings and public affairs. Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Lamb earned a degree from Purdue University before joining the United States Navy...
, who handled Congressional and press relations.
Policy
During Whitehead's tenure, the OTP worked to unfreeze and deregulate the cable industry and implement the "Open Skies" policy, whereby any qualified company could launch a domestic communications satellite, avoiding the monopoly industry structure that pertained for international communications.The OTP was also responsible for Nixon Administration policy towards the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress, funded by the United States’ federal government to promote public broadcasting...
.
Cable
OTP’s two major initiatives concerning cable included the 1971 Cable Copyright Compromise and the 1974 Cabinet Committee on Cable Communications Cable: Report to the President, or “The Whitehead Report.”OTP took a strong interest in supporting cable’s development in part because Whitehead saw that “cable promises a revolutionary diversity and a fundamentally new system of communication.”
In 1971 and 1972, cable operators were blocked by copyright owners and broadcasters who demanded fees for distributing their programs. OTP facilitated a Cable Copyright Compromise that pacified cable opponents enough to permit some industry growth.
Two years later, a Cabinet Committee on Cable chaired by Whitehead released a report denouncing industry regulation. Until the Committee’s report, cable had been seen as an extension of broadcast television, and subject to its regulations. But the 1974 Cabinet Committee on Cable Communications Cable: Report to the President advocated applying a different regulatory model to cable. It argued in part that cable did not use the publicly owned airwaves and promised a multitude of channels instead of the limited number necessitated by spectrum scarcity, which meant that cable and the television networks were not analogous businesses. Accordingly, the report reasoned, cable should be afforded the same freedom of expression as the print media.
AT&T
Consistent with OTP’s goal to increase competition and technological innovation within telecommunications industries, OTP worked to loosen AT&T’s hold on U.S. telephone service.The Nixon Administration launched its first volley against AT&T in January 1970 when it announced its “Open Skies” policy that allowed all qualifying companies to launch commercial satellites. This defeated AT&T’s expectations that the White House would give monopoly control to Comsat, of which AT&T owned 29 percent, the largest share held by any single company.
OTP further weakened AT&T’s monopoly by supporting a Department of Justice antitrust investigation of, and then litigation against, AT&T.
OTP’s chief economist, Bruce Owen
Bruce Owen
Bruce Owen is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1987 to 1990.- Early life :...
, favored breaking up AT&T and persuaded Whitehead that the best way to split the company was the way in which it was finally done, by separating long distance from local service – known as horizontal divestiture.
OTP supported the Department of Justice through testimony before a Senate Antitrust and Monopoly subcommittee hearing concerning a bill that would break up big businesses in industries including communications. Whitehead’s testimony explained that historically, competition was the preferred regulatory tool in the U.S., and that it applied equally in telecommunications as in any other industry. Monopoly in the telephone business, he explained, was not a necessary structure in the nation’s telecommunications industry and, in fact, the existing regulatory scheme had become “a barrier to competition and innovation required for the future direction of communications.” Whitehead stated that, moreover, no special public policy considerations such as national defense necessitated the AT&T monopoly. It was unbecoming for “AT&T to use its legal, political and economic power to seek to extend its monopoly” where monopoly was not warranted, and “the Government cannot let such an effort go unnoticed or unchecked.” He also said that “the anti-trust laws should be enforced to ensure that regulatory mechanisms cannot become a haven for escape from competition.”
Some weeks later, the Department of Justice filed the antitrust case that ultimately led to the break-up of AT&T along the lines that Bruce Owen
Bruce Owen
Bruce Owen is a former politician in Ontario, Canada. He served in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Liberal from 1987 to 1990.- Early life :...
had suggested, with AT&T retaining its long distance services, Western Electric and Bell Laboratories, and giving up its local telephone companies.