SPOTLIGHT: Skype's Libertelli likes Levin for FCC Chairman, current policy not so much

Paying a visit to the Fierce offices last week, Skype's senior director of government and regulatory affairs for North America Christopher Libertelli said former Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chief of staffer Blair Levin would look good as FCC Chairman while he'd like to see much more openness and net neutrality at carriers.

"Levin would make an excellent FCC chairman," said Libertelli. Currently a managing director at Stifel Nicolaus, Levin often pops up on a short list of potential chairman candidates in the speculation game should Senator Barak Obama win the White House this fall. Levin served as chief of staff to FCC Chairman and Obama contributor/advisor Reed Hundt from December 1993 through October 1997. He is credited with overseeing the implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Reform act, the development of digital TV standards, the first spectrum auctions, and the FCC's Internet initiative.

Turning to openness and net neutrality issues, Libertelli noted that Skype's current initiative via letter to get wireless carriers to freely allow third-party applications onto their networks is part of a broader concern for the company. A recent FCC ruling against Comcast interfering with video peer-to-peer traffic is equally applicable to Skype's offerings in the broader scheme of things.

For more:
- see a copy of the letter Skype sent to the FCC