Levin to leave FCC for Aspen Institute in May

Blair Levin, who headed up the FCC's National Broadband Plan effort, will depart the commission early next month to become a Communications and Society Fellow for the Aspen Institute.

The announcement Thursday puts an end to growing speculation over whether Levin, the executive director of the Omnibus Broadband Initiative, would remain with the agency now that the broadband plan is completed, or resume his job as an analyst for Stifel Nicolaus, a private investment firm.

“Blair has been masterful in providing wisdom to the Commission about how technology and market trends interact with the nation’s public policy agenda,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski noted in a statement on Thursday.

“His leadership in raising the quality of work and thought throughout the Commission is beyond measure and I am sure he will continue to make similar contributions for the country while he is at the Aspen Institute,” Genachowski added.

Levin will officially depart the FCC for his new fellow post on May 7. Perhaps serendipitously, some of his work there will focus on the National Broadband Plan that he and his coworkers at the commission delivered to lawmakers in early March.
“I am pleased to join the Aspen Institute team,” Levin said in a statement. “There I can reflect on the impact of the National Broadband Plan and particularly its application to the international arena.”

Levin's resume includes considerable work in the private and public spheres. Before joining the FCC's broadband team, he assisted President Barack Obama with his transition into office, specifically focusing on technology.

Years earlier, he served as chief of staff for then-FCC Chairman Reed Hundt, during which time he "oversaw the implementation of the 1996 Telecommunications Reform Act," according to the FCC.

That law is the subject of serious debate in 2010, as a federal court ruled last week that it in part does not authorize the FCC to regulate broadband providers -- an authority the agency needs to carry out much of its National Broadband Plan.