Telecom Lobbyist Funny Business

How did a top secret lobbying strategy document end up posted publicly on the FCC web site? John Windhausen would probably like to know, and he will have a lot more time to seek out the answer to this question now that, as the Washington Post reports that he has lost his job over the matter:

John D. Windhausen Jr., president of the Association for Local Telecommunication Services (ALTS), resigned yesterday after an uproar over the document, which starkly characterized the policy positions of FCC members and lawmakers and described the need for the association to hire, for $120,000 a year, a "heavyweight Republican [lobbyist] that can navigate between the FCC chairman and the White House."

According to TelecomWeb "Julia Strow, vice president for Regulatory and Legislative Affairs at ALTS member company Cbeyond, will take over as acting president of the association during this transition period." TelecomWeb also promises a report on the contents of the document.

One place that Windhausen might look as a starting point, according to an article in Phone Plus Magazine is the association's law firm Swidler and Berlin. According to Phone Plus:

Swidler & Berlin inadvertently released the ALTS strategic plan last week after an ALTS member had forwarded it to the law firm, Windhausen told PHONE+ in an interview this afternoon. ALTS is an association representing the interests of facilities-based CLECs.

Phone Plus has some additional news on the content of the strategy document including the news that "...FCC Chairman Michael Powell is likely to promote President Bush's broadband agenda before the election." IP Inferno hasn't located a copy of the document itself, but we will publish when possible.