UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL
Chicago, IL, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell disclosed last week that he is resigning, and analysts already are remarking that his tenure on the FCC was marked by dramatic changes in telecom regulation. Perhaps the most dramatic was the emergence of wireless fidelity, or WiFi, technology, something that is changing mobile computing -- creating networks, both corporate and collegiate, and enabling people to remain wirelessly connected while on the move.Other telecommunication technologies that received heightened attention during Powell's tenure at the commission include high-speed networks, cable modems and telecommunications over power lines. The Powell FCC also allowed Americans to keep their mobile phone numbers when they switched carriers -- a process called number portability -- that had been discussed for more than a decade. By Gene J. Koprowski