Lobbyists and rank and file house members rejoice, the telcos will be spreading the wealth inside the capitol next year. A lot of noise will be made about what will be done to them, but in the end there is still a vote, and the telcos will buy the votes needed to keep things the way that they are.

It will be entertaining though. Henry Waxman, the unrivaled master of holding hearings that do little more than dominate  airtime on Cspan will be pointing his nostrils towards the twisted pair when his reach is extended next year. There will be a lot of talking, a lot of money spent, and nothing will change in the end.  I’ll be around to tell you we told you so when it happens.

Yesterday Rep. Henry Waxman ascended to the head of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce — which you may remember for its investigation into how web firms use consumer data — and convened two hearings into online privacy.

As the head of that committee, Waxman has considerable influence over its agenda. The Wall Street Journal speculates that Waxman will delegate many telecommunications issues to Rep. Ed Markey, of Massachusetts, who has already pushed for a Net Neutrality bill, and has a fondness for consumer issues. (GigaOm)

By the way, if your interested in fixing the duopoly problem, it’s time to think local. More on that in a future post.