Obama's CTO slot remains open

In Julius Genachowski, incoming President Barack Obama reportedly has found his new Federal Communications Chairman (somebody tell the current one, who doesn't want to leave), but Genachowski also reportedly turned down the much-ballyhooed role of U.S. CTO because it was not slated to be a position of policy influence. That leaves America wondering who will be the nation's CTO and what that person really will do (OK, maybe all of America isn't wondering, but those of us who care are).

A viewpoint article at BusinessWeek points out that government czars like the proposed CTO haven't had a terribly impressive impact thus far. The article also notes that some other countries have gotten pretty far with organized programs aimed at improving broadband access, something the CTO will have on his/her plate. The story has some agenda items for the CTO, though you still have to wonder if the caliber of the person named to the role will be affected by the lack of policy involvement.

For more:
- BusinessWeek has this viewpoint [1]

Related articles
Genachowski appears to be a near-lock as FCC chairman [2]
Current FCC Chairman Kevin Martin says he won't resign [3]