Tom Wheeler was confirmed last night (Oct. 29) as the new FCC Chairman, according to TVnewscheck.com. The former cable and wireless phone lobbyist will succeed Democrat Mignon Clyburn, who stepped into the role as acting chairwoman after Julius Genachowski stepped down earlier this year.
“I am humbled by the Senate’s confirmation and I look forward to taking the oath of office in the coming days,” said Wheeler in response to the confirmation. “I am deeply grateful to President Obama for his confidence in nominating me for this position. What excites me about this new responsibility is how we are at a hinge moment of history; the Internet is the greatest communications revolution in the last 150 years. We must all dedicate ourselves to encouraging its growth, expanding what it enables, and assuring its users’ rights are respected.”
Senate aide Mike O’Reilly was also confirmed to the vacant Republican seat on the commission.

Twitter did a mock run of its upcoming IPO on the New York Stock Exchange last Saturday, in part to hopefully avoid any glitches similar to those Facebook encountered upon making its debut on the Nasdaq, according to the Associated Press. The weekend test run, (the first-ever for the NYSE,) was reportedly successful, with traders from member firms running simulated buy and sell orders, testing the system’s flow to assure smooth sailing.
The company is expected to go public in the next few weeks trading under the ticker TWTR, and plans to offer up 70 million shares in the range of $17-20 apiece, which will possibly yield the company $1.6 billion.
“This morning’s systems test was successful, and we’re grateful to all the firms that chose to participate,” NYSE spokeswoman Marissa Arnold said via a statement. “We are being very methodical in our planning for Twitter’s IPO, and are working together with the industry to ensure a world class experience for Twitter, retail investors and all market participants.”
The company is the biggest tech offering since Facebook. Gains in the stock market have increased the demand for IPOs, as over 150 companies have gone public this year, up more than 50 percent from 2012, according to tracking firm Renaissance Capital.