Meredith Attwell Baker, a member of the five-person Federal Communications Commission, is leaving to become Comcast (News - Alert) Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at NBCUniversal. Her current term at the Commission expires at the end of June 2011, and she had widely been expected to be renominated by President Obama.

Under FCC (News - Alert) rules, Baker could have remained in her position until the end of next year’s session of Congress, and many in the technology policy community have to be surprised. Click here to read more. 

So sudden and surprising was the departure announcement that speculation has not even begun about whom the president might nominate. About the only thing known at this point is that whoever replaces her will not be a Democrat, as rules prevent any single party from having more than three commissioners and the commission already has its quota of Democrats.

Had she remained at the FCC, Baker’s nomination probably would have been paired with the selection of a successor to Democratic FCC regulator Michael Copps (News - Alert), who plans to leave later in 2011. The leading candidate for his spot is said to be Jessica Rosenworcel, a top aide to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

Baker’s departure will for some time benefit the agency’s Democrats, who faced the prospect of a commission split along party lines if Copps were to leave before his replacement had been confirmed. The current four-member commission now features three Democrats, and there will be no political pressure for the president to move any faster than necessary to get a replacement seated. 

But it can take a year or so to fill a seat. That was about what it took to confirm Jonathan Adelstein, then an aide to Sen. Tom Daschle, (D-S.D), in 2002. It would not be surprising if a similar situation developed now.

Baker's move to Comcast will fit the story line about the revolving door for federal regulators who move to positions in companies whose fates they help determine. It is only four months since the Federal Communications Commission approved a hotly contested merger of Comcast and NBC Universal (News - Alert), and Baker had voted in favor of the merger. 

It is true that Baker will not be allowed to lobby anyone at the Commission for two years after her departure. Nor will Baker be allowed to lobby other political appointees at the FCC, including other commissioners, for the remainder of the Obama administration, including a second term if the president is re-elected, according to ethics rules. 

But Baker was respected even by those who disagreed with her positions, and will be able to use her knowledge and connections in many ways beneficial to Comcast. 

She faces a lifetime ban on lobbying any executive branch agency, including the FCC on the agreement that Comcast made with the commission as a condition of its approval of the merger with NBC Universal. 

Separately, former FCC Chairman Michael Powell recently become head of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, the U.S. cable industry's primary trade association. 

Kyle McSlarrow, who was Powell's predecessor as president and CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, also has joined Comcast as president of Comcast's Washington office. 

All three moves show growing regulatory clout at Comcast as well as cable's continuing influence as one of Washington, D.C.'s better regarded lobbying bodies. 

All of the moves illustrate the important role regulators play in setting the environment for business success in the cable TV and telecommunications industries.