Happy Birthday, Dear Mr. Chairman

At lunchtime on Wednesday, a chandeliered ballroom in downtown Washington, D.C. played host to scores of communications company executives, who set down their coffee cups and forkfuls of pecan tart to sing a rousing "Happy Birthday" to their guest of honor: Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin, who just turned 39.

"I thought we were just having a birthday party," quipped Martin, who was invited to be the keynote speaker at a business and policy summit hosted by Comptel, a trade association.

"Nah, I'm just joking," he added hastily.

After fielding more serious questions from Comptel CEO Earl Comstock about matters commissioners will likely confront in upcoming months, Martin earned a round of applause from the audience--and, when he'd dismounted the stage, a miniature chocolate-iced cake, garnished with a single lit candle, which he promptly blew out.

Comptel's membership includes hundreds of telecommunications and voice over Internet protocol companies, including Alltel, BellSouth, Cisco, Level 3 Communications, Quest Communications and Verisign.