President Obama last week nominated Republican Meredith Attwell Baker to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, a widely expected move that would fill the last spot on the five-person panel.

Just hours after the announcement, the Senate voted to confirm Julius Genachowski as the agency's chair, also approving Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell to serve a second term.

The Senate also confirmed Larry Strickling to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the division of the Commerce Department that is charged with allocated the lion's share of the funding for broadband projects allocated in the economic stimulus package.

Baker, a 12-year veteran of the telecom sector, served as an official in the Commerce Department under the most recent Bush administration.

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