FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

On May 23, Sens Tom Udall (D-NM), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai expressing concern that the proposed merger of T-Mobile and Sprint does not serve the public interest and urging both the FCC and Department of Justice to reject the transaction. 

On May 13, Sens Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai with a straight-forward request: don't allow wireless companies to operate in a 24 GHz band until vital weather forecasting operations are protected. 

A look at the Federal Communications Commission's 5G strategy -- the 5G FAST plan -- which consists of three central components: 1) freeing up much more spectrum for the commercial marketplace, 2) promoting wireless infrastructure deployment, and 3) modernizing our regulations to promote more fiber deployment.

At the Federal Communications Commission’s July 10 meeting, we will aim to take some important steps forward on the spectrum side of our Facilitating America's Superiority in 5G Technology (5G FAST) plan. Mid-band spectrum, which offers an important combination of 5G coverage and capacity, is central to our strategy. That's why today, I’m circulating an order to open up the 2.5 GHz band for 5G.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai sent a letter to Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) on May 28, 2019, in response to her letter regarding broadband mapping. Chairman Pai said the FCC initiated a new data collection for mobile broadband coverage as part of the Mobility Fund Phase II and began a review of the Form 477 process to ensure the FCC’s broadband data was more accurate, granular and useful to the FCC and the public.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement regarding USTelecom’s release of broadband investment figures for 2018:

In early May, various Members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to inquire about efforts to improve the accuracy of the FCC's Form 477 collection of voice and broadband subscription and deployment data.

On April 2, 2019, a dozen Members of Congress wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai expressing concern that the FCC's draft 2019 Broadband Deployment Report "may contain serious data inaccuracies that would undermine the validity of its findings." "We note that the FCC has already issued an apparently erroneous press release, dated February 19, that seems to reflect these inaccuracies.

On April 2, 2019, Reps Peter Welch (D-VT) and David Loebsack (D-IA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai asking the FCC to take a more practical approach to implementing new performance testing mechanisms in connection with Connect America Fund (CAF) support. "We have heard..that the process of implementing network performance testing has grown complicated," they wrote, and that there were concerns, particularly among smaller CAF recipients, about the ability to implement such testing.

On March 28, 2019, Reps Yvette Clark (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), Mike Doyle (D-PA), Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), GK Butterfield (D-NC), Marc Veasey (D-TX), and Jerry McNerney (D-CA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai raising concerns as to the rollout of the Lifeline National Eligibility Verifier.