FCC Commissioner Michael O'Rielly’s Remarks Before WISPAmerica 2015

The Federal Communications Commission’s role is to create an environment – through its rules and policies – that encourages investment and opportunity and provides the proper incentives to allow all of you to continue to expand and improve your networks and service offerings. I cannot say that the FCC has been completely successful in fulfilling this role.

The prospect of Title II is particularly troubling for [Wireless Internet Service Providers ] WISPs and small cable providers. Moreover, some parties, including WISPA, have pointed to potential deficiencies in the Commission’s initial Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis. They assert that, the FCC did not adequately analyze the impact of proposed net neutrality rules on small businesses, including the costs of complying with new transparency reporting requirements. I couldn’t agree more with this argument.

As for the good news, the FCC is taking the necessary steps to get needed spectrum resources into the marketplace. But we cannot rest on our laurels, more needs to be done to maximize the use of these frequencies and, as we look to the future, the FCC needs to pursue efficient spectrum policy.