Speech

Today we gather during National Supply Chain Integrity Month to discuss ways to strengthen our supply chain against potential bad actors. Policymakers must ensure that small and mid-sized carriers have access to equipment and services that are not only secure but make good business sense.

There can no longer be any question that, when it comes to network security, the threats are real, the stakes are high, and our defenses need to constantly evolve and improve. At the Federal Communications Commission, under my leadership, we are pursuing a proactive, three-pronged strategy to building a more secure, resilient, and next-generation communications supply chain for this 5G future. To start, we are taking direct action to slow down untrusted vendors both at home and abroad. But we are also recognizing that “Just Say No” is not a strategy.

I want to start by recognizing that the cybersecurity challenge is about to get even more challenging with the advent of 5G. I’m going to share three lessons we’ve all learned from scary movies that should apply equally to our nation’s cybersecurity.

I’m excited to discuss Team Telecom and the Federal Communications Commission with you.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr detailed his plan to extend US leadership in 5G at an event hosted by the American Enterprise Institute.  Highlights of Commissioner Carr’s plan:

We’ve set the foreign policy priorities for the Biden administration by asking a few simple questions: What will our foreign policy mean for American workers and their families? What do we need to do around the world to make us stronger here at home? And what do we need to do at home to make us stronger in the world?

I believe deeply in the importance of connectivity and the role that counties and cooperatives play in that endeavor. I was asked to talk about a few things today: the importance of broadband in a time of COVID; the important role that cooperatives play in broadband deployment; and the different technologies that deliver broadband to our homes, offices, and schools. Let’s start with the importance of broadband.

I believe that it is incredibly important to revisit the conversation we had in 2020 about the intersection of the digital divide and Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) – so that we can understand the work that has been done, what remains, and cross-collaborate on what we can all do to keep pushing forward, even in the face of headwinds. It is past time that we have an equitable and connected country, but where there are gaps, we’re going to be dependent on the folks listening in and participating here today to make investments in our HBCU students, bolster our anchor inst

I want to focus on one critical aspect of moving through and forward from this difficult time: bringing high-quality, affordable broadband into every home—something that’s at the heart of so many of the economic development priorities you are exploring during 2021’s conference. We can no longer defer the hard work on digital equity and believe that a future group and time will solve this issue.

While the present day may not be perfect, I don’t think anyone disputes that we have fulfilled the promise of the deregulatory era. Prior to the Telecom Act, it was far from a foregone conclusion that we would graduate to a more efficient, competitive system. A change in national direction could have sent us back to the incumbent-driven system of midcentury. Instead, we came together, chose the free market and a light regulatory touch, and a quarter century of transformative innovation speaks to the wisdom of this choice.