Speech

Today, 5G is a success story—an American success story. How are we getting the job done? As the lead agency on 5G, the Federal Communications Commission is pursuing a three-part strategy called the 5G FAST Plan. First, we’re freeing up spectrum, the invisible airwaves that carry wireless traffic. Second, we’re making it easier to install wireless infrastructure. Third, we’ve taken action to encourage the deployment of optical fiber.

The costs to American consumers for the collection of disability-related programs is growing at a fairly aggressive and unsustainable rate. Accordingly, the Disability Advisory Committee can play an important role, and I believe has an obligation, to help the Commission contain costs. I strongly believe that we need to move away from specialized services with proprietary equipment and towards increased use and adoption of modern communications technology to serve the most vulnerable populations. This means more use of email, text, video chat, real time text, and the like.

You find yourselves in a war for attention with well-funded media giants, Internet companies, and telecom companies. In such a crowded and rapidly evolving marketplace, how can broadcasters succeed?  The trust that broadcasters have built over the years is real, and Americans’ personal connections with you are your greatest competitive edge....I believe a strong broadcasting industry serves the interest of the American people. Which raises an obvious question: what’s the FCC doing to help make this happen? 

The one principle that anyone engaged in wireless issues knows is that we cannot take time for granted.

Here are the Federal Communications Commission's priorities for the next year:

Communications technologies power one-sixth of the nation’s economy—and every American needs access to these technologies to have a fair shot at 21st century success. That is why the budget request from the Administration before you today is so striking. It asks for less than the $339,000,000 the agency is set to spend in the current fiscal year and is almost $4,000,000 less than the budget level authorized by Congress.

The city of Charlotte’s namesake, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, was Queen of Great Britain at the time of the US Revolution. Therefore, it seems appropriate to revisit the Queen’s City and celebrate the people and the organizations who are ensuring this digital revolution benefits everyone.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission are very different in our mandates and our legal authority. The FTC is, principally, a law enforcement agency. It is not a sector regulator like the FCC. There are key differences between conduct prohibited by the FCC’s Open Internet Order, and conduct that the FTC can reach now with our antitrust and consumer protection jurisdiction. Antitrust law is sufficiently flexible and dynamic to cover a wide range of activities.

Having accurate broadband deployment data is important to the Federal Communications Commission’s work for a lot of reasons. First, our decision-making should be based on rigorous analysis. Second, good broadband deployment data helps the Commission target our policies and resources as effectively as possible. And third, broadband deployment data empowers consumers. Accurate information on Internet access options can be useful if you’re moving to a new area and trying to decide where you want to live, or if you’re dissatisfied with your current service and want to change providers.

At the Federal Communications Commission, we’re working to be good partners for broadband builders like you [Wireless internet service providers]. And today, I’d like to mention a few of the ways we’re trying to do that: through modernized infrastructure rules, fair support programs, and smarter spectrum policies. In 2019, I am taking another look at the federal rules governing wireless infrastructure deployment. We will look to fully and faithfully implement the decisions Congress has made to streamline the deployment of next-generation technologies.