Speech

I'd like to share what we are doing at the Federal Communications Commission to seize the opportunities of connected health. 

I want to share with you a snapshot of what the Federal Communications Commission under Chairman Ajit Pai’s leadership is doing to leverage technology to promote public safety.

Spending time like this outside of DC—hearing directly from community leaders and broadband providers alike—is critical. I can think of no better way to identify both the regulatory barriers that needlessly slow down broadband deployment and the steps we can take back in Washington to remove them. As this hearing makes clear, spectrum and infrastructure are key for 5G. So I want to start by commending the [Senate Commerce] Committee for leading on these two issues.

As many of you know, since Chairman Ajit Pai took the helm at the Federal Communications Commission, the Commission has been focused on eliminating archaic regulations that no longer make sense. These actions have taken many shapes, from eliminating the main studio rule to eradicating duplicative or non-useful forms at the Commission. In the coming months, I hope that we can bring to order many of these proceedings that we launched in 2017 and earlier in 2018.

Closing the digital divide is the Federal Communications Commission’s top priority. The best way to make sure every American has better, faster, cheaper Internet access is to set a market-based regulatory framework that promotes competition and increases network investment. We also want to promote competition and innovation that could transform the marketplace.  The FCC has made facilitating the rollout of 5G a major priority. One economic analysis of our [5G] reforms projects that they will cut about $2 billion in costs, unleashing $2.4 billion in extra investment.

Without nationwide 5G, the Internet of Things won’t come close to reaching its full potential. The biggest challenge to the advancement of IoT is cybersecurity. If we want to realize the innovation and growth promised by IoT, we must ensure that Americans can trust the devices that they’re using. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration is working across the federal government, with stakeholders here and around the world, to promote smart IoT policies that incorporate security and protect American consumers. 

Over the past two days, you’ve heard discussions about the wide range of spectrum management opportunities and challenges in the Americas. But particularly when we think about 5G, the infrastructure piece of the puzzle is crucial. So even though this is the 7th Annual Americas Spectrum Management Conference, I’m pleased to be with you this afternoon to kick off this important panel on infrastructure. 

I was at the White House for a summit on 5G. Notably, this summit was spearheaded by the National Economic Council. NEC’s ownership of this event tells us that the White House sees wireless innovation as an issue of economic competitiveness, first and foremost. And I think that’s exactly right. 

I have been asked to discuss the Citizens Band Radio Service (CBRS). The timing of this event is indeed fortuitous, because the draft order on this exact issue will be considered at the Oct Federal Communications Commission meeting and its text is being posted Oct 2.  I am fortunate that FCC Chairman Pai entrusted me with such a challenging and important project. Over the last many months, I employed sound regulatory principles to guide my review of the band. To put it mildly, there is a lot of interest in this spectrum, and there are many divergent and passionate opinions.

There are too many places in this country, especially in rural America, that lack the basic infrastructure that will be needed to enable 5G service. We have data that shows this. But we are currently relying too much on the Federal Communications Commission’s Form 477 data, which only tells part of the story. If we want all Americans to have the kind of broadband access needed to compete in the modern world, we need to know the full story. That’s why Congress directed the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to improve data associated with the national broadband map.