Speech

I am honored to participate in this Policy Forum showcasing the promise of 3.5 GHz and discussing the future of this centrally-located spectrum. My hope today is to give a bit of background on the band and the Commission’s work and provide an update on some outstanding issues. 

I am crafting a “net neutrality” bill that will put in place common-sense “rules of the road” that will ensure the Internet is an open, competitive place for people to do business. To those who provide the on-ramps to the Internet, my bill ensures that they will not: (1) block, (2) throttle, or (3) establish paid prioritization.  It further requires Internet service providers to be transparent in their network management practices.  In short, consumers are the ones who decide which websites or applications are best for them, not a third party. 
 

Simply and admittedly boldly put, broadband is, I believe, the public health tool, of, our, time. New thinking, innovative cross-sector collaborations, these hold significant promise, for the future of broadband and improved health, in rural America. And I have absolutely no doubt, that government can be a powerful catalyst, to achieving these shared goals for rural America, but as important a player as we are, we cannot do it alone. Each of you in this room, has got to lock arms with us.

Allow me to highlight where the current Federal Communications Commission’s competition policy needs a makeover, and round things out with a couple of bright spots that are ripe for addressing in a bipartisan way. This Administration seems to only pay lip service, when it comes to ensuring competition, and, what is worse, it has a particularly creative view of what kind of services actually “count” as competitive. But I always seek out a silver lining no matter how gray or thick the cloud formation. First, we can take action to unleash competition in multiple-tenant environments. Second, re

Today I'm going to talk about what the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NDIA) and the Administration are doing to help promote investment in broadband and ensure that all Americans have access to the connectivity they need to meaningfully participate in the modern economy.

What an honor it is, to take part in Safer Internet Day 2018 with you, the future leaders of this state and nation.

I would like to discuss how my approach to select communications policies is informed by certain conservative principles, with a fair hint of libertarianism. In my first visit to Hudson, I declared preserving and advancing economic freedom to be my primary goal
and the paramount lens by which I would examine issues at the Commission.  Fast forward four years and economic freedom has generated some subcomponents worthy of discussion, thereby allowing a more fulsome examination of certain policy matters. So, with your indulgence, I’d like to explore some of these this afternoon:

The Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) has been a formal partner for some key initiatives at the Federal Communications Commission. I’m speaking in particular about our Advisory Committee on Diversity and Digital Empowerment and our Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee. I wanted to spend some timegiving an update on the latest developments regarding these important ventures.

Wanting to lead in 5G is not enough to get the transition across the finish line. The key is to update our regulatory structures so that they are what I call “5G Ready.” This means taking concrete steps to reform our regulations and ensure that they incentivize the massive private sector investments necessary to build the networks of the future. I want to highlight three steps that I think regulators must take to get 5G Ready.

Instead of talking about the substance of network neutrality, I want to use it as a launching pad to go big and discuss policymaking in the internet era. I want to talk about shortcomings in our civic infrastructure. Because we need to make some real changes if we want to give the public a fair shot at getting through to those who make decisions in Washington.