Remarks of Chairman Pai at Mobile World Congress

In the United States, we are in the process of returning to the light-touch approach to regulation that produced tremendous investment and innovation throughout our entire Internet ecosystem—from the core of our networks to providers at the edge. Together, these policies—light-touch regulation, facilities-based competition, flexible use policy, and freeing up spectrum—have produced impressive results in the U.S. market...

After the Federal Communications Commission embraced utility-style regulation, the United States experienced the first-ever decline in broadband investment outside of a recession. But today, the torch at the FCC has been passed to a new generation, dedicated to renewal as well as change. We are confident in the decades-long, cross-party consensus on lighttouch Internet regulation—one that helped America’s digital economy thrive. And we are on track to returning to that successful approach.

Going forward, the FCC will not focus on denying Americans free data or issuing heavyhanded decrees inspired by the distant past. At the same time, however, we recognize that government does have a role to play when it comes to broadband. We will also create incentives to deploy broadband in parts of our country that private investment hasn’t yet reached. In short, America’s approach to broadband policy will be practical, not ideological. We will embrace what works and dispense with what doesn’t.