Remarks of FCC Chief of Staff Matthew Berry at Americas Spectrum Management Conference

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. 

As Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai has mentioned, the FCC’s top priority is closing the digital divide. And when you raise the cost of deploying wireless infrastructure, it is those who live in areas where the investment case is the most marginal—rural areas or lower-income urban areas—who are most at risk of losing out. We don’t want 5G to widen the digital divide; we want 5G to help close that divide.