Remarks of FCC Commissioner O'Rielly Before the American Enterprise Institute

[Speech] Over the last three-plus years, the Commission has rightly focused its time and energy to ensure that next-generation, or 5G, networks come to fruition. Why is this so important? It’s about a global race to be the first among many competing nations to 5G. Leading the world in 5G will allow U.S. companies to help shape its future growth, standards, and capabilities – all of which have a tremendous impact on our future economic success. The alternative means that we would be dictated to by other regimes, many of which can’t be fully trusted, don’t believe in capitalism, don’t believe in freedom, don’t believe in fair play, don’t believe in the role of the individual over the government, and rebuke American leadership. The bottom line is simple: we seek not to set industrial policy but to prevent others from doing so against our interests.