Commissioner Starks at the Center for American and International Law

As communications networks have become more ubiquitous, and more deeply imbedded in every aspect of our society, old silos are breaking down. We can no longer think of our country’s economic success, our security, and our geo-political relations as distinct issues. The networks that intertwine people tie these issues together, and I’m encouraged that we’re increasingly thinking about them holistically. With that theme in mind, I want to highlight three areas where we’re still working to make our policies fit the 5G era: communications infrastructure, security, and democratic engagement. Our prosperity in the coming decades will depend on how well we work to get all Americans connected, ensure the security of those connections, and use technology to protect our democratic values. Here's what we need to do to make that vision a reality.

• We must work to connect all Americans to modern communications infrastructure.
• We must take steps to ensure that our economic interconnectedness makes us more, not less, secure.
• All of the investments I have just described are at risk if we don’t take steps to protect our democracy and democratic values.