Alan Davidson, an unknown in telecom, could become extremely influential

While people have focused on President Biden’s Federal Communications Commission nominations, Biden also nominated Alan Davidson to head the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), and there haven’t been a lot of headlines about that nomination. However, the next head of NTIA will have a broad scope of responsibilities at a critical time in US broadband infrastructure. New Street Research policy analyst Blair Levin said, “Alan will be probably the most important NTIA administrator of all time.” NTIA is part of the Department of Commerce, and the NTIA leader is the President's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy. The role is large, including spectrum management, increasing broadband availability, and overseeing internet policy. The next head of the NTIA will come into the job with a couple of big telecom issues already on his plate. First, he’ll be tasked with distributing $42 billion in funds from the infrastructure bill to administrators in all 50 states as well as territories and the District of Columbia. In addition, the NTIA leader may immediately be drawn into the dispute with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over its claims that use of C-band spectrum could cause aviation safety issues. On Davidson, Levin said, “If you have the 5- to 10-year view on all these issues with cybersecurity and privacy…. and you want someone to be advising the Secretary of Commerce, Alan is one of the top in the country. He knows the science and the technology.”