FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler

“What do we need to do seize the 5G opportunity?” The answer, of course, starts with competition. With four nationwide carriers, the US wireless industry continues to invest in faster, better networks with $33 billion invested in 2015 and nearly $100 billion invested over the past 3 years. That’s over and above the investment of billions in spectrum acquisition. New services and applications are constantly being introduced and consumer demand seems insatiable. Wireless data use more than doubled from 2014 to 2015, and continued growth is projected for the foreseeable future.

There are three keys for what the Commission can do to help unlock the 5G opportunity: 1) ensuring ample availability of spectrum to a range of competitors; 2) taking all steps to foster competitive provision of infrastructure; and 3) removing unnecessary hurdles to siting. In all these areas, the Federal Communications Commission has activities underway. Yet, let’s be realistic, there is more to be done if 5G is to realize its promise.

On June 21, Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler to express her support for strong consumer privacy rules for broadband Internet access service.

On August 23, Chairman Wheeler replied saying, “I agree that privacy should not be a luxury good reserved only for the wealthy. In the Commission's broadband privacy proposal, we have sought comment on business practices that offer customers financial inducements, such as discounted service rates, for their consent to use and share their information. The record developed in this proceeding reflects widely disparate views on this issue. Some commenters argue that these business models unfairly disadvantage low-income or vulnerable populations. Other commenters maintain that consumers, including low-income consumers, stand to benefit from the use and sharing of their information and should be given the opportunity to make that choice. As the Commission continues to examine the substantial record in the proceeding, I can assure you that we will carefully consider the risks and benefits of adopting rules regarding such practices with particular attention to the effect of these business models on low-income consumers.”

On June 27, Sen Charles Schumer (D-NY) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler about emergency 911 services.

Sen Schumer wrote: “Recent events have demonstrated the need to access 911 dispatchers with more than traditional voice calls. In fact, during the Orlando shooting, many individuals were able to use their cell phones to text loved ones; however they were unable to text 911. The usefulness of an advanced 911 system in states where the technology exists demonstrates the substantial help it is for those with disabilities or in situations where initiating a voice call may be too dangerous. In areas where call centers experience high call volumes, 911 technologies like Next Generation (NG911), which supports voice, text, data, and video communication, can help overburdened emergency centers better handle their response.”

On August 23, Chairman Wheeler replied saying, “I agree that we collectively can do more to help the nation's PSAPs overcome the funding, planning, and operational challenges that are stalling the transition to NG911 , and I will continue to be an aggressive champion towards that end. In your letter, you urge the Commission to convene all the appropriate stakeholders to identify barriers to NG911 implementation and ways to speed up the process. We have already begun this task by convening our PSAP Task Force, which has brought together many of the nation's leading experts on 911 and NG911 , including practicing 911 professionals from state and local government, as well as representatives from public safety organizations, industry, consumer groups, and the federal government. Earlier this year, the Task Force issued a comprehensive report containing recommendations to help PSAPs migrate to Next Generation architecture, develop sustainable funding models, and provide cybersecurity protection to the 911 system as it transitions to IP-based technology. The Task Force is continuing to refine its recommendations and we are committed to working with all stakeholders to help implement them. In particular, we intend to expand our engagement to include local and state government leaders, including state legislators and governors, who are essential to making the NG911 transition happen in their states and communities.”

In the hit Broadway musical Hamilton Eliza Schuyler sings, “Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now.” Eliza, of course, is talking about the American Revolution. We can feel the same way about the revolution we are living through. Our revolution is a network revolution.

Driven by ever-evolving technology, the networks that connect us are changing…and the patterns of commerce and culture that depend on those connections are changing as a result. This is a time of incredible opportunity and reshaping. It is a time of testing. To be a part of it is a privilege. Charlie Firestone has asked me to forecast what lies ahead for this revolution and the FCC. Today, we stand in the shadow of those Americans who lived through their own network revolution. Just as they were, we are challenged to make sense of the new network realities. That is our test at the FCC. For the past almost eight years, the FCC has sought to confront network change head-on; to harness the network revolution to encourage economic growth, while standing with those who use the network as consumers and innovators. In that regard, the history of the network experience that preceded us is not some curiosity, it is a compass. I think of the lessons of the past as a “back azimuth,” a concept familiar to navigators in which a landmark in the rear is used to inform the path forward. In the communications technology space, our back azimuth is what I call the Network Compact: the responsibilities of those who build and operate networks. There are five components of the Network Compact: access, interconnection, consumer protection, public safety, and national security.

Industry groups have filed petitions asking for an en banc rehearing of the DC Circuit Court’s decision to uphold the FCC’s Open Internet rules. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said, “It comes as no surprise that the big dogs have challenged the three-judge panel’s decision. We are confident that the full court will agree with the panel’s affirmation of the FCC’s clear authority to enact its strong Open Internet rules, the reasoned decision-making upon which they are based, and the adequacy of the record from which they were developed.”

CTIA and its members understand that smartphone theft remains a serious problem and that anti-theft tools only work if adopted widely. Today, I applaud the wireless industry’s steps to make anti-theft tools accessible and available for consumers. By fulfilling the Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment, they make a meaningful difference for consumer safety.

In regard to the Federal Communications Commission’s expectations that carriers respond to consumers’ blocking requests, I have sent letters to the CEOs of major wireless and wireline phone companies calling on them to offer call-blocking services to their customers now – at no cost to you. Consumers want and deserve more control over the calls they receive. I have also sent letters to intermediary carriers that connect robocallers to the consumer's phone company, reminding them of their responsibility to help facilitate the offering of blocking technologies.

I am also calling on the carriers and standards groups to accelerate the development and deployment of technical standards that would prevent spoofing of caller ID and thus make blocking technologies more effective, as was done in the battle against spam years ago. All of these companies have been asked to respond within 30 days with their concrete, actionable solutions to address these issues. Here’s the bottom line: Robocalls are currently the number one complaint the FCC receives from consumers. Whenever and wherever Congress and the courts give us the authority, the Commission will push hard for strong, pro-consumer limits to robocalls and other unwanted calls.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler sent letters to 25 Members of Congress on July 11, 2016, responding to their letter expressing concerns with the decision to limit the role of states in preventing waste, fraud and abuse within the Lifeline program.

The Members asserted it could be more efficient and cost effective to allow states to continue serving as the primary verifiers of applicant eligibility and the FCC should focus on working with the states to ensure they have the information needed to perform checks of eligibility. Chairman Wheeler said the Lifeline Order will allow states to continue to play an important role, and said states maintain their authority to designate Lifeline voice and high-cost ETCs within the state.

Federal Communications Commission Tom Chairman Wheeler sent letters to 20 US House members from New York on July 11, 2016, in response to their May 18, 2016 letter, which supported the adoption of Connect America Fund (CAF) Phase II auction rules that would ensure CAF funds originally allocated to New York are not diverted to other regions.

Chairman Wheeler said among the issues on which the FCC sought comment in the Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking are ways the FCC can structure the CAF II auction to ensure an equitable distribution of funds to states like New York, where the price cap carrier declined to accept significant amounts of USF support.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Wheeler sent letters to House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), and Rep Michael Burgess (R-TX) on July 11, 2016, in response to their June 1, 2016 letter, which urged the FCC to reconsider its proposed privacy rules for broadband internet access service providers.

Chairman Wheeler said Congress has enacted sector-specific privacy protections in a variety of areas in which especially sensitive information is collected and stored, and the Commission has a long history of protecting consumer privacy of information carried by communications service providers. He said the FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking proposes a path forward toward final rules for broadband Internet access service (BIAS) that will provide clear guidance to both BIAS providers and their customers, and include the Federal Trade Commission's core principles of transparency, choice and security.