Speech

Mapping, Impact & Adoption: A Research Agenda for Effective Rural Broadband Policy

The federal government lacks the economic, technical and social science research to make smart decisions on where and how to invest to close the digital divide in rural America.  The same can be said of the states, which are increasingly major players in funding both infrastructure and digital inclusion initiatives, and, I sincerely hope, will be partners with the federal government in crafting and executing broadband policy.

Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel Remarks to FCC Staff

As difficult as it is, this pandemic has also demonstrated how important our work is at the Federal Communications Commission. Because as a nation we need connections—physical and digital—that strengthen our mutual bonds. We benefit from communications that reach all and help us work, learn, be informed, enlightened, and entertained. And we need connections that can break down barriers that for too long have held too many back. As if on cue, a new appropriations law has provided this agency with authority to help do just that.

Chairman Pai Remarks to American Enterprise Institute

I’d like to walk you through four of the most challenging calls I had to make over the past four years: The Restoring Internet Freedom Order, designating the Sinclair/Tribune transaction for a hearing to resolve the disputed issues, granting Ligado's wireless application with conditions, and organizing 5G/C-Band auctions. 

Chairman Pai Remarks on the Future of American Spectrum Policy

Interested parties will likely use the change in Administrations as an opportunity to re-litigate settled disputes like the 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz rules, the L-band, and perhaps even the C-band.

Chairman Pai Remarks on Closing the Digital Divide

Looking ahead, the biggest challenge facing the long-term health of the FCC’s universal service programs is the way they are funded. We are in a unique position to solve this challenge. Here’s how. Back when I was a Commissioner in 2016, I proposed that Congress should authorize a dividend from the sale of wireless spectrum that would go toward closing the digital divide. Whenever the FCC auctioned spectrum for flexible use, we would set aside 10% of the net auction proceeds for the deployment of broadband in unserved communities. I thought it was a good idea then.

Remarks Of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai To The Free State Foundation

It would certainly make sense for me to use today’s platform to detail all the ways that we have cleared out the Federal Communications Commission’s regulatory underbrush since I spoke to Free State one month before taking this position. But I’d like to go in a less obvious direction. Instead, I’d like to lay out my theory for good governance and how the reforms we’ve made since January 2017 have fundamentally transformed the agency’s operations for the better. Along the way, I’ve picked up a few lessons about what I believe to be the keys to effective governance.

Chairman Pai Remarks to the Center for Strategic and International Studies

The Communications Act of 1934 outlines several reasons why our agency was created, including “for the purpose of the national defense” and “for the purposes of promoting safety of life and property.” Consistent with those charges, identifying threats to our communications networks and taking aggressive action to counteract those threats have been among the hallmarks of the Federal Communications Commission during my four years as Chairman.

Chairman Pai Remarks to the Media Institute

Content is moving online and the government needs to keep pace. This accelerating shift toward Internet-based platforms is transforming the media marketplace, and the regulatory framework must change accordingly.  In 2020, for example, Google and Facebook are each expected to bring in more ad revenue than every TV and radio station in the U.S. combined.

Chairman Pai at the FCC Quantum Internet Forum

Welcome to the Federal Communications Commission’s first-ever Forum on the Quantum Internet! Quantum networks promise to unleash this power by enabling distributed quantum computing and giving us a level of computational clout far beyond what is possible with today’s Internet. This would be an incredibly powerful tool for solving complex problems and enabling scientific discoveries. When we think about the possible benefits of the Quantum Internet, the first big advancements we are likely to see involve network security.

Remarks of Commissioner Starks at MMTC Digital Equity & 35th Anniversary Kickoff

I am honored to join you for this kickoff in recognition of Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council’s (MMTC) thirty-five years of serving as a leading voice for communities of color and other marginalized groups, and working to achieve equity and inclusion in the Tech, Media, and Telecom industries. As noted by the late Congressman John Lewis: “Access to the internet ... is the civil

Remarks of Commissioner Carr at India Mobile Congress 2020

I think it is safe to say that terrestrial broadcasting in India is at pivotal point in time. With the ongoing digital transition and historically underutilized broadcast spectrum, India has an opportunity to take a giant leap forward and embrace the cutting edge of broadcast technology, namely ATSC 3.0. Because it is an IP-based standard that is aligned with 3GPP specifications, it is ready made for the evolving wireless marketplace.

Chairman Pai Remarks at India Mobile Congress 2020

We’ve been asked to talk today about finding the right balance when it comes to regulating the 5G marketplace. India Mobile Congress' organizers have made no secret about their favored approach when they titled this session “Light Touch Regulation.” Fortunately, I share this approach, so you’ll hear no complaints from me. It is in our mutual interest for the U.S. and India to work together not only on 5G security, but on issues across the communications landscape and beyond.

Chairman Pai Remarks to International Telecommunication Union Webinar

On spectrum, we’ve been the most aggressive and successful Federal Communications Commission in history. With three high-band auctions, we’ve made available more spectrum for commercial use than was previously used by all mobile broadband providers in the United States combined. We’ve already finished repurposing low-band spectrum in the 600 MHz band for mobile broadband, which is now being used to provide 5G service coverage to more than 250 million American. And over the past couple of years, we’ve been primarily focused on mid-band spectrum.

Remarks of Chairman Pai To The Hispanic Telecom And Technology Partnership Digital Summit

If there’s one positive to come out of the pandemic, it is that it’s ended, once and for all, any debate about the need for universal access to high-speed broadband. COVID-19 has raised awareness about the importance of closing the digital divide. And the Keep Americans Connected pledge proved to be an effective solution to the immediate connectivity challenges highlighted by the pandemic. But our nation had connectivity gaps before the pandemic that will still be a challenge in the years ahead.

Remarks of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to the Mexico 5G Conference

One message that is understood in all languages around the globe is that communications technology can improve people’s lives and grow our economies. Increasingly, the technology that people think can drive transformative change is 5G. Soon, these next-generation wireless networks will affect almost every aspect of our society and economy—from businesses to homes, hospitals to transportation networks, manufacturing to the power grid.

Chairman Pai Remarks to the Reason Foundation

While selecting me as 2020’s recipient of the Savas Award could fairly be called into question, your timing of this celebration could not be more perfect.

Commissioner Starks Keynote Remarks at Rainbow PUSH Coalition Symposium

Our failure to create inclusive policies that close the digital divide has done serious harm to the Americans who were already struggling to put food on their tables prior to the pandemic. The failures of our past, however, do not have to dictate the future. It is time—in fact, it is past,time—for the tech and telecom sector to take account for issues of equity and fairness. 

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai Speech to the Baltic Sea Region 5G Forum

This forum has attracted participants from across Europe and around the world because we all understand 5G’s transformative potential to unlock innovation and economic growth. I’ve been asked to talk to you about what we are doing in the United States to seize the opportunities of 5G. So let’s get to it.

Chairman Ajit Pai at the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance Global Summit

When we talk about spectrum policy innovation in 2020, dynamic spectrum sharing rests at the cutting edge. It’s become a powerful tool for squeezing the most value out of high-quality spectrum and meeting the growing demand for wireless services. Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS)  may have been the Federal Communications Commission’s first major foray into dynamic sharing, but it was hardly our last.

Celebrate Digital Equity Advocates

2020 has been so dark. In the throes of a pandemic, we know so much has been lost – is still being lost. But for just a few moments, let us celebrate the achievements of digital equity advocates. Because 2020 only proves how essential our work is. Millions in the US have lost jobs this year. But digital equity advocates have helped people find new employment because of their connections to and expertise with the internet.

Remarks Of Chairman Ajit Pai To The CTIA 5G Summit

Back in 2017, 5G was a big focus of my remarks. But back then, 5G was largely hypothetical and aspirational. This year, I’m speaking to you just a few days after the release of the first 5G iPhone. Over the past three-plus years, 5G has gotten real—very real. How did we get from there to here? Obviously, many of you in the audience led the way. But I’d like to think the Federal Communications Commission put a tailwind at your back. I’d like to walk through the actions we’ve taken at the FCC to accelerate the arrival of the 5G revolution.

Chairman Pai Remarks to Calix Connexions Conference

I wanted to use my remarks to talk more broadly about the Federal Communications Commission’s efforts to connect all Americans. The FCC’s first and foremost mission is to help ensure that every American can access advanced communications. On my first full day in this job in Jan 2017, I convened a meeting of the FCC’s staff. I told them that our number one priority would be closing the digital divide and bringing the benefits of the Internet age to all Americans. And for good reason.

Commissioner O'Rielly's Remarks Before CTIA 5G Summit

The giant elephant in this virtual room: the completely indefensible proposal to create a government-sponsored wholesale wireless network. For the last few years this “idea” has been floated, rejected, floated, rejected, and just recently floated again. Now, it seems to be under consideration once again by some at the highest levels of our government.

Remarks Of FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks CTIA 5G Summit

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp relief a host of problems that at their core are about fairness—issues of racial justice, economic security, and the digital divide, among others. I am an optimist, and believe that technology, and the wireless communications sector in particular, has an important role to play here.