1. Monthly archive
  2. May 2017

May 2017

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai At The American Enterprise Institute: The First 100 Days: Bringing The Benefits Of The Digital Age To All Americans

In my first 100 days, the Federal Communications Commission adopted 49 items. To put that number in perspective, during the prior two permanent Chairmen’s first 100 days, the Commission adopted 25 and 34 items...I thought it would be helpful this morning to highlight some of the actions we’ve taken and explain how they fit into a broader strategic vision. That vision includes five important goals: closing the digital divide, modernizing our rules, promoting innovation, protecting consumers and public safety, and improving the agency’s operations.

Chairman Pai: Wired, Wireless Broadband Appear Very Competitive to Him

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai gave definite signals that the FCC may have a different answer the next time it weighs in on whether wireless broadband is a competitor to wired. The FCC under his predecessor consistently said wireless broadband was a potential competitor but not yet one for the purposes of disciplining wired Internet service provider prices.

Chairman Pai was asked about that relative competitiveness by host and American Enterprise Institute visiting scholar Jeffrey Eisenach, who was a member of the Trump FCC transition team. Eisenach asked whether Pai thought that wireless is now a substitute for wireline. Chairman Pai said, for him, at least, "they are very competitive offerings." The "for him" is because the chairman is always careful to separate his views from what the FCC as a whole might conclude based on the fact record before it. But he suggested that fact record could be a strong one. Pai said that as 4G LTE and 5G networks get rolled out and the next generation of Wi-Fi is rolled out, "I think we are increasingly going to see that wireless is not this 'imperfect substitute' for wired connections. It is going to be the dominant means, the preferable means, by which people access the internet."

Full transcript: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai on Recode Decode

A Q&A with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai. Pai and Tony Romm discussed the future of network neutrality, the role of the FCC in “boring” things like the country’s infrastructure, and the agency's role overseeing telecom giants as they gobble each other up.

Asked, "What happens if we have millions and millions of Americans who file comments to the agency opposing the ideas [on net neutrality] that you’ve put forward?" Chairman Pai said, "Well, look, that’s part of the process. I wanted to make sure that we had a chance for the public to have its say. After that’s over, after that period is over, the agency takes stock of what’s in the record. Under the law, as enunciated by the DC Circuit Court of Appeals here, we have to have what’s called substantial evidence. We have to find in the record sufficient facts to justify what course of action we are going to take. There’s no numerical threshold that the courts have applied. They don’t say, “Okay, 51 percent say yes and 49 percent say no, then the decision is clear," or any proportion greater than that. They’ve said substantial evidence is the standard, so that’s the legal standard we’re going to apply going forward."

Remarks of Commissioner O'Rielly Before the American Legislative Exchange Council's Spring Task Force Summit

The members of the American Legislative Exchange Council can serve an important role as the new Federal Communications Commission seeks to restore free market principles to broadband offerings.

Many of you know all too well of the pressure on us to buckle and acquiesce to the whims of the misinformed screaming for Network Neutrality. You likely face it at your respective statehouses as you debate the various matters before you. The “progressive agenda” being pushed in so many settings is really an effort to use government as a means to redistribute hard earned assets from one group of people to favored interests. Do not let your voices go unheard as Net Neutrality advocates slowly, but surely, seek to drag the US economy toward socialism. This debate is just one component in a larger and much more pernicious effort to vanquish capitalism and economic liberty.

Fact-Checking ISPs’ Claims of Support for Net Neutrality

The Internet service providers most loudly insisting they support network neutrality - Comcast and Verizon, for example - are the same companies who’ve been behind the most significant legal and political opposition to any net neutrality rules, and the same companies that have been caught time and again pushing the bounds of permissible behavior, or outright violating net neutrality principles. So, let’s give them a quick fact-check and separate the truth from the “fake news,” at least where ISP positions on net neutrality are concerned.

Internet access is an essential part of life, but the quality of that access can vary wildly

[Commentary] In an ever-connected world, the internet has taken on a fundamental role. While internet access is not quite as essential as clean drinking water, it is starting to get close. Low-quality access often creates a substantial economic and social disadvantage.

As Mozilla uncovered through recent research in Kenya, those with low-quality access more frequently fall prey to fake news and phishing than people with better access and more digital skills. They are limited to being content consumers, rather than creators. And, they are more likely to trade personal data for “free” products. Worse, the poorly-connected are already society’s most vulnerable: Low-income individuals with no higher education background. While big tech companies will continue to be a part of the access equation, continued community and government investment in better-quality access is essential. In fact, we should be growing investment in this area.

[Mark Surman is the executive director of Mozilla]

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