FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai: "Today’s decision is a victory for consumers, broadband deployment, and the free and open Internet. The court affirmed the FCC’s decision to repeal 1930s utility-style regulation of the Internet imposed by the prior Administration. The court also upheld our robust transparency rule so that consumers can be fully informed about their online options. Since we adopted the Restoring Internet Freedom Order, consumers have seen 40% faster speeds and millions more Americans have gained access to the Internet.

In 2018, I talked about our 5G FAST plan. The plan has three central planks: freeing up spectrum, promoting wireless infrastructure, and modernizing our regulations to promote more fiber deployment. We’ve been active on all three fronts, and there’s mounting evidence that our efforts are working.  We’re working on the complicated task of freeing up spectrum for 5G in the 3.7-4.2 GHz band, commonly called the C-Band. This is a critical band for 5G, and I’m optimistic that we will have results to show on this front this fall.

I’m proud to have launched several Federal Communications Commission initiatives to expand broadband access on Tribal lands, which complement the efforts of our federal partners. One new policy I’m particularly excited about will give Tribes priority access to spectrum in the 2.5 GHz band. We removed obsolete restrictions on this band, allowing greater flexibility in how the spectrum can be used. We’re giving rural Indian tribes an exclusive window to obtain this spectrum to serve rural Tribal lands. That’s right.

In 2018, we created the Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund and Connect USVI Fund. Today, I shared with my colleagues a draft Order that would finalize Stage 2 of the Funds, allocating about $950 million to improve, expand, and harden broadband networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. We will be voting on this draft Order at the FCC’s monthly meeting on Sept 26.

On Aug 19 and 21, 2019, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai responded to various Members of Congress who expressed concerns about the FCC's inaccurate broadband mapping. Chairman Pai wrote that, "After a thorough review of the record and the painstaking work of our career staff, the Commission adopted a Report and Order at the FCC’s August Open Meeting that will result in more granular and more accurate broadband maps through the creation of the Digital Opportunity Data Collection.

This tech summit is focusing on an important topic: improving the lives of Mississippians through communications technologies. Already today, you’ve heard discussions about the next generation of wireless connectivity and the new applications and services that they’ll enable.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai shared with his colleagues a draft Order that would approve, subject to conditions, the proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. “After one of the most exhaustive merger reviews in Commission history, the evidence conclusively demonstrates that this transaction will bring fast 5G wireless service to many more Americans and help close the digital divide in rural areas.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai sent letters to Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Joni Ernst (R-IA), Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Jon Tester (D-MT), and Rep. Tom O’Halleran (D-AZ) on July 31, 2019, and August 1, 2019, in response to their letters expressing concern with broadband mapping.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai issued the following statement the official launch of a new Fraud Division within the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau: "Combatting fraud aggressively, especially fraud related to misuse of the Universal Service Fund, lies at the core of this agency’s responsibility to the American people to make sure that every dollar of taxpayer funding we oversee is used efficiently to close the digital divide. This new Fraud Division will play a key role in leading our efforts to get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Universal Service Fund."