FCC Chairman Ajit Pai

What will wake America up from its Thanksgiving day food coma? Here's the Federal Communications Commission’s December 2018 open meeting agenda:

I thought I’d focus on what the Federal Communications Commission is doing to promote US leadership in some of the most promising sectors of our economy. In particular, I’d like to talk about next-generation wireless technology and the space industry, which you may be surprised to learn has key tie-ins with the FCC.

I am pleased that California has agreed not to enforce its onerous Internet regulations. This substantial concession reflects the strength of the case made by the United States earlier this month. It also demonstrates, contrary to the claims of the law’s supporters, that there is no urgent problem that these regulations are needed to address. Indeed, California’s agreement not to enforce these regulations will allow Californians to continue to enjoy free-data plans that have proven to be popular among consumers.

Throughout my time here in New Delhi, I look forward to strengthening friendships—and building new ones—with colleagues across both government and industry. Together, we can help deliver digital opportunity for all those we represent.

In Nov, during what we’ve dubbed Space Month, the Federal Communications Commission will take up nine items to ensure that America leads in the New Space Age, with an emphasis on cutting through the red tape. We start with improving a satellite-enabled technology that millions of Americans rely on every day without even knowing it: the positioning, navigation, and timing service known to most Americans as the Global Positioning System, or GPS. The Commission will vote on allowing American devices to access the European global navigation satellite system, known as Galileo.

On Dec 11, 2017, Reps Jerry McNerney (D-CA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai expressing disappointment at the Chairman's failure to provide documentation relating to the May 7, 2017 alleged distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on the FCC's Electronic Comment Filing System (ECFS).

Since my first day on the job, this agency has been focused on cutting through the regulatory red tape and increasing broadband investment, most importantly in rural America where the digital divide remains all too real. Today’s report confirms that the FCC’s policies to promote broadband deployment are working. After Internet service providers reduced new investments in 2015 and 2016 under the prior Administration’s regulatory approach, broadband investment increased in 2017 by $1.5 billion over the previous year.

I'd like to share what we are doing at the Federal Communications Commission to seize the opportunities of connected health. 

Even though efforts to restore communications services have been going well in most of the areas affected by Hurricane Michael, the slow progress in restoring wireless service in areas close to where the hurricane made landfall is completely unacceptable. While the Federal Communications Commission has been in regular contact with companies serving the affected areas, I’m concerned that their actions on the ground aren’t matching the urgency that we have conveyed during those conversations.

In a letter to New Mexico lawmakers, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said that a tribal broadband order approved in 2018 wrongly cuts out certain tribal telecom companies in that state. This exclusion had been a source of concern for representatives like Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) about the FCC’s order, which allowed telecom companies serving tribal lands to get more funding to cover operational expenses.