FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr

The growing 5G revolution is a generational upgrade in communications that will fundamentally alter the way in which technology is integrated into our everyday lives. The march of technological improvement will continue to bring the citizens of the world closer together and grow our economies.

5G isn’t just an upgraded version of 4G. 5G’s performance characteristics and how it is built blur the distinctions between wired and wireless industries. 5G will enable more choice as previously siloed industries compete, which we know will decrease prices and improve quality. In performing a competition analysis, it would be a mistake to look backwards at the wireless industry as it is constituted today. The lesson for competition authorities should be this: Technology is now creating and disrupting on shorter and shorter cycles.

Because 5G networks are interconnected, even a small amount of compromised equipment could be devastating to a country’s national security. 5G means that we must secure our networks from the “core” to the “edge.” At the Federal Communications Commission, we are in a position to do something about this threat. And we are. [On Nov. 22], my colleagues and I voted to prohibit carriers from using federal dollars to purchase any equipment or services from companies that pose a national security threat, including Huawei and ZTE. 

The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, warned us against this status quo bias. The secret to his legendary success on the ice was to “skate to where the puck is going, not where it has been.” The Gretzky Test is popular in sports and in business now, and I think competition authorities—and especially those of us in tech and telecom regulation—should hold ourselves to it, too. The Federal Communications Commission has not always met that test. For too long, too many at the FCC sought to preserve the status quo, thinking that doing so could only benefit the Americans we serve. The FCC was wrong.

2019 has been the Year of 5G. And most Americans know something about 5G by now. But we need to do a better job of explaining 5G in plain terms. It’s important that we meet this communications challenge. We have to shift our audience from those who are immersed in tech and telecom to ordinary people who aren’t interested in the latest 3GPP release but who are very interested in how new tools can make their jobs more rewarding, their kids’ schools more enriching, and their families closer.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr announced that Ben Arden will join his office on detail as Acting Legal Advisor for media issues. Arden is currently the Associate Chief of the Media Bureau’s Video Division, having recently returned to the FCC following a year in Rwanda where he served as a program specialist for a USAID-funded project designed to increase access to justice and enhance the rule of law in Rwanda. He previously held various positions in the Media Bureau’s Industry Analysis Division, most recently serving as Deputy Division Chief.

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.

Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr visited a community health care clinic in rural Laurel Fork (VA) where he announced that the FCC will be voting at its July 10th meeting to advance a $100 million Connected Care Pilot Program. The FCC will vote on a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking at its July Open Meeting that seeks comment on:

This year’s Section 706 report contains more good news for American leadership in 5G. The FCC’s policies are working. Internet speeds in the U.S. have never been faster: they’re up nearly 40%. The digital divide— the percentage of Americans without access to high-speed Internet access—narrowed by nearly 20%. Providers built fiber broadband out to more homes last year than ever before. The U.S. now has the largest commercial deployment of 5G in the world, and we’re predicted to have more than two times the percentage of 5G connections as Asia.

I support the combination of T-Mobile and Sprint because Americans across the country will see more competition and an accelerated buildout of fast, 5G services. The proposed transaction will strengthen competition in the US wireless market and provide mobile and in-home broadband access to communities that demand better coverage and more choices. Today’s commitments to bring 5G to rural America are verifiable and enforceable. The proposed transaction’s investment in rural 5G will help close the digital divide—this FCC’s top priority.