FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel

[Speech] Something here is not right—and what is wrong is not confined to the Federal Communications Commission. Because fake comments and stolen identities are pouring into proceedings across Washington. They’ve been uncovered at the Department of Labor, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The civic infrastructure we have for accepting public comment in the rulemaking process is not built for the digital age.

Commissioner Clyburn has been a forceful advocate for change, for equal opportunity, and for closing the digital divide. It was a privilege to support her historymaking leadership as Acting Chairwoman. It has been an honor to work alongside her to put consumers first and bring connectivity to those at greatest risk of being left behind—urban, rural, and everywhere in between. I am proud to have worked together with her to support net neutrality and grateful to have been her partner in her unwavering work to remedy the grave injustice of exorbitant prison phone rates.

Today the Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking seeking comment on a rule to prohibit the future use of Universal Service Funds to purchase equipment or services from providers identified as posing a national security risk. Congress has repeatedly expressed concern about the potential for supply chain vulnerability to undermine national security, and I will vote to approve. But our communications networks face other security threats that we cannot continue to ignore.

[Speech] We now regularly see the highest level of our government denouncing real news as false facts. We watch how this sentiment is used to stir up anger, and we see how those in power bestow favors on outlets with narratives that flatter rather than offer the hard-hitting assessments we need. What is happening now is what journalism Professor Jay Rosen has called “not just attacking the press but the conditions that make it possible for news reports to serve as any kind of check on power.” That’s not a state of affairs we should accept. 

[Commentary] Instead of having a centralized database to support shared access in specific spectrum bands, innovators should explore the use of blockchain as a lower-cost alternative. If the effort succeeds, the benefits could be considerable: The system could reduce the administrative expense of allocating spectrum and increase efficiency by enabling demand-matching spectrum sharing and by lowering transaction costs. Even better, the public quality of the information on the blockchain could expose patterns in use and inspire new technical innovation in the process.

[Speech] As of last month, official statistics suggest 400,000 residents of Puerto Rico still don’t have electricity. But in my travels, many people told me they thought the true number was even higher. That means American citizens are still living without necessities like health care, hot meals, and basic communications. So not only has this prolonged power outage cut into the economic security of the island, it has put people’s lives at risk. That’s not easy to see in person—or even recount to you here and now. So now let me offer the good news. Because I saw that, too.

[Speech} You are a force for optimism—and I want to harness your energies this morning to help solve what I call the Homework Gap. After I talk about that, I’ll follow up with a few thoughts about other matters of interest before the Federal Communications Commission. Shool-aged kids without
broadband access at home are not only unable to complete their homework, they enter the job market with a serious handicap. I have some ideas—and that’s where you come in. 

[Commentary] In the course of its deliberations on the future of Internet openness, the Federal Communications Commission logged about half a million comments sent from Russian e-mail addresses. It received nearly 8 million comments from e-mail domains associated with FakeMailGenerator.com with almost identical wording. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case.

To seize the potential of next generation wireless, I want to focus on three things that require our attention: new bands, new models and new business cases.

First, to power 5G networks we need new spectrum bands.  We have open dockets proposing new possibilities in the 3.5 GHz, 3.7-4.2 GHz, 6 GHz, 24 GHz, 28 GHz, 32 GHz, 37 GHz, 39 GHz, 42 GHz, 47 GHz, 50 GHz, 70 GHz, 80 GHz, and above 95 GHz bands, among others.

Second, to power 5G networks we need new models for spectrum access. We need innovative ways to make more room on the road.

The FCC’s net neutrality decision is a study in just what’s wrong with Washington. This agency failed the American public. It failed to listen to their concerns and gave short shrift to their deeply held belief that internet openness should remain the law of the land. It turned a blind eye to all kinds of corruption in our public record—from Russian intervention to fake comments to stolen identities in our files. As a result of the mess the agency created, broadband providers will now have the power to block websites, throttle services, and censor online content. This is not right.