Speech

Unlike many of the distinguished panelists and engineers in this room who will be actively involved in planning and deploying the next-generation networks, smart cities, and connected transportation systems of the future, the Federal Communications Commission’s role is to provide the environment that will allow much of the relevant technology to happen.

Given its past success and future potential, what challenges do Wi-Fi and its advocates face?

When I was invited to join you today, and learned more about this gathering and its goals, I immediately thought that this would be a perfect opportunity to lay down a marker about what I think is one of the most important issues facing America – and I will say it plain, that is getting the internet everywhere.

I was particularly encouraged to see that 40 state attorneys general formed a bipartisan Robocall Technologies Working Group. I recently shared with my colleagues my proposal to allow phone companies to establish callblocking services as a default setting for consumers. In addition, carriers would be allowed to offer consumers the option of using their own contact list as a “white list.” Now, my proposals on call-blocking by default and a white list are part of what’s called a Declaratory Ruling.

Speaking in defense of credit and collection professionals probably isn’t the politically savviest or safest move.  I am here to join with [ACA International] as your members continue to face untenable legal risk and uncertainty in your efforts to reach out to borrowers. Now, more than ever, it’s crucial that we get the rulemaking done, and ensure that honest businesses can call their customers without being threatened by bankruptcy. Repeat after me: “robocall” is not a bad word.

My intention today is to outline the most recent actions of the Federal Communications Commission pertaining to the protection of US national security, identify the difficult position in which we find ourselves with regard to Chinese telecommunications providers and manufacturers, and raise certain concerns with respect to the operations of the International Telecommunication Union, or the ITU as it is more commonly known.

My topic for this afternoon: How difficult it is for regulators to predict how technology will develop and transform markets, and why that difficulty demands humility from our regulators. This is a particularly important lesson for the Federal Communications Commission, which stands at a unique crossroads between technology and innovation. Regulators are not good futurists.  And what predictive powers regulators have are weakening as technological progress quickens and becomes even less predictable.

What is the Federal Communications Commission doing to make the future of Wi-Fi brighter? The answer is: a lot!  I know there’s a lot of excitement about what we’re doing in the 6 GHz band—what could be a massive, 1,200-megahertz test bed for innovators and innovation. But first I’d like to talk about its next-door neighbor on the spectrum chart—the 5.9 GHz band. There’s been a lot of debate about this band, and I’d like to share with you today my view on the right way forward.  I believe that the time has come for the FCC to take a fresh look at this band.

Two areas that I see as evolving and critical to the continued success of the satellite industry – spectrum access and public advocacy. The spectrum challenges we face are not limited to the satellite sector, and we have to think bigger in our interconnected spectrum economy. That’s why in October, President Trump directed the Secretary of Commerce, working through NTIA, to develop and implement a comprehensive, balanced and forward-looking National Spectrum Strategy.

While there was a great need for more spectrum for advanced wireless systems, finding unencumbered frequencies has always been a long-standing battle. Thankfully, then came along the innovation of the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) framework and requisite technology. [March's] announcement that you are working on 5G CBRS specifications, called CBRS Alliance Release 3, proved a lot of people wrong.