Speech

I’m currently offline for the Jewish holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah—no texts, no email, not even 5G. These holidays mark both the conclusion and immediate restart of the annual Torah reading, a celebration of continuity, renewal, and the idea that learning and connection never end. It’s much like how we approach building the next generation of wireless networks: 5G isn’t the end—it’s the launch pad for what’s next. Just like in the Torah cycle, there’s no standing still.

Earlier this year, I spoke about creating a “Golden Age of Communications,” a moment when American innovation, investment, and ingenuity converge to deliver both unprecedented opportunity and unmatched security. Wireless will be at the very center of that vision.  It’s the connective tissue linking every sector of our economy, from defense and energy, to healthcare, transportation, and education.

On September 18, 2025, Federal Communications Commissioner Olivia Trusty spoke at the Free State Foundation Luncheon, where she touched on her three priorities for her time at the FCC: (1) Universal connectivity, (2) public safety and national security, and (3) restoring U.S. leadership in nextgeneration technologies. "The choices we make today, about spectrum, infrastructure, competition, and security, will define our nation’s trajectory for decades.

Build America Agenda into meaningful wins for U.S. businesses and consumers. First, we are working to create a regulatory environment that empowers you, the private sector, to build and innovate. Through the Chairman’s “Delete, Delete, Delete” initiative, the Commission is eliminating obsolete rules, from outdated telegraph provisions to regulations tied to expired deadlines. We are also taking a hard look at rules that impose unnecessary costs without serving the public interest. Second, we are making more spectrum available for commercial use.

The United States is about to make the largest broadband investment in our country’s history. This investment—the $42 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment Program, or BEAD—has the potential to drive high-quality, affordable broadband to every last home and business in rural America. But BEAD’s historic levels of deployment will put historic pressure on permitting authorities. And this is especially true in rural areas, where permitting capacity is lowest and BEAD activity will be highest. Such permitting bottlenecks are a fundamental threat to BEAD’s success.

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Arielle Roth delivered remarks at the 2025 National Telecommunications and Information Administration Spectrum Policy Symposium on September 10. "President Reagan once joked: 'The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I'm from the government, and I'm here to help.''  And let’s be honest—when it comes to spectrum policy, history has often proven him right.  From the decades-long delay of FM radio in the 1940s to foot-dragging on cellular licensing in the 1980s, rigid government gatekeeping too often sideline

On September 9, 2025, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr delivered remarks at the US Chamber of Commerce Global Aerospace Summit. In his speech, the Chairman framed satellite deployment as the "Space Race 2.0" and detailed how the FCC is working to create a "friendly regulatory environment" for companies to accelerate space operations. "I am optimistic because I am betting on you. Thanks to America’s innovators and entrepreneurs, the United States is not only winning this Space Race 2.0, we are dominating it.

When it comes to federal efforts to close the digital divide, Minnesota has been left behind. Program after program has promised transformational change—yet time and again, your communities are still waiting. But Minnesota has the power—and the track record—to build its own broadband future. Federal broadband programs have failed the state. They promised a feast and delivered crumbs. In the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, ISPs defaulted on 80% of  more than $400,000,000 in state RDOF funds and on 78% of the over 142,000 RDOF locations.

Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) represents a fundamental shift in how we think about spectrum use. Traditionally, sensing and communications have been two separate functions. You had radar systems designed to detect and track objects, and you had communications systems designed to transmit data. They lived in different spectral lanes, were managed by different agencies, and developed along different paths. ISAC breaks that mold. In an ISAC world, sensing and communications co-exist in a single, harmonized system.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center is proof that when Mississippi talent meets modern technology, there’s no limit to what can be achieved. And nowhere is that more clear than at the Center for Telehealth. UMMC’s telehealth program has become a national model, showing how broadband can deliver quality, life-saving care straight into people’s homes, whether they’re down the road or five counties over. For many Mississippians, this kind of access isn’t a luxury, it’s a lifeline. That’s why I’m here.