Policymakers

President Joe Biden’s administration recently announced a raft of nominations for various posts, but picks for four key telecommunications roles at the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) remain outstanding. Eight months into Biden’s presidency, both agencies sit without permanent leaders.

President Joe Biden's failure to nominate a fifth Federal Communications Commission member has forced Democrats to work with a 2-2 deadlock instead of the 3-2 majority the president's party typically enjoys at the FCC. Additionally, things could get worse for Democrats starting in January; if Biden doesn't make his choice quickly enough to get Senate confirmation by the end of 2021, Republicans could get a 2-1 FCC majority despite Democrats controlling both the White House and Senate. This is because acting FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's term expired in mid-2020.

President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Alvaro Bedoya for Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. Alvaro Bedoya is the founding director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law, where he is a visiting professor of law. His research and advocacy focus on the idea that privacy is for everyone.

Washington may soon make the biggest broadband investment in US history, and the first draft was written in Colorado. In August 2021, the Senate passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that includes a historic $65 billion for broadband. This section draws directly from the BRIDGE Act, the bill I wrote with Coloradans to reflect our state’s struggles and successes against the digital divide. As usual, Colorado didn’t wait on Washington to act; cities created their own municipal networks and electric coops deployed fiber-optic networks in rural communities at world-class speeds and prices.

As far as telecommunications regulators go, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has always felt like something of a bit player compared to the Federal Communications Commission. But if the Senate infrastructure bill successfully makes its way through the House and to President Biden's desk, that could change.

The Federal Communications Commission’s Wireline Competition Bureau (Bureau) seeks nominations for a position on the Board of Directors of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC) representing commercial mobile radio service providers (position formerly held by Matt B. Gerst). All nominations must be filed with the Office of the Secretary by November 8, 2021.

The White House Competition Council held its inaugural meeting on September 10, 2021.

President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and European Council President Charles Michel established the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC) to expand and deepen trade and transatlantic investment ties and update the rules of the road for the 21st century economy.

President Biden has been historically slow to appoint officials to the federal government’s top telecommunications agencies, and advocacy groups say the vacancies are preventing the administration from carrying out key agenda items, such as reinstating net neutrality rules killed during the Trump administration. Nearly eight months into his presidency, Biden has yet to pick permanent leaders for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which together oversee and set policy for the broadcast and Internet service in

Since January, the Federal Communications Commission has been deadlocked in a 2-2 partisan split, and the White House has yet to nominate a new commissioner to complete the agency's typical five-person lineup. With Congress about to emerge from its August recess, President Joe Biden has four months before the end of the calendar year to make a pick.