Upcoming event
A global race to deploy 5G networks is on, with investors, regulators, and equipment manufacturers now fully engaged. But even as the nature of 5G technology is coming into sharper focus, consumers and some policymakers are still unclear on what it is and what it will do for them. Is 5G merely a faster network? Or will its unique architecture make possible revolutionary new applications and services, pushing the mobile revolution into even higher gear? How can U.S. spectrum policy stay ahead of the country’s rapidly escalating demand for 5G capabilities?
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for June 2018 Open Meeting
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the June Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 7, 2018:
A Summer Blockbuster Open Meeting
[Press release] In the spirit of the summer blockbuster season, the Commission’s June 7 meeting is going to be our own version of “Avengers: Infinity War.” We’re taking familiar headliners—freeing up spectrum, removing barriers to infrastructure buildout, expanding satellite services, modernizing outdated rules, eliminating waste, improving accessibility, protecting consumers—and rolling them into one, super-sized meeting.
The next meeting of the TAC will discuss progress on work initiatives discussed at the previous meeting.
The FCC’s Technological Advisory Council, comprised of a diverse group of leading technology experts, provides technical expertise to the Commission to identify important areas of innovation and develop informed technology policies supporting the United States’ competitiveness in the global economy. The TAC is helping the Commission to continue the momentum spurred by the National Broadband Plan to maximize the use of broadband to advance national interests and create jobs.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission will conduct a public hearing to receive information from all interested parties about potential safety issues and hazards associated with internet-connected consumer products. The information received from the public hearing will be used to inform future Commission risk management work.
Witnesses to be announced.
Infrastructure is essential to the everyday workings of the American economy. Our roads, rails, pipes, and cables connect people to opportunity, allow companies to grow, and influence our environmental health. Too often, however, debate on infrastructure focuses exclusively on the physical quality of our networks and the price tags associated with new projects.
Promises Mean Little for Consumers in T-Mobile/Sprint Deal
[Commentary] The proposition here is simple: This T-Mobile/Sprint deal will shrink the market for nationwide mobile wireless service from four players to three, giving consumers fewer choices and increasing the likelihood that prices will be higher and service offerings will be less consumer-friendly. Decreased competition in a market that is already consolidated? This deal should be an easy one for the government to reject. Companies seeking to merge typically promise the sun, moon, and the stars to regulators in order to obtain approval, and T-Mobile and Sprint are no different.
In the modern economy, data has replaced oil, according to The Economist, as the world’s most valuable resource. For policymakers, the challenge of how to regulate data is emerging as an increasingly significant issue.