Thank you very much for that kind introduction! It is great to be with all of you at the Solutions Summit. To be clear, it would be a lot better to be with you in Louisiana; I couldn’t help but notice that the Pelican Institute concluded a recent Summit with “a cocktail reception and a toast to freedom while enjoying the sweeping views from atop the Baton Rouge Hilton.” I have to say, that beats a lukewarm coffee and toasting my wife to surviving another day of “remote learning,” while enjoying the not-so-sweeping views from our living room.
Serving as Chairman of the FCC has been the honor of a lifetime. And soon, my time in this position will conclude. You may have seen my announcement last month that I’ll be departing the Commission on January 20, 2021.
As those who follow the agency know, setting the agenda for and presiding over our monthly meetings areamong the key responsibilities of my role. Three weeks from today, I’ll preside over my 49th — and final — meeting. Before outlining the agenda for that meeting, a few words about its 48 most recent predecessors.
Every month, I use this platform to tout the items on the FCC’s upcoming monthly meeting agenda and explain how they will help to address key challenges facing our country. For our December 2020 meeting, it’s not just me saying that the Commission is dealing with some heady issues. Last week, National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien gave an interview in which he said the “number one concern” for democracy at home and abroad is the integrity of our communications networks. …
If you had to pick a central theme for the FCC’s work this fall, it would probably be unleashing mid-band spectrum for 5G wireless services. Since the last week of August, we’ve successfully completed the auction of 70 megahertz of licensed spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band — the first-ever auction of mid-band spectrum for 5G in the U.S. We proposed rules for making 100 megahertz of spectrum in the 3.45–3.55 GHz band available for innovative commercial operations. And we are on track to hold an auction of the lower 280 megahertz of the C-band, starting on December 8.
Now…
October has arrived, which means there’s a chill in the air, baseball playoffs on TV, and pumpkin spice in places where it doesn’t belong. Of course, there is no greater October tradition than Halloween. While nobody is quite sure what trick-or-treating will look like in a time of social distancing, I can say for sure that the agenda for the Commission’s October meeting will be filled with treats for consumers and innovators.
Unfortunately, we’ll have to start off that meeting by discussing a trick. In 2017, numerous Washington politicians, far-left special-interest groups, Hollywood stars, and Silicon Valley tech giants, as…
For sports fans, this is the week we’ve all been waiting for. Football is finally back! In two days, the Super Bowl LIV champion Kansas City Chiefs will begin their title defense and kick off the NFL season when they host the Houston Texans. (Did I mention my beloved Chiefs are Super Bowl champions?) The return of the NFL also means the return of fantasy football.
In this spirit, the FCC’s September agenda looks like a well-balanced fantasy team. Just as you would assemble a fantasy roster with a quarterback, running backs, receivers, a tight end, a kicker, and a…
If it weren’t for COVID-19, the Top Gun sequel would be in theaters right now. Nonetheless, you can rest assured that we’ll all be mavericks in three weeks. That’s because when it comes to our August meeting’s main attraction, repurposing C-band spectrum for 5G, we feel the need — the need for speed.
For some time now, the FCC has been aggressively executing the 5G FAST Plan — a comprehensive strategy for advancing American leadership in 5G. We want to ensure the United States is the first-mover in 5G innovation so we can attract the innovation, investment, talent, and other…
During the pandemic, many Americans, like me, have been binge watching television shows while staying at home. And for 14 straight days in June, the most watched show on Netflix has been “13 Reasons Why,” a drama about teen suicide. There’s good reason why a suicide-themed drama is so culturally resonant at this moment.
Put simply, we are facing a suicide crisis in America. Since 1999, the number of suicides in America has gone up 35%. For young people, the suicide rate is rising even faster, up 56% over a decade. We are losing an American to suicide every 11…
Since my first day as FCC Chairman, closing the digital divide has been my top priority. Meeting that priority has inspired our bread-and-butter work over the past three years. And the importance of extending Internet access to every American has never been clearer than during the coronavirus pandemic. If you don’t have an Internet connection at home, you don’t have the option of teleworking. Your children can’t participate in distance learning. And you can’t take advantage of telehealth visits with your doctor from the safety of your own home.
I’m proud that we’ve made significant progress over the past three…
Yesterday, a new poll came out that found more than 1 in 8 Americans used a video chat to consult with a health care professional during the past month. That’s more than double the percentage who report receiving care in an emergency room and triple the rate who went to an urgent care facility. This highlights the importance of telehealth during the coronavirus pandemic, and I’m proud of the role that the FCC is playing to expand telehealth opportunities. Thanks to Congressional action, the President’s signature, and quick work by FCC staff, the Commission has already pushed resources out the…
Ajit Pai
Personal page of the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
