Transcripts For CSPAN FCC 20240704

Announcer cspan is your unfiltered view of government. Funded by these Television Companies and more, including comcast. Oh, you think this is just a Community Center . No, its way more than that. Comcast is partnering with 1,000 Community Centers to create wifi enabled lift zones so students from low income families can get the tools they need to get them ready for anything. Announcer comcast supports cspan as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat tdemocracy. Ftc commissioner render dez brendan carr talked about the advancement of broadband connection and regulations during a tech summit in washington, d. C. This is about 30 minutes. I want to thank you for talking about whats happening on the hill. Its great to be here. As soon as i got the job, thought the best way to do this job is spend as little time inside the beltway as possible. Within a day of being sworn into the job, i got on a plane to North Carolina and went to a Fiber Manufacturing facility and spent a lot of time with the fire fiber builders and terror climbers to understand the red tape that needs to cut in the reforms that need to happen. When you cut out the layers of lawyers and lobbyists, people are ashley building this stuff. You asked them whats jamming them up and slowing them down and you are surprised. Its a great place to start because we have many fiber, Small Cell Companies that are in this field. Lets talk about what else the ftc could be doing along with the other agencies to improve the availability of broadband everywhere as we use both public and private sector dollars. The playbook when you look at trying to bridge the divide with increased competition, there is a lot you can do but its a twopart playbook which is more spectrum and more infrastructure. On some of those, concerned about where we are generally. There are warning signs of us losing speed and momentum particular on spectra matters. We dont a pretty good job the last couple of years but when it comes to amazing highpowered license spectrum available, its a difficult task to get that done. We are starting to fall behind other countries in availability which is concerning to me. Im concerned the ftc got pushed to the side but i wish bead all the success because we want americans to be connected. We are starting to see warning signs because i think the administration has inserted some policy cuts along the way that i think are sidetracking us from our ultimate goal of conductivity. I think there is some pressure toward rate regulation and some of the regulations being implemented and there is been a heavy thumb on the scale by the administration for fiber which is a fantastic technology. We want the lion share of connections to be fiber but around the edges, its wireless and other technologies coming online. They can get it done more quickly in terms of the time it takes to connect people. We are starting to see some concerning signals including up to 12 states by my count that theyve indicated they may be unable to connect every location at least from an underserved perspective with the dollars they been allocated. It we were to take this 40 billion initiative and if the policy because land in a spot where didnt get the job done, i think that would be a big failure. There is time to course correct that i would encourage states to keep an eye toward the efficient use of dollars. We wont have another opportunity likebead with the pace of Technology Change. In terms of what you view as the ftcs role but indirectly, there is more we can do on the permitting side. Previously, we had issued guidance on how this regulation should be interpreted. Sometimes we have to look at Small Cell Technology but theres more the ftc can do to provide clarity as to how the existing federal law applies when carriers are looking to obtain permanent authorizations to build out. I think there is more in the infrastructure docket we can do that would help accelerate bills. If we are just spending money to simulate broadband buildup, we are not forming a permanent law. We are stepping on the gas in the brakes at the same time. In wyoming, visiting a broadband builder, they took me to their laydown yard which is their outdoor warehouse where they keep their roles of conduit and antenna and they were just sitting there. We got the funding for that and getting it to that location but it cant get out into the field because of permitting delays. There is more we can do in that front as well. One of the things that encompasses broadband readiness checklist is help cities get repaired get prepared. Weve seen states move forward in adopting similar things and have included some of the language we offer them. You probably want to provide an instant template. They want to adopt these checklists so cities know whats coming and towns know whats coming and they are ready when the boots hit the ground and folks show up with hardhats. That way we can deliver more broadband. One of the things the commission recently did in december was address the poll issues that of impending for a long time. Give us your perspective on that action and how you see that fitting into the story. I thought id live through a lot of tough lytic old debates in d. C. , gone through Digital Discrimination but ive never seen a fight in d. C. Quite like the pole attachment. You put two or three dollars on the line here or there and its a big deal. That was an interesting fight. There were additional ideas we could do. I have no idea on timing but general policy we are trying to do is to make it easier, faster and more costeffective for broadband builders to push out particular into rural and underserved areas. Stepping back, its an interesting point in time when it comes to con activity because we are truly living this idea of convergence. Convergence means we can now effectively substitute which can be hundreds of megabits per section. We are providing very highspeed broadband and we will vote on services that go direct from satellites right to your smart phone. We are seeing all of this convergence where consumers can substitute one type of Broadband Technology for another weve been looking to realize for a long time but we are living it now. I think that will help inform our policymaking at the ftc because we are historically a siloed operation. Its a challenge to break out of this but we have to see how those silos have broken down and how do we make sure we have a level playing field. That it that includes evan getting a fair shot. Most conferences ive gone to talk about pole attachments but this conferences difference dishes different. What has surprised me in my career but is not surprised me is pole attachment reform since 2010. Folks are like if you just make sure the rate between cable and attachment even if use different formulas, thats going to solve the problem. Thats a really good idea so lets talk about that. The problem is it shifts to other things. There is never this push for one thing. Its important now because we have a significant investment being made between the private and public sectors. It would be nice to get the job once and be done. We appreciate the hard work on it. I was recently reading reading in the Washington Post and not by an opinion writer but i was surprised that they moved to more exurban washington. He was describing how through funding the federal government has provided, Rappahannock County is getting broadband. In the middle of the story, there is a dispute between the utility and the fiber provider. These things are ongoing all of the time. There are ones having to look at the ftc rules and a fight over what the timing in is. It matters what you say in the agency says and encouraging the deployments of thanks for all your hard work. The u. S. And its Global Leadership in wireless, right now, we have a significant problem in that the ftc does not have total authority. The ftc you still have some tools in your toolkit. It advances the availability of spectrum. Give us your perspective on the work you are doing. Particular in the mid band spectrum. How will you deliver more spectrum availability . Are special authority which is in one of the main mechanisms we use to use test to move specter mounds the commercial marketplace is a one wait slowing us down but there is more the ftc can do. I put out a special calendar that identified which spectrum can move by which particular year. I think the ftc could still step up with its own spectrum calendar that makes clear to lawmakers that if we had authority again, this is what we would do this year and this year and i think that would help provide additional motivation for congress. When we Tell Congress very clearly that we have authority, potentially, they receive the method that is not that serious. It is. Globally, we are about 200 megahertz behind other countries. China in particular, were close to 700 megahertz behind. That is expected to widen and thats a problem. Americas leadership in wireless is part and parcel of r. G. Of the dish geopolitical view. When we free of spectrum, we move the commercial marketplace. They look to the u. S. To make sure the products are going to work for our markets would gives us a lot of influence globally. The opposite is true. We start to recede on spectrum and let foreign adversaries dont share our values are goals , weve got to get moving. One of the bands that encompass the numbers is the 12 gigahertz band. Thats been teed up and you are working hard on that. How do you see that playing out . What are you hearing on that and what are your expectations . I think its right for a potential decision. No news on moving on 12 gigahertz but my guiding star continues to be the same or im open to find a winwin. If we can do more without causing harmful interference, we should. I think job one on the spectrum should be to identify large swats of spectrum that could open up for exclusive license views. Step two, you have to make it fast as well see after look for creative ways. We have identified other spectrum bands. There is one thats effectively a wifi band but its underutilized because of the listen before Talk Technology and applies to it. Job one in my view is licensed mid band spectrum. We are looking for creative ways to fill in and do more. Give us your perspective on the ability of satellite to help us meet the needs of American Consumers no matter where they are . Im excited about this. If you look at what start link is doing and what kuyper is planning to do come i think it will be a phenomenal complement to our networks. Not that everybody will get on this generation of satellites but in this part is to serve parts of the country in areas where a second competitor can be introduced, those technologies are performing phenomenally. Weve had relatively highspeed service to a standalone dish that you can wifi off of like star lincoln weve had direct to hand side satellite technologies that are low bandwidth. We are certain to see that blend were have new technology that go straight from satellite to your handset with something thats approaching broadband speed. Its exciting to see what this entire new generation is going to do. That is exciting. People are working on this space. Its like we are not the satellite bureau. It is exciting to see these new technologies that are coming into play and there are things we never really imagined. I remember when it was voice satellite. Now the fact that people will be able to use their broadband matter where they are. You talk about star link but china is looking to stand up its own version of this global low earth satellite system called star net. Its replicating u. S. Technology. We have to be cognizant of policymakers moving fast so star link and others can get up and running and working because once china gets its own version of that, maybe 2028, there is some interesting implications we need to think about when china can take its existing relationships and infrastructure and pair that with Internet Service that can be mounted anywhere including potentially the authoritarian filters they have been known to put on those types of technologies. As a country, you look at the capacity of china in the nottoodistant future, we should be thinking through what that means and is there more or different actions we should take with that in mind. Its what the ftc can do with what it has available. Any further recommendations about what the Chairmans Office can be working on to help rivera position internationally . The most important thing is the challenge the bureau is working on which is part of the motivation which is to continue. We are seeing a rapid acceleration and new satellites going up and more access request so we have to continue to move with something approaching the pace of Technology Change in that sector. It also refers to a family that used the star link service. There was a waiting list. They had an wait a number of months or so in order to get the service. We do need more options. We think thats a great thing. Whatever we can do to speed that up and how we can be helpful in your efforts to make sure the u. S. Is in front and all of this and we have competitive options. We have a lot of folks in the room that are working every day with those who are in process of building the networks and the workforce and training issues that go along with that this has been a big part of your agenda. Tell us what you been doing and what you are seeing in the marketplace and where the ftcs actions may be able to further improve Workforce Development and training . I talk about spectrum infrastructure. The third leg is workforce. We realized we needed to bolster americas Skilled Workforce with tower climbers and fiber splicers. Its critical now that we have all the dollars that are about to hit the ground. There is lots of ways you can do it. Ive worked a lot with Community Colleges around the country to stand up Tower Climbing which is a great program. Some Companies Want to do it inhouse. There are Apprenticeship Program so there is a lot of interesting Job Opportunities right now and we need to continue to keep an eye on is the programs it going. The fiber connectivity as well, there is a lot of opportunity there for five or splicers to maintain the network. It will be key to make sure there are opportunities for training all over the country as weve seen more fiber being built. Those are good paying jobs, right . Technology jobs. Tower climbing a particular is you can go from having no skills and go through an 812 week class that teaches you the physical and technical skills. It starts at 60,000 per year with no skills. There is upward mobility in the job, no pun intended and you could easily make six figures. People will start as tower hands and then they can own their own tower business. Its more than just a job, its a good paying career. Thank you for that. Your leadership on this issue i think is important. Youre one of the first commissioners that put a spotlight on this and its because its even more critical as we have more publicsector dollars going into the deployment agenda so thank you for that. You mentioned china already but i want to come back to that. You said you wanted to give your perspective on the new bills. The Chinese Communist party and how they can use communications to hurt our National Security, give us your perspective on that and whats the latest going on . On tiktok, ive been reticent to talk about it. This is one that a lot of people come in a town like d. C. Word feels everyone goes to the corner all the time, we find reasons not to get together in one idea were seeing something happen potentially this week thats different from that. Weve got a Broad Coalition on the house side of republicans and democrats alike that of just gotten a bill introduced in the last hour or so that will ban tiktok or require it to divest its ties from the ccp. This is a bill that leadership is already said we will get a vote in committee this thursday. With this raw coalition, republicans and democrats and the Freedom Caucus two democrats on the left, together on this bill, its going to go to the House Energy Commerce committee where chair rogers is doing a phenomenal job. A lot of people remember last year, there was a blockbuster hearing with the tiktok ceo testifying. This was sort of the other shoe dropping from this hearing. Im hopeful this is a bill that will get across the finish line because its clear through tiktoks own contact that it is holding beholden to the ccp and presents a serious threat to u. S. National security both from an espionage perspective as weve seen, spying on the locations of specific americans and misled u. S. Officials repeatedly about the scope of their access by personnel inside beijing. Its a real threat that we need to move on now. Im pleased to see this Bipartisan Legislation moving through the house commerce but its worked up through the China Select Committee which is shared but chaired by mike gallagher. This is a really Important Development because this is a bill that will definitively resolve the tiktok threats. You set a vote this thursday and the committee and then expectations it could move quickly the house . I would hope so. When you have a high number of republicans and democrats on board together, its very rare in washington so i hope it moves quickly at the committee vote. This is an issue where a lot of the strong leaders have been democrats. You look at the chair of the senate intel committee, mark warner has said all the confidential briefings he get scared the dickens out of him. Its a very real threat and its not simply about tiktok as an entity that has some ties back to china, there are plus factors with tiktok that we know from its own conduct that there is a serious problem. Thats why you see everyone in National Security is raising an alarm on it. This is a bill that has an appropriate response to all of that. In terms of the fccs jurisdiction over Communications Networks and the National Security issues there, give us your perspective on how we ensure that our Communications Network stays safe and secure. Tiktok in particular, the main focus of action will be congress other than the sec that have extensive authorities. When you look at National Security threats generally, we have some expertise. Weve come to data flows and entities that are all over so we took action in the u. S. On huawei. We then moved up and took action with the carrier levels on china mobile and china unicom and other carriers. Now we need to get a win at the application level because secure devices, superior networks dont mean enough unless we also go to the applications running and tiktok is an application that is going through a comprehensive National Security process and was identified as like huawei as presenting a threat that cant otherwise be mitigated. We need to take action on the government level. India banned tiktok back in 2020. If anything, its overdue. Its an appropriate time to take action. Are there other kinds of applications that have you concerned in addition to tiktok . There are others. Tiktok has a clear track record but you have to look around. First we did huawei and we did china mobile and china telecom. We need to get to a place to understand the type of threats to take action. You look more broadly and comprehensively at all threats from entities that are not just tied to china but the ccp. That broader conversation continues to take place in the near term. Then we can go after ones that look similar from a Security Risk perspective. One of the things that encompasses our Member Companies is the national proceeding where the commissioner is looking at significant changes to ownership review and different time frames in which licensees may need to come back to the fcc to go over ownership review. I know thats Data Collection but are there any thoughts about how the commission might be able to use that rulemaking process to do further reviews of authorizations . Its interesting what we learned from that proceeding. We look at relationships that are an issue when we look at undersea cable thats getting increasingly complicated. Who is owning and whos using it transmit data into perp he for the sec to do a refresh to make sure we are getting the right information and how undersea cables are being used. We need to take a look at this and im open minded about a refresh there to make sure as the relationships get more and more complex, we are not seeing a security threat. Thats really helpful and thank you. Thanks for going through these issues of great importance to the industry and hear office and you have such great staff, always open and available to answer questions. I enjoy it, thank you so much. [applause] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2024] looking now at some of our live coverage coming upoday, this morning at 11 eastern, President Biden will speak of the National League of cities congressional city conference in washington, d. C. At 1 p. M. Eastern, the Virginia State House Speaker will address the National Council black male voters summit. Watch live coverage on cspan, cspan now or our website cspan. Org. 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