Host commissioner rosenworcel, welcome to the communicators. If you would, start by talking about some of the issues that you fore be see the fcc dealing with this coming fall. Guest okay. Well, first of all, thank you for having me here on this show, and thank you also to cspan for the great Public Service work that you do and have done for decades. Issues before the fcc, we have a lot of them. Issues are diverse because in many ways the fcc oversees the digital economy, the information economy which by some measures accounts for as much as onesixth of the economy itself. I think there are a few things we have going on of particular interest though. One of those is wireless communications. And you can look around at the proliferation of phones, and thats probably no surprise be that its an area of real interest. But with you also have to consider some of the numbers. We now have more Wireless Phones in this country than we have people. One in three American Adults now has a tablet computer. All of those devices are using more of our airwaves than ever before, and were just Getting Started because worldwide mobile data demand is going to grow 13 times in the next five years. So the fcc has a lot on its plate when it comes to our airwaves and how we use them. We have some traditional auctions on deck to put more of our airwaves in the hands of carriers who can make it available for mobile broadband, and we also have some new and innovative auctions called sniff auctions, putting incentive auctions to do even more things with mobile broadband. On top of that, we have Traditional Networks in the ground and the broadband beneath us is just important as the airwaves all around us. We have the ip transition which is really a conversation about what is the next generation of infrastructure look like, and i think were going to have to make some decisions and perhaps run some trials so that we can identify the best policies to both incentivize private investment and make sure that consumers get all the benefit from those new networks as theyre deployed. On top of that, we are doing some really innovative things with broadband in schools. Im really excited about that. Finish the Erate Program is from the Telecommunications Act of 996 1996 which was quite a while ago. We put the rules in place for that in 1998. I think in 1998 i was calling the internet the information superhighway, so the purpose of the Erate Program which is the nations Largest TechnologyEducation Program is to make sure we wire all the schools in this country to the internet. And by some measures weve done a great job are. When the program was put in place, we had just 14 of Public Schools connected to the internet. Now that number is probably above 95. So it looks like were doing a good job, but i would say the issue thousand is not now is not connection, its capacity. We need to make sure those connections are really high capacity for the broadband age. And in my office we spent some time looking at in this program and trying to understand it better, and we with realized that of the connections we have today, about half of our erate schools are connected at three megabits or less. Three megabits or less is not a speed your going to use for the most innovative teaching tools, its not a speed you can use to watch hidefinition streaming video, and i dont think its a speed we can use to educate the next generation of s. T. E. M. Entrepreneurs. And more than that, i think we should do something with this program because around the world a lot is happening when it comes to technology, broadband and education. In south korea 100 of their schools are wired for broadband, and theyre moving to all digital textbooks by 2016. In places like ecuador, every primary student has a laptop. In thailand theyre moving towards a one tablet per student policy. So i think we can let other nations lead the way or make the choice to do more ourselves, and i think if we take the Erate Program which we already have authorization for from congress and we revamp it, reboot it, refocus it on capacity, we can do a lot to bring broadband to schools across the country. Host youve put a lot on the table, and joining our conversation is Communications Dailys executive Senior Editor, Howard Buskirk. Commissioner, you mentioned two big issues that i think theres a lot of fcc watchers believe will dominate the commission over the next year, so the first was the incentive auction, and im just wondering from your perspective how far along do you think planning is, what are the pressure points, what are the concerns about the Auction Going forward . Because the goal has been to do one in 2014, but that is starting to look like it could be difficult. Guest well, ill say for starters that im confident that i can be ready to do these auctions in 2014. I actually have some confidence in the agencys ability to do so too. Thats because when you look at the record that we have when it comes to incentive auctions and auction policy generally, i think its pretty tremendous. Be about two decades the fcc has had authority to hold spectrum auctions, and weve held 80 auctions. Weve issued more than 36,000 licenses, and weve raised more than 50 billion for the United States treasury. I think as my kids would say thats not too shabby, so i think we have tremendous experts who know how to work with auctions and come up with good policies, and i think that we can move ahead and get these auctions done by the end of 2014. Were waiting for the senate to confirm tom wealer and Michael Reilly wheeler and Michael Reilly as chairman and commissioner respectively. If that a process takes a while, could that complicate having a 2014 incentive auction . Well, i hope it doesnt take a while, but i would say that time marchs on and technology is advancing. Then on erate, thats another issue that i understand could get a lot of congressional attention, and theres a lot of concern among Congressional Republicans about expanding the Erate Program. Do you see that as sort of blowing up into a big fight as the fcc takes a closer look at expanding the Erate Program over the next year . No, i dont think so. I dont think education or infrastructure issues are partisan. And if you look back at the Erate Program, it was, of course, as i mentioned earlier part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, but it was something that was developed in a bipartisan way by senator rockefeller and senator snowe and thencongressman, nowsenator markey. So i think it has a strong record of support, and i think thatll continue in the future. Just one final question on that. But i think the concern for some republicans, this sort of touches on the issue of expanding government and broader political issues this washington, and so i think theres some concern that some of them will really zero in on it because of the fact that, you know, they feel like it touches on a lot of issues that are of concern to them on a broader level. I think the Erate Program has always been about National Support but local control. Just like our schools. So i think that there is a lot of opportunity there to do good things, and i think that the more people learn about it, i think the more interested theyll be. And ill add that it will have a really good effect on our markets, because we could leave to every school and local jurisdiction the task of how to get really highspeed be broadband, or we could do it at scale and take advantage of consortium and bulk buying and bring everyone up to the same baseline. If we bring everyone up to the same baseline, what id like to see is 100 megabits to every school by the 2015 school year and a gigabit by the end of the decade. What id like to call is dream likely and dream big. But if we do that and we make that capacity available nationwide, were going to send a signal to markets, to device manufacturers, to content creators who are going to participate in creating more content and more technology for our schools. And i think over time those devices and that new content will fall within traditional textbookbuying budgets. Host commissioner rosenworcel, if i could follow up on one of howards questions, should there be set asides, in your view, for Smaller Companies, or should it be a wide open auction . Guest i think we have had for the last ten years a policy about Spectrum Holdings that has not been a cap, but a screen. And we started a proceeding late last year to go and revisit that and take another look at that. I think thats a good thing to do, and i think that after more than a decade its time. Its my hope in the upcoming auctions that we will, first and foremost be, follow the law. The Communications Act requires us to make sure that we think about Economic Opportunity and competition when we develop our auction. The middle class tax relief and job creation act tells us that when we p develop those auctions, we need to make sure everyone can participate, that we should have rules of general amix about. Its my hope well have new opportunities for incumbents and new entrants alike. In the end, no, i dont think a single carrier can walk away with all the spectrum we auction. Host also wanted to follow up on the question about the two nominees, potential nominee michael oreilly. He also comes from the senate, senate staffer, as you did. Do you know mr. Oreilly, and knowing what you know about the senate, do you think the it will proceed quickly to get mr. Wheeler and mr. Oreilly onboard . Guest i know mr. Oreilly a little bit. I look forward to working with him. Knowing what i know about the senate, i did spend five years working on capitol hill with great privilege, but what i learned is the senate moves when the senate moves, and i think itll be up to the good men and women of that body to decide when they confirm the two nominees. Host Howard Buskirk. Let me ask a followup question. You mentioned spectrum aggregation and that you, that no carrier should be able to buy all the spectrum. So do you foresee the fcc imposing some kind of restrictions that would keep the two dominant carriers, at t and Verizon Wireless two largest, i guess i should say from buying most of spectrum. Guest like i said, i think everyone should have an opportunity to participate, and there should be opportunities for the incumbentses and the small carriers alike. There are several proposals we have before us about that right now, and my office is looking at hem. And another complaint that small carriers have had is that they would like to have the spectrum sold in smaller slices rather than the economic areas. Is that something youre looking at right now as an issue . Some of them are saying they wont participate in the auction if the license sizes arent small enough. Guest i think were going to have to take a look, but i understand the simplicity of using economic areas. Host commissioner rosenworcel, two big announcements this week in the Wireless World with verizon buying out vodafone and microsoft buying the cell phone business of nokia. Does the fcc have any role in those transactions . Guest well, i cant talk in specifics about any transactions before us or, frankly, that might be before us soon, but i can tell you that we are likely to have to take a look at the verizon and vodafone transfer, and its my hope that we will do that swiftly. I think the issues associated with microsoft and nokia are different because its the combination of a company that provides operating systems with a company that develops handsets which is an interesting issue that very much is affected by our wireless spectrum policies, but i dont believe squarely falls within our jurisdiction. Host what generally then is your philosophy in approaching a merger or a buyout like the verizon vodafone . Do you have a philosophy about how the market should operate . Guest well, i think what we have is an obligation to act under the law, and the Communications Act tells the fcc to take a look at transfers of licenses for owe airwaves radio airwaves, what this involves. And we need to make sure this transfer represents the public convenience and necessity. So we look at the merger harms and the merger benefits. And then we try to assess them and make a decision swiftly and do it to the extent necessary in coordination with our colleagues at the department of justice. Host do you think that you would move forward with a threemember commission if mr. Wheeler and mr. Oreilly are not onboard at that time . Guest that is a decision that is up to the acting chairwoman, but like i said before, i think time moves on. Technology is moving at a polic. I dont think the regulatory process can slow. I wanted to ask you, you were on the senate staff that created this network for, a national ferc for First Responders network for First Responders. How do things seem to be going so far towards or construction of that network, and do you have concerns . Were hearing a lot of concerns about whether theres going to be enough money to pay for it coming back from the auctions and just the difficulty of building a National Network. Just wanted to, you know, what do you see as being the hard parts . Guest well, lets start from the beginning. Congress recognized that it had been more than a decade since the horror of 9 11 and many years since the watery devastation of hurricane katrina. It was just tragic that we didnt have a nationwide network for our First Responders, so they took action. The middle class tax relief and job creation act of 2012. I think thats a terrific thing. I think it managed to take off the table one of the last remaining recommendations from the 9 11 commission. And what they did was they reserved in the 700 megahertz band some really choice spectrum for First Responders across the country. And then they assigned the First ResponderNetwork Authority with control for pulling this netWork Together. This is not some new, uniquelypublic network, its an effort that is going to be built on public and private partnerships. Nor is it strictly federal. Its going to be all about local control. I think its taken a little time to get things together, but from what i see, im actually fairly positive. Were seeing a lot of really good developments. I think sam gin and phil tag steven know who are now running it, a lot of respect in the industry. We now have a 194 million budget for the next year and are planning some new hires. On top of that, theyve already put out 30 different grants for state and local planning, and theyve already made arrangements in california and new mexico to use the 700 megahertz spectrum for some of the recipients of recovery act money for Public Safety. I think were making a lot of progress, and i think theres more to come. So to you, its no longer an open question if this network will be built, its a matter of when then, would you say that . Guest yes, absolutely. Okay. And youve also been very outspoken on the need to do whats the status of supposed to be a final report out on recommendations following last years deretch cho storm which saw a lot of shutdown of 911. Do you have the status of that report, and what would you like to see is there something more that the fcc should require of carriers to prevent those kinds of outages in the future . Guest well, lets start with the fact that it was a really big wind storm that happened in the mid atlantic a little over a year ago. It brought life in this area of the country to a halt. Power outages everywhere and Communications Failures as well. The most stunning communications tail yours came with our nations failures came with our nations 911 system. You want to know that you can call 911 what we found in the storm that there were 71 911 centers that went at least partially interoperable during the storm, and 17 of them in three states lost connectivity completely. So i called for an investigation and not only that, i went and did some myself. I visited one of the centers that went fully out in fairfax county, virginia, just down the road. And ill never forget that visit. Its a great new center, one of the best Public Safety answering centers in the country. But the director of it described how during the middle of the storm the entire room went silent, and he said he knew instantly there was something wrong. And he was right. So in january the fcc staff did a terrific job and did a thorough investigation, and what they found was a few things. They found that backup generators failed to work leading to system failures. They also found that a monitoring failed to work because of power problems. And they also found carriers did not notify 911 centers as swiftly or regularly as they should have. We did a rulemaking on issues like that back in march, and i really hope that we can bring that to some conclusion with an order soon, because i think theres some common sense things we can do to prevent this from happening again. So just to be clear, do you foresee that there will have to be some additional regulations imposed to try to keep the outages from happening in the future . Guest i absolutely think not just in this region of the country, but everywhere. This is an opportunity to put b