Host joining us this week is Meredith Attwell baker who is the new president and ceo of ctia. Tell us about the industy. Guest thank you for having me. It is great to be back representing this industy where everything is growing off of. We are the network operators, we build them, manufacture App Community and the new silicone valley. We are hoping to educate washington about that. Host as of today, what is the biggest industy facing yo your issue facing your industy . Guest i think the biggest problem is also going to be spectrum. It has been six years since having an auction. We have two coming up in the next couple years. The one starting in two days and we have the incentive auction coming next summer. They are fantastic. If we talk about the networks the phones are on that was coming from the aws1 auction that lasted last time. We will be working on spectrum for quite a while. Host are you satisfied with the progress especially on the ince incentive auction . Guest i was at the Commerce Department of aws1 and this is repurposing spectrum from the department of defense and the lessons are going great. And three spectrum is paired, International Harmonized and 65 megahertz and we are going to turn around and have the broadcast incentive auction and i think that is going well. The green hill report, which the fcc put out and values spectrum, those numbers turned the discussion from a policy discussion to a business discussion which is where the discussion needed to turn to. We are certain carriers are going to be happy and it will be a winwin situation. Host how long does it take to get the spectrum from the auction . Guest i think we need a clear idea of what we want for next. We are the worlds leader in 4g lte networks and we need to remain the leader for 5g is spectrum is key for that. Host joining the discussion is amy schatz who is the Senior Editor at row recode. What is recode . We cover all things tech in washingt washington. We spun out of the wall street journal in january and the whole team is happy to be there. Host go on with the question. Lets talk about the spectrum auction and the green hill report. I know you are looking at that with great interest and they have been asking for months. But the report suggested that broadcasters would give up 120 megahertz or a 100 megahertz for your members to buy. Do you think a lot of folks thought it was a stretch goal and they will not get that much. Where do you think these things stand . Guest there are 2100 broadcasters out there. I can tell you our carriers are primed and whatever they will put out there we will be there with check books and buy them. Are there other things you think the agency needs to do to encourage broadcasters to come to the table . Guest i think they are doing a great job balancing. We have a couple technical issues involved like what kind of interference is going to be involved in the spectrum but the fcc is doing a great job. Is there anything else your organization is trying to do to help encourage broadcasters come to the table . Fcc going on the road show soon to talk to the broadcasters . Guest we will make thur the brad ashford have the information they need. That is your job. We are really interested in this auction. Host Meredith Attwell baker, should there be set asides for smaller organization . Guest our job is to get the spectrum out there. We dont take position on how it do that the fcc should do that. Host amy schatz . I think the other big issue that is facing you guys is Net Neutrality. And it feels like from everything that is coming out of the agency and coming from the hill that the fcc is going to reverse course this time and apply Net Neutrality rules to Wireless Networks where in 2010 they didnt do that and gave you the exception saying the networks were different. What do you happening the state of play is on that . Can you convince them to move back . I want to start with the fact we all believe in the open internet and having rules. We just believe we need have to specific rules that take the differences of wireless into account. There are really three differences that the rules need to account for. The first is technical. Wireless depends on spectrum which is a scarce resource that comes from the government and we all share it. If the three of us were on a phone call, you were doing email and peter was, you know, looking at the scores from peter is on facebook. He is checking the video clips from last night we would all pea on the same cell. This is a shared resource. If brian had a bunch of kids coming in touring cspan they would be on the same spectrum. So we have to manage the network so we can all have the pest use. The second difference between wireless and Everything Else is how competitive we are. 810 americans can chose from one of four Service Providers and they are providing like a hundred Different Service plans. It is a very competitive environment. We are really new. Just unleashing the platforms and rolling out things like lte voice, lte broadcast, accr accreditation and we want to make sure we can tell the differences to the customers because wireless is not only different but not the same. But the same was true four years ago but they are looking at it differently now. So if they move forward and apply Net Neutrality to Wireless Networks what kind of conditions should they put in to ensure the kids coming to see cspan can get on their phones and facebook . Guest we need to take in the differences. When we looked at it in 2010 they said they intended for wireless to be under the open internet rules we are just not sure how to do it. Since 2010 mobile speed has grown eight times and data has increased by 730 . We still believe in the open int internet and also will but we need to make sure we dont in hibit this platform. Gm wrote a letter. It says something when i say this but Net Neutrality is important title ii bad but when gm says we need mobilespecific rules and we dont apply wired network rules to wireless i think when we are looking at the next generation of connect and car and they are concerned about that we should take notes. We dont want to in hibit the next generation of connected cars or mobile payments. All of these things are here. I used apple pay at whole foods yesterday. They are all here and only growing. We want to make sure we are the worlds leader in the networks. Host if you were still with comcast would you be arguing the wired carriers should have the same rules as the wireless or less rules . Guest i think wireless rules are important for the future. Host you said three differences. Technical and competitive are what i heard. What was the third . Guest the fact we are so new. Marty cooper, the inventor of the cellphone said we are at the model t version of this. We are just seeing the benefits of the lte platform and what it is bring to our lives. What mobile is going to provide not only now, next two years, five years, is going to make a difference for our entire economy and we want to make sure we have the right proper environment. You know, we are leading and i am not sure why you would change the rules when we are leading. I think it is almost wreckless. I think the court has given the fcc a clear path under 706 to have rules that will be legally upheld that gives us certainty and security to innovate and they are mobilespecific and i think the fcc should continue on the path with 706 rules with mobile specific rules attached to that. Host and Meredith Attwell baker you mentioned marty cooper who invented the cellphone and he has been on the show. You can watch that interview on our website. Amy schatz next question. Still on wireless Net Neutrality and then i promise we will switch to something else. It doesnt look like you suggest they should go under 706 and there is another saying they should apply title ii and another group saying a hybride. What parts do you think areport and which parts are not . Guest none. It is unnecessary, complex and has no precedent and undoes ten years of legal and fcc precedent of bipartisan decisions. There is no part of title ii that should work here. The court has given the fcc a road map to legally sustainable rules and they should follow that road map so we can move on from this conversation and talk about spectrum. Host she promised but i didnt. If the fcc moves forward with title ii would there be a lawsuit . Guest yes. Would you file it . Guest i think under section 706 we are protected and comfortable with that path and i think that is the way the fcc should go. Equally fun but different topic. Reporting this week showing the consumeer data was looking at the below the line charges stung on carriers phone bills and something needs to be done about that because it is junk fees and consumers dont know what they are and why they should be paying them. Is there more the industy can be doing to prevent those fees . What could your members do . Guest lets be clear. They are talking about third Party Bad Actors who are committing fraud on our consumers and we absolutely need to be more aware and looking at our bills more clearly and educating our consumers to do so as well. We will continue to work with the government on these issues. But there is a fantastic platform in this texting that is being used for charitable donations. If you look at the red cross, texting with the red cross for haiti brought in 32 million. That is fantastic and easy for people to donate. So we need to be aware of fraud, but i think we ought to maintain this platform for good. They brought in millions of dollars for fake horiscope and celebrity gossip. So it seems like they are taking a huge move on this and had Enforcement Actions against several of the carriers and the fcc is getting involved on the privacy side. But the in out purchase aspect is another issue. Where people are able to buy things via the play store or itunes. Is there more the industy can do . Industy regulations or selfregulations you might be looking at . Guest i think we are also looking at the billing and improving that and we will continue. As we have more and more things on our cellphone and it is more important to our lives now we will need to be careful of our identity and our privacy as well as our bills. We will continue to work on the education for the consumers and the government when they are bad actors. Host i would like to get your viewpoint on this. How does it affect the wireless industy . Cbs has an act you can subscribe to directly. Hbo and some of the Hollywood Studios as well. It looks like this could be a growing trend to break up Cable Television as it now looks like. How does that affect the wireless industy . Guest we love the mobile video. It is exciting we are seeing this as the future platform. It means we will have carefully manage the networks and it means guess what . We need more spectrum. Host it comes back to spectrum. Guest it does. Host what about cramming . Do you think the industry has taken a Strong Enough stand . Guest that is what amy andi were talking about and we had hackers on this so we need to be careful. Host would you support legislation . Guest it depends on what it says. We want to protect our consum consumers. How do you think the landscape will change if the republicans take control . Guest it is bipartisan and bicarmel issues we have to make sure consumers have for what they need. Most people love their phones and checking on them but i am not sure they love the things the Wireless Industry does where it is data cap or fees. So you can love the product guest think about the bipartisan things. Infrastructure we all believe we need more built out to connect our lives. We believe federal incentives are something we can work with so we can figure out how to ince incentivize to repurpose the mobile broad ban for all of our use. We look at the technology the government is using and we think we should talk about how the federal Government Agencies can use the platform to improve their services as well as have more modern technologies. Host commissioner baker, how are people using their cellphones . What have you found . Well it is really incredible. It is connected learning. If you look at the kids, it is all they use. I think the Hispanic Chamber of commerce wrote a letter saying 910 hispanics are totally dependent on their mobile phone and they dont want the fcc to change the rules regarding Net Neutrality because the hispanic community, business and consumers, have grown dependent on the mobile platform. It is enhancing our lives in education, health and mobile payments. I have been lucky enough to travel with this job. I was down at atlanta at at t connecting car and it was so exciting. I said we need to bring it to washington, d. C. And next week we have a connected car event so everyone can see what the technology is going to do to cars today and tomorrow and make us more connected but more importantly it will make us more safe. It is really exciting. Host what about the distracted driving issue . Guest we are concerned about that. I feel strongly one cannot text and drive. I think this is a serious problem. We need to education and have laws that dont allow it and we need to enforce and it teach it to our children and integrate that into the car so it makes it safer and not distracted. Host we have been living in a 4g world. When will be in a 5g world . Guest that is a good question. You are right, we need to think about 5g. The rest of the world is. It is no longer a wireless issue. It is an economic issue. You see countries like korea and japan talking about it and we need to talk about it to. The commissioner has been on the forefront and we will see them from the auctions happening at the beginning. My guess is that spectrum is purposed for 5g and we will see it roll out in 2020. Host it is important to have four National Carriers . Do you have a problem with sprint or tmobile merging . Guest there are tons of rural carriers. This is the most competitive industy i have seen. These guys are competing. Host do you have a problem with the merger . Guest we dont take positions on the mergers. The carriers have been increasing 911 location accuracy and i am wondering if you can address why. I feel like if i am in a building and have my phone i want 911 to know where we are. Why are customers resisting this . Guest we want to bring the next generation of 911 and what i feel strongly with bringing the players to the table. What do the Public Safety officials need so they can deliver that . We want a relistic technology tested and with that solution we have a time table that rolls out. We want to make sure customers are safer and excited about the benefits of next generation 911. We want to come up with a realistic resolution we can achieve. Is it the time table or the technology tripping people up . Guest it is both. When we run the test on what solutions we thought were going to work they dont work yet. So it is both. Is that something the carriers could make more of a lead on . Guest we all want this to happen and think it is critically important that ems can find you not only in this building but at this table. Host commissioner, fbi director recently spoke up and said he thinks it is important apple and verizon have locaters in their phone so they can track them. What is your position . Guest privacy is a balance. We want to protect consumers privacy and work with law enforcement. We want to continue to work with law enforcement. Encryption is important for protection of privacy and data so it as a balance. It is always a balance with privacy and law enforcement. A lot of the laws you are referring to they are from 1984 and 1986 much like the communications act. Because the industry changed so much it might be a good idea to look at them host what are you hearing from consumers who say it accept important to know where i am at all times . Guest i think it is important it be opt in and consumers Pay Attention to see whether they want to be located or not. I personal love all of the benefits that location, accuracy and all of the apps are providing me. I dont know if i could find a restaurant without some of those apps. I certainly love everything that that is bringing to me on my phone. But i also aware of the fact i am giving up some privacy. I think as long as it is opt in and they get to make their own choices. Host do you think we will live in an apps world for a while . Guest i think i am excited about where we are now. If you said in 2010 would we live in a apps world i would never have thought we would have thousands and the benefits they are brought to our economy and lives so i hope so. How long have you been a tta . Four months. How is this difference working with nbc . Guest it is entirely different. Nbc was a fantastic job and i will be so grateful and i would never have left except for ctia. I started by career there so it is coming full circle for me. Most of my career has led me in dealing with spectrum in one way other. Rather it was the federal government, broadcaster or running the part over at the studio. So i am grateful and happy to be here. When you were in college you were like yes, i want to be in charge of spectrum and be in charge of tech niical things. How did you fall into this . Guest i tell people they go into their career and it is Straight Line or maybe like nowhere me and i ended up in affairs and then one job after another led me to spectrum. Host and Meredith Attwell baker has a bachelor of art from washington and a law degree from the university of houston so you are not a techy by trade. And final question. California passed the kill switch law. What is the industrys position and do you see it going nationally . Guest we worked hard with that. I am proud of the stolen phones and how we stepped up. We have education on how to protect your phone and what to do when it is stolen. We worked on a database as well as agreeing to have a tool kit for stolen phones as part of your phone w