FCC
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to Step Down on Inauguration Day, Saying ‘It’s Time for a New Adventure’

November 30, 2020 — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on Monday announced today that he would step down from his current role when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated on January 20, 2021.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve at the Federal Communications Commission,” said Pai of his eight years working at the United States’ telecommunications regulatory agency, in a statement issued Monday morning.
Pai was appointed to the FCC as a commissioner in 2012 by President Barack Obama and was promoted to chairman in 2017 by President Donald Trump.
The soon-to-be former chairman made an appearance in a webinar hosted by Columbia Law School’s Federalist Society on Monday, during which he expanded on his written notice and his time spent at the FCC.
Pai noted the tumultuous political environment he was thrust into, detailing what it was like to serve under two very different presidential administrations.
“With the exception of a few high profile matters, the FCC has been immune from the political partisanship” that effects other spheres of government, said Pai, who stood by his 2017 decision to repeal net neutrality, claiming that a market-based framework serves consumers best.
According to Pai, the day-to-day tasks of the agency have remained largely the same through fluctuations in government.“ The bread-and-butter work that we do has generally not been something that is politically affiliated,” said Pai, adding that the progress the agency has made on bipartisan matters is what he is happiest to consider a part of his legacy.
Pai touts his work on the digital divide
Pai said he was most proud of the agency’s efforts to close the digital divide, expressing it was the number one way he felt he impacted society. He recalled connecting tribal lands in the middle of a low-income region of Wyoming to high-speed gigabit broadband service.
Pai noted that under his leadership the United States set consecutive records for new fiber deployment in 2018 and 2019, with the number of homes passed by fiber increasing by 5.9 million, and then by 6.5 million the following year.
Spectrum auction accelerated
He further recalled that the agency has held five successful spectrum auctions in the past four years, after only holding one in the four years Pai served as a commissioner under the Obama administration.
Pai recognized that the work he and his fellow commissioners did to designate ’988’ as the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. He also touted his efforts to ensure that rates for interstate and international phone calls are reasonable for incarcerated individuals, will be some of his most impactful.
Pai recognized a change in the communications landscape over the course of his career at the FCC, adding that he believes communications regulation must change to meet the moment.
Social media enters the FCC maelstrom
As the first member of the FCC on Twitter in 2012, Pai watched social media sites develop into what they have become today, recalling that in 2012, “no one could criticize social media corporations.”
Yet today there is bipartisan recognition that change is needed. Pai said “it will be interesting to see what Congress will do to regulate big tech.”
Pai detailed the personal thought process behind his October statement on Section 230, which claimed that the FCC does have the legal authority to interpret the terms of Section 230, saying that “there is currently no transparency about how social media companies are making decisions when it comes to content regulation.”
Pai said “the rule making would have allowed the FCC to question broader things, like what it means for social media sites to regulate sites in terms of ‘good faith.’”
Pai offered advice to his successor, whomever it might be, urging that the future FCC chair make efforts to spend time with the FCC’s staff.
“I’m proud to say I’ve done that, and it enabled us to work better as a unit,” said Pai, who referred to the FCC’s staff as the agency’s best asset.
As for what lies ahead, Pai said he is still considering his options and “taking time to think about it.”
“It’s been a great run but it’s time for a new adventure,” said Pai, who joked about potentially replacing Judge Judy or becoming a slot receiver for Kansas City Chiefs.
Plaudits received from industry groups
“Throughout his tenure, and never more so than during these challenging days of the pandemic, Chairman Pai has prioritized bridging the digital divide and connecting all Americans everywhere to 21st century communications networks,” said Jonathan Spalter, US Telecom CEO. “Our nation’s broadband providers who invest in innovation, dig the trenches, pull the fiber, and climb the poles share that commitment.”
“We commend Chairman Pai for his exceptional stewardship of the Federal Communications Commission,” said NCTA CEO Michael Powell, himself a former FCC chairman. “He set a clear vision for his tenure and the industry and pursued it with purpose, transparency, scholarly rigor and courage.
“During his time as chairman he frequently faced overheated criticism and personal attacks that have become sadly common in the sphere of policymaking,” said Powell of NCTA, which also goes by the name of Internet and Television Association. “During his tenure, Chairman Pai pushed for policies that spurred investment and innovation in our nation’s communications networks while also expanding the benefits of broadband to all Americans.”
“Chairman Pai has been a huge champion of the fixed wireless industry, with his FCC’s tireless efforts to identify, free-up and share spectrum that would otherwise have gone fallow,” said Claude Aiken, CEO of the Wireless Internet Service Provider Association. “He helped keep regulation low, and worked to remove other related burdens, which was especially helpful for our small WISP members. And his dedication to reducing the digital divide, in particular in rural America, is without parallel.”
Digital Inclusion
Broadband Association Argues Providers Not Engaged in Rollout Discrimination
Trade group says telecoms are not discriminating when they don’t build in financially difficult areas.

WASHINGTON, September 18, 2023 – Broadband association US Telecom sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission last week saying internet service providers don’t build in certain areas because it is financially difficult, not because they are being discriminatory.
The FCC proposed two definitions of digital discrimination in December 2022: The first definition includes practices that, absent technological or economic constraints, produce differential outcomes for individuals based a series of protected characteristics, including income, race, and religion. The second definition is similar but adds discriminatory intent as a necessary factor.
“To make business determinations regarding capital allocation, an ISP must consider a host of commercially important factors, none of which involve discrimination,” said the September 12 letter from USTelecom, which represents providers including AT&T, Verizon, Lumen, Brightspeed, and Altafiber.
“As the Commission has consistently recognized, such deployment is extremely capital-intensive…This deployment process is therefore subject to important constraints related to technical and economic feasibility” added the letter.
US Telecom explained that ISPs’ will choose to invest where they expect to see a return on the time and money they put into building broadband.
The association added that factors like population density, brand reputation, competition and the availability of the providers’ other services all go into deciding where broadband gets deployed.
“The starting point of the Commission’s approach to feasibility should be a realistic acknowledgement that all ISPs must prioritize their resources, even those that invest aggressively in deployment,” added the letter.
The association also highlighted the fact that it hopes to see as little government intervention in broadband deployment activity as possible, a concern that has been echoed by lobbyists before.
“Rather than attempting to use Section 60506 to justify taking extra-statutory intrusive actions that could paradoxically undermine ongoing broadband investment, the Commission must enable ISPs to make decisions based on their own consideration of the kinds of feasibility factors discussed above” read the letter.
Section 60506 of the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act says that the FCC may implement new policies to ensure equal access to broadband.
The FCC is also looking to develop guidelines for handling digital discrimination complaints filed against broadband providers.
USTelecom said that ISPs should be allowed to demonstrate financial and logistical concerns as a rebuttal to those claims, in addition to disclosing other reasons for directing investment elsewhere to demonstrate non-discriminatory practice.
Reasons for investment elsewhere would include rough terrain, low-population density, MTE owners not consenting to deployment, zoning restrictions, or historical preservation review.
“To aid in the success of the Infrastructure Act and facilitate equal access, the Commission must continue to foster an environment conducive to ISP investment in the high-speed broadband infrastructure that Congress rightly views as central to our connected future,” concluded the letter.
FCC Comments
CAF II Auction Recipients Push FCC to Extend Letter of Credit Waiver, Relax Restrictions
The agency proposed a shorter, more restrictive waiver.

WASHINGTON, September 14, 2023 – Internet service providers who received project funding under the Connect America Fund Phase II Auction are asking the Federal Communications Commission to continue waiving their letter of credit requirements.
The FCC requested in August comments on a proposal to extend the waiver for one year — through December 2024 from the current December 31, 2023 date — and limit it to providers who have filed all location reports on time and have finished at least 60 percent of the total locations they agreed to build in each state. In 2020 the FCC waived the letter of credit requirements — requiring a cash collateral on agreements for risk assessment — for auction recipients in response to the pandemic, allowing them to comply with the less restrictive Rural Digital Opportunity Fund letter of credit rules.
Without the waiver, providers would need to secure letters of credit for all support they had previously received, plus the money they are slated to receive in the coming year. The waiver reduces that requirement to a single year of funding if providers build infrastructure at the agreed upon pace.
Auction recipients, through the Connect America Fund Phase II Coalition, pushed back on both conditions in a filing to the FCC dated Monday and asked for a two-year extension on the waiver, citing long-term economic effects of the pandemic and rising interest rates. That would keep the waiver in place until December 31, 2025, the entire remaining build timeline.
The coalition asked for a lighter deployment threshold, 57 percent of a provider’s obligated locations rather than 60. It also pushed the FCC to include providers who have missed a filing deadline in the waiver, calling the “one strike and you’re out” proposal “disproportionate,” the filing said.
The CAF II auction provided in 2018 nearly $1.5 billion for providers to build out network infrastructure in areas that are expensive to serve. Recipients of funds under the auction are not required to provide broadband speeds, with a minimum requirement of 10 Mbps upload and 1 Mbps upload.
RDOF, which concluded a similar reverse auction in 2020, has allocated over $9 billion for the same purpose, with up to $11.2 million available for a second phase.
Future auctions are in jeopardy, though, as providers defaulted on nearly $3 billion of the initial award. Those that have not defaulted are pressing the FCC for more funding.
More than 300 people in the broadband industry asked the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to remove the requirement for the upcoming $42.5 billion BEAD grant program, arguing it prevents smaller providers with less capital on hand from participating.
FCC
Senate Approves Anna Gomez as Fifth Federal Communications Commissioner
The Democrat-held Senate voted 55-43 in favor of Biden’s second nominee for the spot, after Gigi Sohn withdrew.

WASHINGTON, September 7, 2023 – The Senate voted Thursday to approve Anna Gomez as the fifth commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, finally completing the panel and breaking the party deadlock in favor of the Democrats.
The Democrat-held Senate voted 55-43 in favor of President Joe Biden’s May nomination.
The vote breaks the almost two-and-a-half year delay in filling the last commissioner seat after the FCC was stuck in a deadlock.
Gigi Sohn, an internet advocate and co-founder of Public Knowledge, was originally nominated for the fifth commissioner in October 2021, but stepped down earlier this year, citing “dark money political groups” tainting her career. She had been in front of the Senate commerce committee three times about her nomination, with Republicans accusing her of being partial on the relevant issues.
“Congratulations to Anna Gomez on her confirmation by the United States Senate,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “Anna brings with her a wealth of telecommunications experience, a substantial record of public service, and a history of working to ensure the United States stays on the cutting edge of keeping us all connected.
“Her international expertise will be a real asset to the agency. I look forward to working with her to advance the agency’s mission to ensure the benefits of modern communications reach everyone, everywhere and that the United States can continue to lead in the digital age,” Rosenworcel added.
Positive comments poured from organizations including Free Press Action, America’s Communication Association, and Competitive Carriers Association.
“CCA is enthusiastic about collaborating with Commissioner Gomez and a full Commission to address the evolving challenges and opportunities in the rapidly changing wireless landscape” said CCA president and CEO Tim Donovan in a statement.
Chris Lewis, CEO of Public Knowledge, offered his congratulations to the new commissioner. “We are excited for the diversity and experience Ms. Gomez brings to the agency.”
Gomez served as a senior advisor for international information and communications policy in the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. She served as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2013 and spent over a decade in various positions at the FCC.
Current commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr were also nominated by Biden in May but have yet to get Senate votes. Starks must be voted in before the end of the year or he must resign; Carr can serve throughout 2024 without reconfirmation.
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