Carr Lays Out Thoughts on BEAD and Fiber, Other Priorities
Carr also said he was 'confident that we're getting this new auction authority back'.
Drew Clark
WASHINGTON, March 12, 2025 - Speaking at an industry policy summit Tuesday, an exultant Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr outlined key priorities for spectrum, permitting, space, and national security and also weighed in on where, in his view, the Biden administration went wrong on broadband infrastructure.
But even so, Carr acknowledged fiber's pre-eminent role in the broadband landscape: "I think, you know, the lion's share of connections in the country that we're trying to support should be fiber; there's no question about that."
"Throughout 2024, I was really reluctant to speak out publicly on BEAD," Carr said in dialogue with INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering at the group's policy event here. He said he was having "the time of my life" as chairman.
"My own view is that NTIA went way too heavy with a thumb on the scale of fiber."
He expressed confidence that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Arielle Roth, President Trump's nominee to lead the department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration - which runs the broadband program - would address these issues.
"If you're saying that only fiber is good enough, the other way to think about it is you're saying that communities should just sit waiting on the wrong side of the digital divide longer than necessary," he said.
"Because the reality is the heavy, heavy fiber bias was one of the result in us running out of money, but I think, you know, there were over 10 states that were raising their hands and saying they were gonna run out of BEAD dollars before getting the job done, if they went all fiber," he said.
"Louisiana is maybe the exception," Carr said, pointing to Louisiana State Broadband Director Veneeth Iyengar, who spoke earlier in the program and was present in the audience. "They were out of the gate early and they had enough allocations of go with a lot of fiber."
Space, spectrum and China
Beyond BEAD reforms, Carr outlined additional priorities including accelerating permitting reform, increasing spectrum availability to compete with China, strengthening America's position in artificial intelligence infrastructure, and "building on what Chairwoman [Jessica] Rosenworcel did [with the Space Bureau] to get that bureau moving much more quickly."
On spectrum policy, Carr expressed concern that the United States has "fallen behind China" in the availability of prime mid-band spectrum, calling it crucial for both commercial interests and national security.
He said Congress would, with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, at the helm, restore the FCC's authority to auction radio frequencies: "He's very confident that we're getting this new auction authority back, and we have to."
"They passed a bill that creates a healthy pipeline of spectrum, and the FCC is going to implement the law passed by Congress," Carr continued. "I think it's a false choice to say we have spectrum or national security: It's both."
Regarding artificial intelligence, Carr positioned U.S. leadership as essential to ensuring AI development follows a path that prioritizes free speech rather than censorship. "It's clear the direction China is going with AI. It's going to be an authoritarian version of AI," Carr said, urging European nations to partner with the U.S. approach.
Carr also said the FCC would consider whether companies that have diversity, equity and inclusion program are engaging in discriminatory practices. Such practices would be reviewed in considering mergers and acquisitions before the FCC, he said.
