FCC Commissioner Trusty Outlines Four Principles for Communications Policy
Trusty emphasized the importance of infrastructure investment, competition, regulatory flexibility, and international cooperation
WASHINGTON Sept. 3, 2026 – Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Olivia Trusty outlined four broad principles she said should guide communications policy as technology and digital markets continue to evolve.
Speaking Sept. 1 at the 21st International Regulatory Workshop in Cartagena, Colombia, Trusty emphasized the importance of infrastructure investment, competition, regulatory flexibility and international cooperation.
Republican Trusty’s first principle was that successful digital markets depend on continued investment in communications infrastructure that is resilient, adaptable, secure and trusted. She pointed to fiber networks, satellites and wireless systems as the foundation for services ranging from artificial intelligence and telehealth to online education and commerce.
“Every major communications breakthrough to date has depended upon at least one common ingredient: someone was willing to invest in an uncertain future,” Said Trusty.
She said the FCC is working to support that investment by making additional spectrum available, modernizing infrastructure deployment rules, streamlining satellite licensing and updating regulations that no longer reflect current technology and market conditions.
“Our objective is to create an environment in which innovators are able to build, invest, compete, and expand opportunity,” Trusty explained.
Trusty’s second principle emphasizes the changing nature of competition in communications markets. She pointed to fiber competing with fixed wireless, terrestrial broadband competing with satellite and licensed spectrum operating alongside unlicensed technologies.
Rather than viewing competition as something that can be measured at a single point in time, Trusty said regulators should recognize it as a dynamic process shaped by investment, technological advances and new entrants.
“Healthy competition should not be viewed as a fixed destination that can be measured at a single moment in time,” Trusty said.
Her third principle focused on regulatory flexibility. Trusty argued that rules should be based on enduring goals such as consumer protection, competition, public safety and network resilience rather than being tied too closely to particular technologies.
She cited the FCC’s recent changes to spectrum-sharing rules for non-geostationary satellite systems as an example. The changes are intended to give satellite operators greater flexibility while protecting existing services, she said.
Trusty’s final principle was international cooperation. She noted that communications networks, satellites, submarine cables, supply chains and cybersecurity threats increasingly cross national borders. Cooperation on spectrum, interoperability, standards and market access can help countries expand connectivity while maintaining their individual laws and institutions.
“Good regulation should provide guardrails, not a roadmap,” Said Trusty.
Looking ahead, Trusty pointed to the upcoming International Telecommunication Union Plenipotentiary Conference and the 2027 World Radio communication Conference as opportunities for countries to work together on regulatory approaches that encourage investment and innovation.
Across her remarks, Trusty argued that regulators should create conditions that allow communications companies and innovators to invest, compete and experiment without unnecessarily constraining technologies that have yet to emerge.
