FCC at Full Strength with a Full Plate
ITI and its member companies are pleased that with tonight's Senate confirmations of new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler and Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, the FCC is now at full strength. These confirmations could not come at a more critical time for our country and the tech industry.  We look forward to working with Chairman Wheeler and Commissioner O’Rielly on issues that will be of paramount importance to the tech industry for years to come.  
 
First and foremost, in order to address our nation's spectrum needs it will be critical to ensure that the voluntary incentive auction rules are structured to maximize participation, and transition as much spectrum as possible for licensed use.  There will also be important work ahead to maximize unlicensed use in the 5 GHz band.  Lastly, as we look to the future and attempt to surpass the goal laid out by the National Broadband Plan to make 500 MHz of spectrum available for mobile broadband by 2020, we are going to have to work to together to find ways to incentivize the largest spectrum holder in the U.S., the federal government, to utilize spectrum more efficiently and relinquish spectrum for commercial use.
 
There are numerous other pressing items before the FCC, ranging from IP-transition to broadband access improvements in our nation's schools.  As Mr. Wheeler and Mr. O'Rielly take on these challenges, we look forward to working with them to ensure these and other policies implemented by the FCC enhance the environment that has led to such robust growth and innovation in the tech sector.
Public Policy Tags: Broadband, Communications, & Spectrum

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