WEBVTT - FCC Chair Brendan Carr Talks Electromagnetic Spectrum 

0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:02.360
<v Speaker 1>Hope we get it back to our special coverage of Milkin.

0:00:02.400 --> 0:00:04.320
<v Speaker 1>And please to say that the chair of the US

0:00:04.360 --> 0:00:08.119
<v Speaker 1>Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, joined us right now. Brendan,

0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:10.200
<v Speaker 1>great to see you here. I know you've been making

0:00:10.200 --> 0:00:12.960
<v Speaker 1>the grounds. You had a panel here. Everyone right now

0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:16.560
<v Speaker 1>wants to know what the SCC's role is right now

0:00:16.880 --> 0:00:20.079
<v Speaker 1>in the broader policies, particularly when it comes to infrastructure

0:00:20.120 --> 0:00:21.800
<v Speaker 1>being rolled out by the White House.

0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:22.600
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, thanks for if.

0:00:22.600 --> 0:00:25.000
<v Speaker 3>President Trump has been very clear he wants to unleash

0:00:25.079 --> 0:00:27.560
<v Speaker 3>America's private sector to build again. If you look back

0:00:27.560 --> 0:00:30.920
<v Speaker 3>the last four years, so many infrastructure projects got bogged

0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.120
<v Speaker 3>down in dreams of red tape. We saw it with

0:00:33.120 --> 0:00:36.240
<v Speaker 3>this forty two billion dollar Internet infrastructure plan that went nowhere.

0:00:36.400 --> 0:00:38.400
<v Speaker 2>And so we've directed us to deregulate.

0:00:38.400 --> 0:00:41.600
<v Speaker 3>In fact, we've engaged in the most massive deregulation effort

0:00:41.760 --> 0:00:42.919
<v Speaker 3>at the FEC that we've ever done.

0:00:42.960 --> 0:00:45.720
<v Speaker 2>It's underway right now. We've closed and looking to close

0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:46.960
<v Speaker 2>two thousand.

0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:48.680
<v Speaker 3>Dockets that have been opened. But probably the most important

0:00:48.680 --> 0:00:50.760
<v Speaker 3>thing we can do for the economy right now is spectrum.

0:00:50.800 --> 0:00:53.120
<v Speaker 3>These are the airways that your smartphones use. We made

0:00:53.120 --> 0:00:54.520
<v Speaker 3>a lot of progress. I thought they're in the first

0:00:54.520 --> 0:00:57.360
<v Speaker 3>Trump administration. We fell behind a little bit during Biden.

0:00:57.520 --> 0:00:59.720
<v Speaker 3>We need to do hundreds of megaherts out in the marketplace.

0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.880
<v Speaker 3>That's deflationary, is going to drive down prices for consumers,

0:01:03.040 --> 0:01:04.160
<v Speaker 3>is being pro competitive too?

0:01:04.319 --> 0:01:07.800
<v Speaker 1>Those dockets, I mean, what actually accelerated that? What was

0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:08.360
<v Speaker 1>the outcome?

0:01:08.800 --> 0:01:10.560
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, So right now we're targeting all of those, we're

0:01:10.560 --> 0:01:13.640
<v Speaker 3>seeking comment on it. We've already closed over one hundred dockets.

0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:14.880
<v Speaker 3>We're doing a massive.

0:01:14.600 --> 0:01:17.520
<v Speaker 2>Deregulation initiative, and permitting reform is so key.

0:01:17.520 --> 0:01:18.840
<v Speaker 3>You know, we have these rules on the books that

0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:21.840
<v Speaker 3>force broadband providers like AT and T to invest billions

0:01:21.880 --> 0:01:24.640
<v Speaker 3>of dollars in old copper line networks or we're taking

0:01:24.640 --> 0:01:26.280
<v Speaker 3>a fresh look at that so they can move that

0:01:26.360 --> 0:01:29.959
<v Speaker 3>investment over to high speed IP networks. So it's effectively

0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.720
<v Speaker 3>moving billions of dollars of capital into new net network.

0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:35.080
<v Speaker 3>So these are some of the economic agendas that we're running.

0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:36.560
<v Speaker 2>At the agency. So what was the timeline and all

0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:37.679
<v Speaker 2>of this it's a lot.

0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:39.200
<v Speaker 4>To get through, But what is the timeline that you

0:01:39.240 --> 0:01:40.000
<v Speaker 4>guys are looking at?

0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:41.800
<v Speaker 2>It is our direction is move on Trump speeds that

0:01:41.840 --> 0:01:43.840
<v Speaker 2>we're moving very quickly. In the first hundred days.

0:01:43.640 --> 0:01:45.720
<v Speaker 3>Already, we've taken action across many.

0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:46.120
<v Speaker 2>Of these fronts.

0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:48.640
<v Speaker 3>Also, national security, we set up a new Council on

0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:50.920
<v Speaker 3>National Security at the FCC. We're making sure that we're

0:01:50.960 --> 0:01:54.280
<v Speaker 3>not vulnerable to threats that come from communist China.

0:01:54.040 --> 0:01:54.560
<v Speaker 2>For instance.

0:01:54.720 --> 0:01:56.680
<v Speaker 3>We're looking at making sure that people can make and

0:01:56.720 --> 0:01:59.160
<v Speaker 3>manufacture things here in the US as well.

0:01:59.320 --> 0:02:01.800
<v Speaker 2>So we're running a economic agenda. Wh're pretty proud of

0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:02.480
<v Speaker 2>it when you're.

0:02:02.320 --> 0:02:04.960
<v Speaker 4>Hearing from members of the telecom community about what they

0:02:05.000 --> 0:02:07.680
<v Speaker 4>can do in terms of manufacturing here in the United States.

0:02:07.760 --> 0:02:08.680
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there's a lot we can do.

0:02:08.760 --> 0:02:10.760
<v Speaker 3>For instance, no piece of electronics can be used in

0:02:10.760 --> 0:02:13.000
<v Speaker 3>the US unless it's tested in a lab. But so

0:02:13.080 --> 0:02:15.480
<v Speaker 3>far as seventy five percent of those testings take place

0:02:15.520 --> 0:02:16.280
<v Speaker 3>inside China.

0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:18.639
<v Speaker 2>So we're looking at steps we can do to resure a.

0:02:18.600 --> 0:02:20.400
<v Speaker 3>Lot of that testing as well, and that'll help.

0:02:20.360 --> 0:02:22.440
<v Speaker 2>Give US manufacturers a boost.

0:02:22.600 --> 0:02:24.280
<v Speaker 1>How long would it take to do that, you know.

0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:25.560
<v Speaker 2>I think it can be pretty short order.

0:02:25.560 --> 0:02:27.440
<v Speaker 3>We already have some of that testing here already, so

0:02:27.480 --> 0:02:29.240
<v Speaker 3>we're taking steps to sort of further do it.

0:02:29.400 --> 0:02:30.760
<v Speaker 2>But these are just you know, parts of.

0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:33.000
<v Speaker 3>The pieces we're running at the FCC, it's a really

0:02:33.000 --> 0:02:35.520
<v Speaker 3>important agenda. Again, We've got to unleash America's private sector.

0:02:35.560 --> 0:02:36.440
<v Speaker 2>They were held back.

0:02:36.800 --> 0:02:40.840
<v Speaker 3>Too long by different red tapes and regulations permiting reform. Again,

0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:42.760
<v Speaker 3>as I mentioned, a lot of state and local regulations

0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:44.360
<v Speaker 3>still slow down internet builds.

0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:46.080
<v Speaker 2>There's a role for the FC to step in there

0:02:46.240 --> 0:02:47.320
<v Speaker 2>and help clear the way.

0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:51.240
<v Speaker 3>But spectrum permitting reform, deregulation, that's the driving agenda at

0:02:51.240 --> 0:02:51.600
<v Speaker 3>the FCC.

0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:52.960
<v Speaker 2>I think it's gonna be great for the economy.

0:02:53.000 --> 0:02:55.720
<v Speaker 1>How unified is this approach from the administration. We had

0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.400
<v Speaker 1>the Director of the White House Office of Science and

0:02:58.480 --> 0:03:00.880
<v Speaker 1>Technology on a little bit earlier. He obviously talked a

0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:05.880
<v Speaker 1>lot about reclaiming of the US's lead and technology relative

0:03:05.880 --> 0:03:07.519
<v Speaker 1>to the rest of the world, particularly when it comes

0:03:07.600 --> 0:03:09.400
<v Speaker 1>to AI. Is the FCC a.

0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:10.600
<v Speaker 2>Part of that, Yeah, for sure.

0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.320
<v Speaker 3>Look, President Trump was put together just an all star team,

0:03:13.680 --> 0:03:17.040
<v Speaker 3>particularly this second administration. Everybody is fully aligned. They're executing

0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:19.440
<v Speaker 3>the president's agenda. You mentioned AI. I mean that's going

0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.280
<v Speaker 3>to be the use case that's going to drive some

0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:23.400
<v Speaker 3>of these telecom networks. That's how we have to get

0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:24.960
<v Speaker 3>more spectrum out or that's all we have to make

0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:27.480
<v Speaker 3>it easier to invest in these new high speed networks.

0:03:27.520 --> 0:03:28.520
<v Speaker 2>When you look at the data.

0:03:28.400 --> 0:03:32.040
<v Speaker 3>Demands of AI, you know, data generally is going up,

0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:33.720
<v Speaker 3>but AI is going to increase through the roof.

0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:36.640
<v Speaker 1>Where do we stand though, on spectrum? Because I've heard

0:03:36.640 --> 0:03:39.840
<v Speaker 1>that before. What's out there? And even though some of

0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:42.200
<v Speaker 1>the spectrum that has been released over the last few

0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:45.560
<v Speaker 1>years there have been some concerns that they might be

0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:48.680
<v Speaker 1>causing in appearance, particularly with some of the recent incidents

0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.600
<v Speaker 1>that we've had in aviation. Here can that sort of

0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:52.680
<v Speaker 1>coexists altogether?

0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:55.160
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, Look, you know, thankfully President Trump is a playbook

0:03:55.200 --> 0:03:58.080
<v Speaker 3>on this. In twenty seventeen, we had fallen far behind China.

0:03:58.280 --> 0:03:59.760
<v Speaker 3>He stepped up and said, look, I want to lead

0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:00.760
<v Speaker 3>in five, I want to.

0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:01.440
<v Speaker 2>Lead in sixty.

0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:04.600
<v Speaker 3>Who cleared hundreds of megahertz of spectrum? We fell behind China.

0:04:04.640 --> 0:04:06.560
<v Speaker 3>The reality is we are falling behind China right now.

0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:08.720
<v Speaker 3>But we have the playbook. President Trump is going to

0:04:08.720 --> 0:04:11.320
<v Speaker 3>step in. We're working right now. Chairman Ted Cruz and

0:04:11.400 --> 0:04:13.920
<v Speaker 3>the Senate is working hard to get spectrum across the

0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:14.560
<v Speaker 3>finish line.

0:04:14.720 --> 0:04:16.520
<v Speaker 2>We can put it in reconciliation and.

0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:18.200
<v Speaker 3>That's going to help pay for a lot of the

0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:19.680
<v Speaker 3>efforts that people want to do in there. It's going

0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:22.000
<v Speaker 3>to be eighty billion dollars or more to be raised

0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:23.840
<v Speaker 3>if we start auctioning this spectrum.

0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:24.120
<v Speaker 2>Off cheer card.

0:04:24.160 --> 0:04:26.039
<v Speaker 4>What does this do for people who really don't have

0:04:26.279 --> 0:04:29.440
<v Speaker 4>access when it comes to telecommunications, are rural areas we

0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:31.800
<v Speaker 4>have so much of this post pandemic. Everyone has talked

0:04:31.800 --> 0:04:34.400
<v Speaker 4>about helping these areos for a long time. How do

0:04:34.440 --> 0:04:35.960
<v Speaker 4>you actually help those Americans?

0:04:36.040 --> 0:04:37.160
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, there's a couple things we're doing there.

0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:39.160
<v Speaker 3>When we get more spectrum out that will bring people

0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:42.400
<v Speaker 3>across the digital divide, will give people more competitive options.

0:04:42.440 --> 0:04:44.480
<v Speaker 3>But also think about this new generation of low worth

0:04:44.560 --> 0:04:47.839
<v Speaker 3>orbit satellites, whether it's Starlink, Kyper just started launching, there's

0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.440
<v Speaker 3>other providers out there. When we bring that together as

0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:52.880
<v Speaker 3>part of the solution, that's really the long term key

0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:54.240
<v Speaker 3>to bridging the digital.

0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:55.320
<v Speaker 2>Divide in a cost effective way.

0:04:55.440 --> 0:04:57.520
<v Speaker 4>Well, that's interesting that you bring up Elon Musk Starling.

0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:00.599
<v Speaker 4>Does we know his certainly close relationship with the president.

0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:02.640
<v Speaker 4>I mean, how much of the work you are doing

0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:05.040
<v Speaker 4>is kind of focusing on his kind of technology.

0:05:05.400 --> 0:05:07.280
<v Speaker 3>Well, look, I think the space economy in general is

0:05:07.279 --> 0:05:09.120
<v Speaker 3>probably one of our top three issues that we're doing

0:05:09.120 --> 0:05:09.720
<v Speaker 3>at the FCC.

0:05:10.040 --> 0:05:11.719
<v Speaker 2>We need to start moving much more quickly.

0:05:11.720 --> 0:05:14.240
<v Speaker 3>It took years to get the permits necessary for a

0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:16.040
<v Speaker 3>lot of the communications for these satellites.

0:05:16.160 --> 0:05:17.360
<v Speaker 2>We need to be doing that in a matter of

0:05:17.480 --> 0:05:19.680
<v Speaker 2>days and weeks. But it's not just starling. But they

0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:20.279
<v Speaker 2>do it safely.

0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:20.440
<v Speaker 1>Though.

0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:22.760
<v Speaker 4>There is some concern about how many satellites are up

0:05:22.760 --> 0:05:23.600
<v Speaker 4>in space at this point.

0:05:23.600 --> 0:05:24.719
<v Speaker 2>We just did a big deep.

0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.880
<v Speaker 4>Dive yere at Bloomberg about concerns about satellites coming down.

0:05:27.920 --> 0:05:30.240
<v Speaker 4>I mean, there is a process here.

0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:31.200
<v Speaker 2>How do you do this safely?

0:05:31.279 --> 0:05:34.039
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, we feel comfortable. There's order debri mitigation rules that

0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:36.600
<v Speaker 3>are in place. We license all the satellites. At the

0:05:36.640 --> 0:05:38.120
<v Speaker 3>end of the day, we feel very comfortable that we

0:05:38.160 --> 0:05:38.599
<v Speaker 3>can still.

0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:40.040
<v Speaker 2>Get thousands of more satellites out there.

0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:42.239
<v Speaker 3>We get in The new trend is direct to people's

0:05:42.240 --> 0:05:44.400
<v Speaker 3>cell phone, and that's something that's just emerging.

0:05:44.400 --> 0:05:45.320
<v Speaker 2>In fact, we've given.

0:05:45.120 --> 0:05:48.840
<v Speaker 3>Providers authority to go higher power from these LEO satellites

0:05:48.839 --> 0:05:52.039
<v Speaker 3>system to get even better direct to sell capabilities. This

0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:54.039
<v Speaker 3>is a really exciting area.

0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.200
<v Speaker 1>I want you to talk though, particularly when it comes

0:05:56.240 --> 0:05:58.640
<v Speaker 1>to the satellites in space, because obviously a lot of

0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:02.239
<v Speaker 1>competition between nations for that real estate, if you will.

0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:06.240
<v Speaker 1>In the air. The US obviously had the first mover advantage.

0:06:06.600 --> 0:06:10.120
<v Speaker 1>China has been launching like crazy. India now trying to

0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.400
<v Speaker 1>get into the mix, and we're seeing other countries, including

0:06:12.440 --> 0:06:15.520
<v Speaker 1>in Latin America also try to find space up there.

0:06:15.800 --> 0:06:17.720
<v Speaker 1>Does this become a conflict at some point?

0:06:18.000 --> 0:06:19.160
<v Speaker 3>Look, I think this is going to be a very

0:06:19.160 --> 0:06:21.680
<v Speaker 3>important geopolitical issue. Is you know, China is trying to

0:06:21.720 --> 0:06:24.200
<v Speaker 3>launch their own version of whether it's Starlink or Kuiper,

0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.200
<v Speaker 3>and when they're able to pair Belton Road with high

0:06:27.200 --> 0:06:31.440
<v Speaker 3>speed internet provided from satellites with their own CCP content

0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.200
<v Speaker 3>moderation builters, that's a real threat going forward. And that's

0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:37.040
<v Speaker 3>why it's so imperative that the SEC moved quickly to

0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.680
<v Speaker 3>allow US providers again a full range of them to

0:06:40.040 --> 0:06:42.400
<v Speaker 3>launch to compete to provide coverage.

0:06:42.400 --> 0:06:43.839
<v Speaker 2>And so that's what we're going to do with the agency.

0:06:44.279 --> 0:06:46.960
<v Speaker 1>I have to ask you just about mergers and acquisitions,

0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:50.279
<v Speaker 1>consolidation in the industry, and not necessarily just consolidation, but

0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:53.040
<v Speaker 1>the idea of strategic partnerships and other things things that

0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:56.159
<v Speaker 1>in the past, not only under the Biden administration, but

0:06:56.240 --> 0:07:00.640
<v Speaker 1>even under previous administrations on the Republican side have maybe

0:07:00.800 --> 0:07:03.080
<v Speaker 1>found I won't say a roadblock, but maybe let's say

0:07:03.120 --> 0:07:05.680
<v Speaker 1>a roadbump, a speed bump, if you will, and getting

0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:08.280
<v Speaker 1>those things done. What type of assurance is can you

0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:11.120
<v Speaker 1>give the industry that if they do find a need

0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:15.360
<v Speaker 1>and a desire for those types of strategic partnerships and acquisitions,

0:07:15.640 --> 0:07:17.320
<v Speaker 1>that the FCC won't stand in the way.

0:07:17.440 --> 0:07:19.600
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, we're certainly open for business. We're talking to lots

0:07:19.600 --> 0:07:21.200
<v Speaker 3>of providers. We have a number of deals before us

0:07:21.280 --> 0:07:23.080
<v Speaker 3>right now. One thing that I've said to everybody though,

0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:26.040
<v Speaker 3>is if you have invidious forms of DEI discrimination, that's

0:07:26.040 --> 0:07:27.280
<v Speaker 3>something that I think you need to get the house

0:07:27.280 --> 0:07:29.920
<v Speaker 3>in order before you come to the FCC for and approved.

0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:31.960
<v Speaker 3>That's one of the gating criteria that I've been looking at.

0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:34.679
<v Speaker 3>But we are open for business. We want investment. President

0:07:34.760 --> 0:07:37.680
<v Speaker 3>Trump wants companies building in America, investing in America, and

0:07:37.680 --> 0:07:38.360
<v Speaker 3>we're going to play.

0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:41.240
<v Speaker 4>Our party paramounts to be asked that deal. What can

0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:41.840
<v Speaker 4>we expect.

0:07:42.120 --> 0:07:43.800
<v Speaker 2>We're running our normal course process on that.

0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:46.559
<v Speaker 3>Again, we probably have three or four big multi billion

0:07:46.600 --> 0:07:48.960
<v Speaker 3>dollar deals at the FCC right now, we're working through

0:07:49.160 --> 0:07:52.000
<v Speaker 3>all of them. We cleared one smaller telecom deal earlier

0:07:52.080 --> 0:07:53.640
<v Speaker 3>this year. It usually takes about one hundred and eighty

0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:54.680
<v Speaker 3>days to get through these deals.

0:07:54.720 --> 0:07:56.760
<v Speaker 2>We're about one hundred days into the Trump.

0:07:56.640 --> 0:07:57.720
<v Speaker 4>Mystery sticking point though.

0:07:57.720 --> 0:07:59.640
<v Speaker 3>At this point, at this point, we're just running our

0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:02.880
<v Speaker 3>normal process, whether it's the CBS deal. We have a

0:08:03.120 --> 0:08:05.800
<v Speaker 3>Verizon Frontier transaction before us. We have a team Mobile,

0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:08.280
<v Speaker 3>US Cellular. We're just getting our teams crunching on all

0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:09.480
<v Speaker 3>the deals right now when it's.

0:08:09.320 --> 0:08:10.000
<v Speaker 2>Just normal force.

0:08:10.880 --> 0:08:12.000
<v Speaker 4>All right, tend our timeline.

0:08:12.320 --> 0:08:14.040
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, no time wins anounce here unfortunately.

0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:16.840
<v Speaker 4>All right, listen, we appreciate we know you're a busy man.

0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:18.360
<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:21.360
<v Speaker 4>FCC Chair Brenda Cart joining us here at Milkin