and jessica rosenworcel are here. >> these are huge nominations. and they have the best effect on the future of our country, whether for better or for worse. i think it is hard to overstate the importance of the federal communications commission and its reach. >> here to discuss the nominations and the confirmations are the two well- known technology reporters. amy shots, senator rockefeller seemed to hit this very hard, that this is a very important and that these nominations were very important. what was his goal with that? >> i think he has a vested

interest in this in a way that most senate commerce committee chairman really don't. they really want to have five people in the commission because it is hard for those to find consensus. when you look at mergers, you need to have five people in there. this is something that has been going on for a while and there were excited to finally get through this week. >> cecilia, what do we know about jessica rosenworcel? >> we have seen her for five years. she was sitting behind the senator in many hearings on the hill. she and ajit pai are veterans in the industry. a new technology policy inside and out give their not -- they are coming with thick and patted pedigrees when it comes to this subject matter. what is interesting about them

is that they're coming at a time when the fcc is going through tremendous transformation. the communication industry's going through human this transformation from legacy technologies, like the plain old phone, and dsl internet to broadband internet and wireless. these two nominees represent this generation that lived it more so than maybe other members in the past. they're coming not only with expertise, but from straddling this generation of straddling the legacy and the future. >> ajit pai and jessica rosas world both work for -- >> she spent eight years at the ftc in various roles. she has a much bigger

resume. he has been in litigation for the first years because he could get confirmed. he brings a broader experience than perhaps rosenworcel will. cecilia's right. they're both very young, early- 40's, and it will be interesting to see how they interact. >> nomination hearings were held last november. why has it been so long? why are we talking about them being processed now in may? >> they got caught up in an issue that did not address them specifically. it was an investigation that

another senator had been pursuing with the fcc, trying to understand its decisions on licensing and waivers and different permissions given. so senator grassley has been investigating this and he thought the sec was not cooperative in handing over documents. to keep pressure on the fcc, he threatened to withhold nominations, holding up nominees from being confirmed and heading the agency. so they got caught up in politics. >> how does that affect the work of the fcc. they have had three commissioners for several months. >> they do not seem to have done very much in the last few months. i am not sure that has anything to do the fact that there were down two bodies were fed has more to do with the fact that

they don't have the same ambitions in the agenda right now appeared everybody wants to see five commissioners at the agency could be like to have more people in the room. they like to have more people to bounce ideas off of. you have different people bringing in different perspectives when you're talking about conditions and things like that. it is something that the industry really wanted, to have them get through this process. they did not have objections raised to either of them pierre >> there has not been a lot of activity at the fcc. perhaps the biggest agenda item will be the incentive action from the wireless spectrum. but this is also an election year. even though there is a full commission, you may not necessarily see a jump-start in this agency also, at the end of the election, who knows whether

there will be more shake up? we could see transition at the very top as well. for the time being, there may not be major changes at the fcc, the agenda, as well as seeing much activity as well. >> cecilia mentioned a set of options. and bolivia snow, during the nomination hearing -- and olivia snow, during nomination hearing, mention that. >> won his incentive options. i think there's a disproportion on incentive options. the fcc believes it will yield 24% of the megahertz. on the other hand, that is a very small amount of what will be required by 2020 in terms of the demand and the explosive growth in wireless broadband. rauf so how best to develop

these technological innovations? what should be done in order to establish a better approach than just relying on incentive options? >> thank you for the question. i know you have done a lot of work on this. i would say that we have a real demand for spectrum, but we would be foolish if all we did was rely on things like incentive options and the auctioning attacks. we're up to start devoting our intelligence and resources toward developing better technologies that use spectrum more efficiently and setting the policy of network so we can be more efficient with the networks we have today. >> what time frame should that happen? >> it should happen immediately. >> can it happen immediately? >> if confirmed, i can tell you that i would certainly make it a point of trying to do my best to do so. >> thank you. >> i also think, if confirmed, i

would urge the commission to do whatever to create a regulatory framework that incentivizes the development as quick as possible. >> they are preaching to the choir. they are in for it anyway for spectrum and jusin the industry. they do not really set the agenda at the fcc could you have to look at the issues. there's only so much that they can do individually to push this forward. it is certainly an issue that is worth looking at. >> olivia snow says she thinks there's too much reliance on incentive options. >> and commissioner rosenworcel agreed. there are a lot of different pieces to this puzzle and figuring out how to get more spectrum out. one includes mergers as well. verizon is trying to buy

spectrum from cable companies. this is on the heels of the fcc audacious decision to block another merger in in the headlines. there will be a lot on where they stand on the merger going in. i think that is one of the biggest issues wall street will look at right away. there are a lot of questions as to how successful incentive options themselves can be. they can give up spectrum for options pared by the time the incentive options are put into place, the chairman may not even be there anymore. jessica rosenworcel and ajit pai are going into adopt a plan that they did not conceive in many ways.

so there are a lot of questions about how far this goes, how spectrum plans in general will pan out over the next couple of years, given what is predicted to be a lot of change. >> cecilia's right. it will take years for any kind of options planning. the last time they tried this, it was a couple of years and that was not anywhere near as complex as what you're talking about with incentive options. the whole thing will be very complex. she is right in that we may not chenokowsky.chaikovsk >> are we hearing things? are there rumors going around? >> if you ask the chairman directly, and we both have, he

will say that he plans to fulfill his full term. that said, it to look back at history, when there is transition, if president obama is reelected, there's a changing of guards and a lot of positions and appointees in different agencies. he served a full four years. >> amy, have we seen any leading by these two nominees for cable or wireless or broadcaster any kind of a perceived by this? >> i have not. i don't think people really know as much about ajit pai as much as jessica rosenworcel. and even with jessica, your not sure where she stands on issues. she was just being a good staffer and conveying the beliefs of proboscis.

-- of her bosses. it is not obvious the to have any bias in the way. 10 years ago, ajit pai worked for verizon for a color of years. but it has not -- for a couple of years. , but there is not really clear that any of the more. >> they were both widely supported -- >> across the industries? >> that is right. >> private-sector background, but think he represented ncta. we will see if he has to recuse himself from certain positions. he was advising the chairman on the xm serius merger appeared just because you worked on one

project, that does mean that you have a particular bias. it means that you were being a good foot soldier and you have the policy goals of the committee york for the body or the -- of the committee you worked for. there are not a lot of commissioners who have worked in the private sector in the past and currently. >> senator jim demint is a member of the commerce committee and another issue that the two new fcc commissioners will face this u.s. stamp reform. >> do you think the sec has the authority to expand the contribution based for universal service fund to internet service providers? >> under the communications act,

the commission has authority, but it has discretionary authority on telecommunications services, which are a component of information services which can be described as broadband. i think that is the state of the current statute and it would certainly commit to abide by that. >> you admit that in a services fall under telecommunications. >> i think a portion of it could. some of it is interstate communications services. the challenge is making sure that the revenue base is strong enough to support the type of universal service reforms that the agency just adopted last month. >> you think the fcc now has the authority to assess fees to the internet service providers to fund universal service fund. >> it has the authority under the statute for

telecommunications, not information services. >> can you really divide an internet service provider that provides both? you're talking about assessing fees to part of their services and not to others. >> i apologize paired i am getting fairly legal right now appeared let me say it more simply. the current system is supported by telecommunications services, long-distance services as we commonly know them. the challenge going forward is making sure that we have a system that can support universal service in rural areas could by the agency will need to look at new systems, like the ones that were proposed in the last administration that involved connection and not necessarily internet or broadband services, but connection. >> mr. pai, any thoughts? >> of course, the commission

having recently released the universal service order and been indicated that it intends to look at the mechanism next year, i think it should look at the nature of the statutory authority before assessing fees in the manner you suggest. >> that was a jumble, wasn't it? it is not really the fault of the commissioners. it points to this underlying question/intention at the fcc. what is its role these days? what is its point and its purpose? the telecommunications services, its role over broadband internet services is under question and that created a firestorm over the last few years what is the fcc possibility to regulate rates for non-discrimination statute or what have you on internet broadband providers?

there are big battles that have taken place and they currently are put there in court over neutrality and the big issue that seems so passe today, but it was just a couple of years ago that it was the hottest issue at the fcc. these issues do not go away. as long as there is any sort of regulation over internet service providers, you will have some parties to say that the fcc cannot have the authority to regulate and others who say they absolutely do. and interest groups say let's try to settle this once and for all and redefine how we are and rewrite our rules coul. how can it carve out its agenda and execute its agenda when these basic questions are still being debated? as to what the role is of the fcc? >> i think that was a great clip

to show the difference between the two commissioners, to. commissioner rosenworcel came down on the side that the ftc has the authority -- i am not sure where she was going with some of that. but, under the law, they have that authority to extend it to the internet. but it shows the ideological divide between them. >> where was senator demint going with that question? did he have an agenda? >> i could be wrong. i do not think he necessarily want contributions paid for by internet lines. >> senator called shark asked about competition and mergers. >> what role do you think the fcc should play to ensure adequate competition in the

communications market? >> i think that come increasingly, we will see more intermodal competition to make sure there's more wireless spectrum available so there can be more competition for wireless. that is a good place to start. >> i would build upon that answer, simply by saying that, to the extent that the commission can do so, it should make sure that the rules of the road don't differentiate from the particular technology that is used. a lot of times, the commission is dealing with regulations that apply to telecommunications carriers, but not to cable providers. to cable providers, but not to wireless copywriterproviders. it is important to ensure that everybody is playing on a level playing field. >> it is something that we saw throughout that hearing. commissioner rosenworcel had very defined well articulated

views on these issues because she has been doing this for a long time. she is very comfortable in front of the senate committee pare. there is quite broad support of most of these commissioners, no matter what their party is, and they feel that the communications law has not kept up with technology appeared they are struggling to apply the rules to technology. that is something that they can agree on. >> something that ajit pai said was that he thought the rules of the road should apply uniformly across different technologies. did i get that correctly? >> i was not sure what he was referring to, if he had anything in my coming particular order, a particular role. i think that goes along more with the general spirit for support for free markets and having a level playing field something you hear quite a bit from republicans is that, for

example, by deciding if certain big companies should not participate in an auction. that way, you're inadvertently seeking favorites in the private sector. generally, most republicans would agree that is better to let the market decide. i think it is more of a comment on the general free-market. i don't know could i didn't get much from that comment. >> what is another issue that the commission and these two will be facing in the near future? >> a think spectrum auctions and the deployment of that. it will be a long fog i think not neutrality will always prickly on the side as to what the authority is. there will be questions of immediate ownership going forward. and if the current commission

would support trying to reestablish that rule. i think one issue that is very interesting going forward, and commissioner rosenworcel's committee addresses, which is the role of federal government in online video, whether data caps, bandwidth, restrictions by internet service providers should be regulated in any sort of way and be faithful to its net neutrality rules. you have a lot of companies -- you have some companies like netflix that are really lobbying to make sure that companies like there's don't get surprised -- suppressed because of data caps. the whole world of internet service providers and the fight over the future of tv and online

videos will be very interesting. i'm not sure how they would address that, but it is something that people will long be around. >> amy, what do you see? >> i agree with cecilia. i think it will be fascinating to watch the issue appeared we're still waiting for the supreme court to decide whether the fcc even has authority. we have had six-seven years of complaints that have piled up because the fcc has not been able to act on them pierre >> why? >> because their legal authority has been challenged. so the basis for what they were going to be doing, the foundation of it had been challenged by broadcasters who were upset with former chairman kevin martin and what they called the reign of terror. we expect the courts to rule in the monday now.

for commissioner rosenworcel, both of her bosses were hard- core in their beliefs that the fcc should be very stretched on how they enforce decency rules. we really don't know how she comes down on some of that stuff. i think that will be fascinating. rosenworcel worki for rockefeller, right? >> wright. toumy was there. >> december, a year ago, the commission adopted the open internet order, currently the subject of litigation before the d.c. circuit court of appeals. in the event the commission loses that case, which is a possibility, of course, would you reach comment on whether not you support the idea of

reclassifying broadband as a telecommunications service under tight to of the act? >> as i noted earlier, the commission has had a practice for the last decade of treating their services as information services, pursuant to title one. the supreme court upheld that approach pipet think there has been a fair amount of reliance on it. but the final decision would depend on the findings of the d.c. circuit. i would agree to abide by that as commissioner. >> i would have some concerns about reclassification to the extent that the imposition of those types of common carrier regulations might dampen economic investment and the willingness to take risks. that is something that might harm consumers. to that extent, i would be hesitant, especially if it came in the wake of two court of appeals decisions that the

commission lacks authority elsewhere to pursue that route. >> amy, what did you hear? >> that is the biggest issue they're facing next year. we're not doing anything on it neutrality right now. we're waiting for the d.c. circuit. but when they do and if they come down and say, like they did with comcast, and throw out the fcc's rules, the fcc is in a real bind because the whole thing is based on title 1. if that gets tossed, they cannot do that unless congress gives them authority. they can go under title 2. this brings a lot of other regulations on top of broadband providers that they don't want. >> you mentioned earlier that this is an election year. will anything happen? does this have happened? >> not necessarily. i think you will see a lot of

private companies are doing, continuing to argue that the fcc does not have authority. i will say that one thing that is interesting is that jessica's answer is not to say i don't think we need to classify. she said, as it stands, i feel pretty good. but like a music, if title one is tossed out or the end of standing -- or the understanding word to decide to reclassified under title 2, she doesn't say that she disagrees necessarily. ajit pai does disagree. her thinking is much more with the chairman office, which is back and forth. we do think, we don't need, we're not sure, we found a third way -- it is unclear paired i think that has been strategic,

actually. they do not want to do something that controversial at this point. >> the one thing you would say about jessica is she is not a wallflower. she definitely has strong points of view appeared on it neutrality, even when she was a staffer, and there were doing the at&t bellsouth merger, she was one of the people behind the scenes arguing for net neutrality imposed on that merger could i think this is where she would be very strong -- on the merger. i think this is where she would be very strong. >> with five commissioners now on board again, how will this change the dynamic within the commission itself. they have had a small group of three. now they will add two more staff, more opinions, more meetings. will this slowdown the process? >> i think you'll just see a continuation of this sort of

pointed views that come from the different parties. it will be democrat-dominated and you'll continue to see that there are no out fliers among the current commissioners. and the once that art -- and the ones coming into not seem like out fliers provide think you will see a continuation of things. in terms of slowing things down, some might argue that some things have not been particularly fast now and there's not much too slow. so, no, i don't think you will see a lot of change. >> i think mcdonald's will seem a little less alone. they will be friends and be together. i imagine there will be a very unified voting bloc appeared you have -- voting bloc. i think commissioner rosenworcel is kind of in the middle, kind of the swing vote, and that will make it interesting. >