ajit park ai is -- pai is sort of saying he does disagree.so her thinking aligns much more with the chairman's office which is sort of back and forth. they came up, it was just going back and forth, we do think, we don't -- we're not sure, we found a third way. it's unclear, and i think that's been strategic, actually. they don't want to do something that controversial at this point. >> i think too, though, the one thing you would say about jessica, she's not a waffler. she definitely has very strong points of view on things, and can on net neutrality she's been -- even when she was a staffer for commissioner copps, i remember when they were doing the at&t/bell south merger, she was really arguing to get a condition imposed o thanker her -- imposed on that merger. this is one that i think she would at least explore. final question.

one is the sitting chairman of the f.c.c., ajit pai. chairman pai has led a fascinating life, one punctuated by hard work and success. he had his beginnings in buffalo. he traced a line through canada. it unfolded in a small town of parsons kansas, where chairman pai grew up with his parents, first-generation immigrants from southern india. he was on to harvard after that and then the university of chicago for his law degree pai's resume prior to his employment with the f.c.c. isressive. he worked for a federal judge, worked in the justice department titrust and legal policy divisions. he gained practical experience in the private sector. he served here in the senate as committee staff. he even won a marshal fellowship. he also worked in several positions within the f.c.c. itself. when president obama nominated pai to serve as an f.c.c. commissioner back in then, -- 2011 the senate confirmed him on a voice vote. when the senate considers his nomination again today i hope senators will come together to give him strong support one more tim

. >> eni schatz and ajit pai they both worked in the senate, is that significant cracks skidded one of the things is different about ajit is hughes a brightly broad resonate. the work for german rockefeller for reviews and before that spent years of the fcc in various roles. ajit has a much bigger resume and that he worked more places and he's been in the litigation the past couple of years because he couldn't do anything more but he was also a deputy general counsel, both republican and a democrat and had worked in a couple of different committees over on the hill so he brings a broad experience and he had more intellectual property experience than others said it will be an interesting mix but cecilia is right they are very young in their early 40's and will be interesting to see how the internet. islamic the nomination hearings were held last november. why has it been so long? remind us why we are here in may talking about there being a process. >> gup nominees, bachelet and an issue that didn't even involve them specifically. it was an investigation that another senator, senator chu

and yet ajit pai will not listen. his plan will allow broadband providers to stifle innovation, stifle entrepreneurship. his plan will allow big broadband barons to crush competition, reduce choice, and then make consumers pay more. we cannot allow this to happen. that is why this vote we are about to take is so important. that's why i urge my colleagues to stand up for consumers and to vote no on ajit pai's nomination to be the chairman of the federal communications commission. mr. president, i yield back the balance of my time. andm connecticut. mr. murphy: thank you, mr. president. mr. president, i think all of us felt a familiar knot in our stomach early this morning when we received news of what may be the deadliest mass shooting in american history. the numbers are hard to comprehend. they certainly aren't final. 58 people are dead and perhaps over 500 have been wounded either by the gunshots themselves or by the pandemonium that ensued once the thousands of concert goers in downtown las vegas figured out they w

ajit pai. chairman pai grew up in rural kansas. he told me sometimes when he goes home to visit his panders, he cannot get connected in his own hometown. he knows the challenges facing rural communities. i have had the pleasure of hosting chairman pai and his staff multiple times in west virginia. most recently chairman pai came to war deniesville, west virginia where we have good connectivity and have been able to create nobi nobis. we traveled just 20, 30 miles over to hampshire county where getting high-speed internet hag far more challenging. there he met eric hot who has a small chocolate business. eric has been having trouble following up with orders because he can't get consistent broadband access. last august i held a roundtable table discussion with chairman pai focusing on the digital divide and impacts on tourism. we visited adventures on the gorge and i even convinced him to join me on a bridgewalk across the beautiful new river, new river gorge. this outdoor recreation is one of we

under the chairmanship of ajit pai. we are very delighted for example that when the chairman, when he first put on the chairman's house i guess if you will, that his first action was protecting small businesses. that was the order that extended protections for small firms, for an additional five years in the burdensome requirements embedded within the net neutrality rules. it has been a series of actions. common sense actions that have supported by my members actions and reforms that they have long educated for all agencies. those reforms have more transparency, inclusiveness, using actual economic data and analysis. to guide rulemaking. in actually listening. on a proactive basis to concerns of small business owners and entrepreneurs. to understand what the impact is going to be on their firms as consumers. technology and telecommunications as well as players in the marketplace. as an organization promoted small business and entrepreneurship we are very concerned about the state of small business. they continue to stru

president, i rise todayst in opposition to the presidents nomination of ajit pai to head the federal communications commission. my view is that in particularl mr. pai will do an enormous amount of damage to one of the foundational principles of the internet, net neutrality, and i'm going to outline why that would be a horrendous mistake for our country. mr. president, after we came to use internet and see what an extraordinary asset it would be to our country, really beginning late in the 1990s, we laid out what i still consider to be the legal foundation for the internet. c in other words, was a lot of joking about who could the internet. the internet was being used, how beneficial it would be, and on a bipartisan basis, big effort, out really layout what were the foundational principles of the net. there were a variety of them. we wanted to make sure that folks were not hit with multipld and discriminatory taxes or tax on access to the internet. we wrote the digital signatures law which is of enormous benefit that people, for example, in the presidents home state in nevada they are

so chairman ajit pai alternative route to you . ajit: good afternoon and happy new year's to all of you. heartfelt thank you to the doctor. and my good friend for the opening remarks. it's wonderful to be able to work with you. i really appreciate you and everyone at the new international studies . this my first time speaking csis as we mentioned . in the first time and fcc has spoken and a quarter of a century believe it or not. 1986, hunt men chairman, two thirds of the population and never made a phone call. half of all people it was a tour date walk. enough course is very different considering we live in a world where there are more cell phones than people. thank you so fair to say there's been too long since someone in this position has addressed csis . was actually a connection in 1990, this was more personal . the debt this out of my own memory bank. as i was working on this speech . is a fall 1990, ancient history for those millennial's. an engine sears out there . one of my favorite classes as a harvard graduate prayed a hi

our panel today includes ajit pai, commissioner o'reilly and commissioner rosenwar's law. it was submitted on time. we will go in order of seniority which is the tradition on the subcommittee. i began with you today, chairman ajit pai, you are recognized for five minutes. >> members of the subcommittee, thank you for holding this hearing. i appreciate this chance to update you on sec work. before i do i would like to thank you for vital assistance. the act of 2018 originating in the subcommittee contained a host of provisions that are having a positive impact on the sec's work. the technical problem involving deposits. with this fix in place the sec is moving aggressively to hold auctions and substantial amount of high band spectrum into the commercial marketplace. we are commencing the 28 ghz auction held by an action of the 24 ghz band. the second half of 2019 we intend to hold an auction of 37, 39, 47 ghz band. these options will make 5 ghz of spectrum available and advance america's global leadership in 5g, next generation of wireless connectivity. none of this would h

we interviewed as cc commissioner ajit pai and he was praising some brand-new qualcomm technology. what is that technology? >> guest: is what they are doing with a zero to 11 which is a new wifi standard and that is exciting for both routers and other types of devices. it's up to 1.3 gigabytes so really fast powerful wifi connectivity and smartphones and tablet is up to 350 megabits per second so really when you think about downloading video and surfing the web you'll be able to do so much more so much faster. is going to be such a smooth experience. >> host: and this was developed by qualcomm? when will be on the market? >> guest: from a snapdragon perspective which includes 11 a. see those devices will be a later this year. >> host: what else is qualcomm exhibiting this this year that cs at ces quest. >> guest: we talked about snapdragon 800 but snapdragon 800 is much more than that. to processor with a powerful graphics processor up to 2.3 gigahertz cpu so it has all of that integrated along with the 11 ac along with lte up to 150 megabits with lte so other connectivity solution

[applause] >> we continue the discussion on the future of the space economy with fcc chair ajit pai on how space enabled communications benefit industrial sectors. >> please welcome the senior vice president of seatac at the us chamber of commerce. >> good morning! great to be here, great to see you. i want to thank christian and his team for organizing such an excellent program. i have enjoyed working with christian on a number of important issues to seatac and our member companies but at seatac the chamber technology engagement center we are working to establish a national data privacy standard that protects all-americans equally and promote policies that enable emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, automated vehicles and unmanned aircraft to thrive. our goal is to see a workforce that is skilled and prepared for the digital economy. a common thread running through our work is the issue of data. without a thriving martin communications network none of this is possible and that is why i am happy to be here today to introduce chairman ajit pai. he is the son of immigrants

. >> host: well, "the communicators" caught up with fcc commissioner ajit pai here at the internationalhat have you seen here at the show this year that intrigued you? >> guest: i've seen innovation in action. obviously, there are cutting edge communication devices that everybody would know smartphones and tvs, but to me some of the most interesting applications are if areas where traditionally you wouldn't think of communications innovation as happening. for example, i saw a 3-d printer that was able to print out at the booth that i saw a small figurine which was interesting enough, but then the owner of the company told me, well, this same application is being used by the mayo clinic to print out kidneys that are now being used to transplant into patients whose kidneys have failed. that's an incredible application and one that didn't exist several years ago. similarly, some of the devices that i've seen installed in automotive vehicles and other types of vehicles it's really amazing some of the advanced technology they have that will allow people to sense where their cars are, even se

the chairman of the federal communications commission ajit pai is taking his big to relax. he is so proud of what has nowen happened at net neutrality is taken off the books despite 22 million americans saying they wanted them to stay on people. consumers don't trust them to do the right thing unless strict rules are in place. when you take a democratized platform with the most opportunity for communication, u.k. innovation. youu get democracy online and that's what this fight is all about. it is far from over. we are going to intensify and ensure that there is going to be a vote on the floor of the house of representatives. conventional wisdom was all over last december. it was over. they didn't in any way anticipate the vote here on the senate floor to reinstitute them they are underestimating dramatically the response of americans all across our country, defending on the house of representatives, onon the congress that has yet to vote on these issues. we will see millions of teachers, small business owners, act today's mobilized to protect the internet. they demonstrated

president, i rise today in opposition to the president's nomination of ajit pai to head the federal communications commission. my view is that, in particular, mr. pai will do an enormous amount of damage to one of the foundational principles of the internet -- net neutrality -- and i am going to outline why that would be a horrendous mistake for our country. mr. president, after we came to use the internet and see what an extraordinary asset it could be to our country, really beginning late in the 1990's, we laid out what i still consider to be the legal foundation for the internet.

ajit pai: i couldn't agree more. all level of government should be working together, not in silos. >> i know nebraska has a very dynamic and thoughtful and involved public service commission. so i hope that we can continue that partnership, to be beneficial to the customers in my state. also chairman, due to the pandemic, across the country that have had major shifts over the past several months. and that students have received their class works from home. if now students will be back in school to be solved. face extra stress on addressing both the affordability and access challenges they have for internet conductivity. in light of the judge that will be expired in the lot next week, but promises you see and most helpful in tackling these challenges. >> i've had a couple of roundtable with people in telecom and state officials and with other districts from across the state. ajit pai: this by three months ago i sent a letter to congress urging the creation of her most learning initiative. as far as that cares act prin

pleased to welcome to "the communicators" for the first time one of the newest fcc commissioners, ajit pai, one of the republicans on the commission. thanks for being with us on "the communicators." >> guest: thanks very much for having me. >> host: in july you spoke at carnegie mellon, and you talked a little bit about the regulatory process, the slowness of the process and the fcc's -- the way the fcc does business. i want to get your further thoughts on that and also get you to reflect on your first few months on the federal communications commission. >> guest: well, thank you for the question, and thanks again for having me. it's a privilege to be on the show. at carnegie mellon, one of the things i tried to identify was ways that the fcc could establish a regulatory framework that would allow the ict or information and communications technology sector, to really be a leader in job creation and economic growth. it historically has been one of the most dynamic parts of the economy, but in recent years if you look at the statistics from the labor department, job growth and economic growt

ajit pai: appreciate the question. we have received a position from among other advocates suggesting that the creation of a class at four for certain radio protesters. i put that in the floor for my colleagues consideration. in the request of my colleagues, we converted was originally intended to be a rulemaking into a notice of inquiry. my understanding from last time that we had these discussions there's not majority support for going ahead with the rules were making. so i look forward to create a solution to try and advance the ball in a way that reflects consensus on this issue. sen. roger wicker: who has doubts about this that you would like to voice. yes commissioner o'reilly. comm. o'reilly: i don't like to voice bible voiceprint have concerns, harmful interference from other radio broadcasters. and a disagreement among broadcasters and the impact of this and when it did and i asked the chairman to go from one to another. i thought we had a understand what it explain what this is. but the value is going for trea

it's ajit pai. >> hi. i'm ajit pai, chairman of the fcc. recently there's been quite a bit of conversation about my plan to restore internet freedom. here's just a few of the thinks you'll still be able to do on the internet after these obama era regulation are repealed. you can still cram your food. you can still post the photos of cute animals, like puppies. you can still shop for all your christmas presents online. yes, those eclipse glasses are so cheap. you can still binge watch your favorite shows. you can still say part of your favorite phantom. you can still drive the right into the ground. and everything else you ever did on the internet, like everything. all of it. all of it. >> host: brian fung, that was a very provocative -- >> guest: that was a very provocative video and it just highlights how chairman pai is often thought to some of the internet's best cultural aspects to try and push his policy agenda forward. chairman pai speeches are often replete with pop culture references, and he's known for using an enormous rhesus cup

>> guest: i'm a big fan be of ajit pai as well as mike o'reilly and commissioner clyburn because they have all shown a passion for localism and the role broadcasting uniquely plays in telecommunication. and ajit pai is one of the brightest people, most approach be bl, one of the nicest people i've ever known. i first met him when he was a staffer to sam brownback on the commerce committee, and he just gets brighter all the time. but the reason i'm so excited about him is,ing frankly, it stems from a story he told shortly after he was confirmed to the fcc as a commissioner. he came to a radio, national radio show, and he told the story of how his parents came from india to america, medical doctors, but they had $10 in their pocket, and they had a transistor radio. and that transistor radio connected young mr. pai to the outside world. and to his local community. it was such a compelling story that i just felt like, well, this is a guy that's going to understand the value of broadcasting, and he understands. he's not pro-broadcasting, he's pro-localism and including all the american peo

it is certainly my understanding, the literature would back me up although we will see what ajit pai says, they are following what presidents ones anyway. there may be some differences in particular circumstances but to me delegations in both cases have the principal evils. >> other panelists? >> what mike said is right. you can speak to the fcc of course but i am doing work with political scientists like daniel day-lewis and based on surveys of political appointees and senior executive service supervisors, the line between independent executive agencies is not that sharp, independent agencies are generally under the control of the president, if not at the get-go, very shortly thereafter through critical appointments of the chair, related to polarization when a majority of the president's party is a majority of the commission, they can do the bidding of the president's party because we live in this polarized world where the president's party essentially agrees with each other, you don't have policy convergence in the majority party of the commission but the chairman should speak to t

our guest is the senior republican from the federal trade condition is ajit pai. and monty taylor is here. commissioner pai, this is the longest we have gone on the "the communicators" without using the word spectrum. what is your current thinking and how do you see the schedule? is the fcc on time when it comes to the spectrum auctions? >> the demand is increasing and it is more critical for the fcc to bring more spectrum in the commercial marketplace. we have not had a major spectrum auction since 2008 but i am happy to say we are taking the first step with 10 megahertz of option. and we are looking at the auction which television broadcasts would purchase spectrums. and there are host of other options. i don't want to let it go what mentions there is a 5 giga hirtz and they will have up to 500 available for super wi-fi. and i have seen it in person. one giga of data per second is a real possibility. the technical standard exist and devices are being shipped that incorporate radios and transmit and receive those giga hirtz. >> the h-block, not many par participan

. >> host: and that was fcc chair ajit pai from earlier this week. discussion on "the communicators" is about his net neutrality proposal. joining us, jeffrey eisenach of the american enterprise institute and an adviser to the trump transition team on telecommunications policy, and chris lewis, vice president of public knowledge, the consumer group. mr. lewis, what's your take on what the chairman proposed earlier this week? >> guest: well, we, we're concerned. we think that the rules that we got in 2015, the net neutrality rules are working. they're wildly popular. overwhelming majority of americans want to have clear rules of the road that protect an open internet. and so we're concerned that he's gone down a path to review and potentially even repeal some or all of those rules. >> host: why did you think those rules were necessary? and i want to read a little bit from tom wheeler's op-ed in "the washington post," the former chair. for as long as the internet has existed, it has been grounded on the principle of net neutrality. >> guest: i think th

. >> host: prior to being appointed to the federal communications commission, ajit pai served as deputy counsel at the fcc. he also worked at verizon. he is a graduate of harvard and law degree from the university of chicago. eliza krigman of "politico," next question. >> yes, a very impressive background for this position. since you have worked as verizon communications, have you been lobbied by any of the people that you used to work with? >> guest: i have not, no. >> okay. on that same topic, i'd like to ask is the fcc supposed to operate in the public interest, but the reality of the matter is most of the people who comment on the public record are the well-heeled lobbyists, and that's who the commission also spends a lot of time meeting with. what are you going to do personally to make sure your opinion's informed by the average consumer? >> guest: at my confirmation hearing in november of last year, i stated i would hold no favor for or prejudice against any particular company, person or segment of the industry. and i would like to think that in the four-and-a-half months that i'v

>> guest: ajit pai is really smart and personally i like him very much. unfortunately, he's much more a regulator, so tom wheeler's mantra was competition, competition, competition, i believe his is going to be consolidation, consolidation, consolidation. and i do think he's bound and determined to undo a lot of the consumer protections and policies we adopted. that being said, he is, as i said before, extremely smart, he's worked in the agency before. so he'll be able to hit the ground running. in that regard, you know, his pick scares me the most because if they had brought in somebody who really didn't know the agency or, you know, really wasn't that familiar with the content of what we do, it would take them at least six months, a year to get up to speed, and time is on your side when you've adopted new policies. he's going to be able to start from day one. he knows the staff, i think he's well liked by the staff, and he knows where the bodies are buried. so it's a scary proposition for those of us who want to see the fcc's authority to protect consum

the guests will hear from in a moment, kim hart with the fcc chairman ajit pai. and the chairman run into each other at chick-fil-a on the weekends and so this time we will see that in a little more formal setting. our first guest was a federal prosecutor. he was a committee chairman in the state senate of my home state, california. in the house he has been a leader on foreign-policy, on the free press and is now the ranking member of the house intelligence committee it from the great state of california congressman adam schiff. welcome to axios. [applause] >> thank you. >> we are going to start with a quiz. i am going to describe a public figure and you're going to tell me who it is. one, very talented. number two, very smart guy. three, great negotiator. >> well, sadly, that fits the description of kim jong-un. >> it is. >> you know what a surreal world you are in when that's the description of the north korean dictator, and weak, obnoxious and dishonest is the description we give the canadian prime minister. >> what do you think of that? what is the consequenc

axios hosting a discussion with adam schiff on your north korea relations and fcc chair ajit pai on the internet neutrality

>> guest: ajit pai is a superb follow, a great man. he is, he is certainly understood and it is paying off now the irreplaceable importance of broadcasting in the firmament of telecommunications to the american people, and i had planned to ask him about things like ownership restrictions on broadcasting that certainly doesn't apply to social media platforms or other entrance in telecommuting, only broadcasting is kept intentionally small and sometimes we need scale to be able to compete. not sometimes, we do need scale to compete with these new entrants in communications. but there's lots of issues. we were going to talk about the repack of the spectrum, the spectrum repack after the sale of a whole bunch of our broadcast spectrum where people need to rescan the television sets. we are literally in the last phase of that. it's supposed to be over by the summer but phased-in, which is on the horizon. already chairman pai his head we are going to give you more flexibility if this virus gets in the way of deadlines. we will give you that f

. >> a a discussion on the biden administration expansion of 5g technology with former sec chair ajit pai and current sec commissioner brendan carr. >> good afternoon and thank you for joining us this afternoon at the american enterprise institute to talk about i have with me a former chairman of the communications commission ajit pai who served at the fcc from 2017-2021 and we have the good fortune of having a flask of years is what raise questions of of harvard university and university of chicago law, worked as a lawyer and the department of justice and the senate judiciary committee and also did two years over at verizon.nd but he currently is a part of the private equity firm and he has been since 2021 so thank you for joining us today. i also have the opportunity of talking to commissioner carr. he is at the fcc as well since 2017, he was appointed by former president companies graduate of georgetown university and catholic university from 2005-2007 he was associate at wiley ryman to be a law clerk for judge shad and has been spent quite a bit of time at the fcc and we appreciate yo

last year, under the leadership of chairman ajit pai, the f.c.c. sought to rectify this mistake and destroy the results of the rules that helped the internet flourish while still protecting consumers from abuses. the resolution democrats are putting forward today would undo that progress. it would reimpose heavy-handed depression-era rules on the most vibrant, fast-growing sectors of our economy. it is wrong on the merits. it is also the wrong way to go about this process. the c.r.a. is useful when it lets elected representatives rein in regulatory overreach by unelected bureaucrats, but this resolution doesn't seek to rein in overregulation. it seeks to reimpose it. what's worse, by using the c.r.a. mechanism, the democrats seek to make the 2015 rules permanent going forward. the c.r.a. would handicap this f.c.c. or a future f.c.c.'s ability to revise the rules even if revisions were widely seen as necessary. there's a better way to proceed. it's called bipartisan legislation. senator thune has reached out to the democrats on the committee to draf

our guest this week is at quencher of the fcc, ajit pai. we have about ten minutes left in her interview. chairman pai, could you opine a little bit on the changes in media in the last four years. i know we talk about this on a regular basis and people are cutting the cord. are people watching broadcast media? are people subscribing to cable? there are streaming service is now. how would you describe this landscape? >> guest: i think from a consumer perspective the landscape is richer than ever in the sense that consumers have a choice not only of what kind of content to want to watch but also the platform on which they want to watch it. i know it's hard to remember because we live in the times we're in but living day-to-day, but i remember as a kid when in rural kansas my options were three broadcast channels, and if the satellite dish would be position in a in a certain waye a few channels over that network. and how different it is now. now my kids, for example, when this like to watch tv, they could be broadcast tv but more likely that mi

but i think our chairman ajit pai, has long had a principled position that he's reflected as chairman of the fcc. and yet he has taken a lot of heat for it too but we were unable to deal with it in congress to settle the issue. it does fall with the fcc i suspect it will ping-pong back and forth for the right policy until evidence is in and proven to be a problem congress can address it, come up with constitutional majorities. cspan: before we get any further into issues. bring paul kirby of telecommunications reports into this conversation. >> thank you. one position you do have a position on as a group of repacking tvizations after after the auction earlier this year. 1000 stations are repacked. fcc set a 39 month time frame. congress earmarked $1.7 billion but that is not enough money. >> yes. >> give the concerns at this point or do you hope congress comes up with the money sooner rather than later? some folks say fcc has more money now and congress should come forward with the little ways down the time frame? >> sooner than better, congress in my opinion is not able to do things

. >> host: ajit pai grew up in parsons, kansas. he attended harvard and the university of chicago law school. he worked on capitol hill for the senate judiciary committee as well as worked at the fcc prior to becoming a commissioner in 2012. all right. is the commission set up, in your view, for the 21st century? is it structured correctly? >> guest: that's a really good question. certainly in terms of process, i think the answer is, no. i think that we have a lot of cumbersome rules and regulations that operate -- that govern our operation that need to be modernized, and i commend congress in particular for looking at ways of streamlining that. the consolidated reporting act, process reform act found bipartisan support in the house, for example, would help us become a more modern agency. there are also things i think we need to do, and we don't require congressional authorization to do that have been languishing. almost three years ago now, for example, i proposed the creation of an fcc dash boar, a single -- dashboard, a single w

our guest this week is the senior republican on the federal communications commission, ajit pai. joining us in our conversation is monty today low, associate editor at "communications daily." this is probably the longest we've gone on "the communicators" without using the word spectrum. [laughter] what's your current thinking, and how do you see the schedule -- is the fcc on time when it comes to the spectrum auctions? >> guest: well, i think that without question the intensity of consumer demand has only increased since i've become a commissioner, certainly over the last several years, so it becomes more critical to bring more spectrum into the commercial marketplace. it is unfortunate that we've not had major spectrum auction since the bush administration in 2008, but i'm happy to say that we are taking initial first step with the auction of ten megahertz of spectrum later this month, what's known as the h block auction that will raise over $1.5 billion it is hoped. and in the longer term, we're looking at broadcast auction which would be purchased by wireless carriers, and the

that could've been the rules under wheeler and i can be what ajit pai does. you have title ii rules but the title ii rules allow for paid prioritization interview that's not to net neutrality detections that people want and we would support that it even though we start title ii but if we are allowed for paid prioritization we would oppose that. >> host: do you think at&t should be allowed to not charge its customers data caps, or give a discount on directv? >> guest: so on the data cap question, it's very comforted in the sense that we don't think it should be set artificially low or set in a way that is trying to create a price that is not active in the market or to create artificial scarcity, to sometimes happening. as it relates to prioritizing their own content, that's a problem and that something we're concerned about as we see where you're giving priority to the content over others in some lease programs to get scarcity in the amount of data that consumers can have. >> i think the runs into real problem an people say hey, i'm getting free data. how is i

but, you know, i think ajit pai is a very, very smart person. i think he's a very competent and skilled lawyer. i think he works hard. i think he is probably one of a handful who probably genuinely dug through the order. you may or may not agree with his political predilections as he approaches it, but i i think you have to respect the seriousness of his work. and when i look at the press release or the words or arguments he made with a few exception, i think they were substantive criticism. and if everybody wants healthy debate, then what's wrong with that? this is one of those cases where it seems like people like diverse diversity of voices until they're not the ones they like. the sneer campaign that i -- smear campaign that i see being launched against him is as despicable as anything he did more so in my judgment and why don't you take on the ideas? why do you have to disenfranchise the person? i don't have any respect for anybody who's doing that. >> host: so let's say title i is the law of the land and the internet is under title ii, how

americans are being well served by a leader like chairman ajit pai who stawppedz the strong connection between technology and innovation -- who understands the strong connection between technology and innovation. mr. pai understands how high-speed internet can revolutionize small businesses

i think our industry ask me personally have a deep add hi ration and respect for ajit pai. i'm a bit of a fan of seeing someone who has been at the commission already for a meaningful period of time be ascending to the chairmanship. it means that they've really spent years deep on the understand of course the institution, years understanding the issues. and so the first thing it means is things can start happening very quickly. there's a not a long leadership training, learning curve, there's not a lot of getting to know you, there's not a lot of, you know, learning the staff, learning how the organs of the agency works which can also often take six months of just getting things rolling. i mean, things roll right away because they're very familiar. i think that commissioner pai -- i mean, chairman pai, frankly, is her in line with most chairmen over the last 20 years. i mean, i think he has a very committed understanding that both infrastructure and edge providers are of equal importance to what we call the internet ecosystem. and i think for us to see that be reasserted is

. >> host: ajit pai is chairman of the federal communications commission and he is our guest this week on "the communicators." chairman pai, it's a been about two years since we've seen you, to your since the republicans have had the majority over at the sec. what have you accomplished? >> guest: it's been pretty quiet actually. it's great to see it again after some time. we've been pretty active addressing our top priority which is closing the digital divide and a number of other priorities, advancing public safety, attacking robocalls, it's been a very active commission and the like to think of a productive one for the american people. >> host: what is on the agenda, the docket for the remaining two years? >> guest: will continue excluding argent for some form of closing the digital divide and that includes a number of different components. number one, for example, making sure we get more broadband internet access to all parts of the country. we finished the wireline auction called connect america fund which will devote $1.5 billion to connect about 713,000 713,0s and small businesse

pai, ajit pai of the fcc took off last december. he tried to restore the legal structure that was in place before february of 2015 which allowed the internet to just blossom and explode beautifully to give us the internet we have today. there may very well be 50 votes in the senate. the cra's an interesting key finish right now there appear to be 50 votes to 49 for this to go through in the senate. probably not so much of a chance to go through the house and then probably less of a chance for the president to sign it. >> guest: let me just remind rob that chairman pai and his fcc repealed the 2015 rules. yes, they undid title ii as well, although i will say the rules are still on the books. people should not forget that. but he repealed the rules and only left in place a weaker transparency rule by which the federal trade commission is now supposed to look and see whether internet service providers abide by their promises. and they're not going to -- >> guest: it was more than that. >> guest: not really, but in any event -- [laughte

so we're going to move forward, and we'll see what happens. >> host: ajit pai last time he was on this program suggested that the vote be delayed. >> guest: the chairman obviously, disagrees. again, it's been over a year. the internet has nothing protecting it to insure that it's open to insure that users are protected from gatekeeping functions, to insure that edge providers are protected from gatekeepers. we need to move forward and we need to lock this down and be done with this debate that we've been having for 15 years. >> host: gigi sohn, if you put on your public knowledge hat one more time -- >> guest: oh, god. [laughter] >> host: knowing what you know about this proposal how would you feel about it as the president and founder of public knowledge? >> guest: well, i think it's a victory for the american people, okay? i no longer work for public knowledge, so i'm not going to put that hat on. i have a wonderful successor, a guy named gene but i think he is celebrating. i think the public interest groups are celebrating and i think the four million people who have weighed in -- a

we hear from federal communications commission chair ajit pai as well as the heads of the national communication and tell of it-- administration and the white house budget office of information and regulatory affairs. >> good morning and thank you for your good work. for this opportunity to kick off today's events. the only thing people hate more than a long video is anyone who makes them wait to hear from david redl, so i plan to keep this short. the theme is connecting all of america and those in this room probably know it's also been the prevailing scene of my chairmanship. on my first full day as chairman i said capping-- i have tried to run my mouth, but to be on the run. i have logged over 4000 miles on the road to visit the people in places bypassed by the digital revolution and highlight the story. the most effective thing the fcc can do to connect more americans to better broadband is to remove regulatory barriers to network investment. as someone put it, we need to fire up the weed wacker and remove those google's holding back investment, innovation and job creation. that's exactly wha

. >> ajit pai is our guest this week on "the communicators." chairman pai, it's been about two years since we have seen you, two years since the republicans have had the majority over at the fcc. what have you accomplished? >> it's been pretty quiet, actually. haven't really done a lot. it's great to see you again after some time. we have been pretty active addressing our top priority which is closing the digital divide and a number of other priorities as well, advancing public safety, attacking robo calls. generally speaking it's been a very active commission and i would like to think a very productive one for the american people. >> what's on the agenda? what's on the docket for the remaining two years at least? >> so we are going to continue executing on our agenda first and foremost, closing the digital divide. that includes in itself a number of different components, number one, for example, making sure we get more broad band internet access to all parts of the country. we recently finished a wire line auction of the connect america fund w

president trump's choice to lead the fcc, ajit pai, is dedicated to transforming the fcc from an age that works in the public interest into a big business giveaway group. pai has been a vocal opponent of net neutrality rules for a very long time. after president trump won the election pai gleefully declared that net neutrality's days were numbered. pai claims that non-discrimination rules harm giant big internet companies, making it more difficult for create new and better products.ew and better he thinks if these giants can discriminate against small businesses or individuals, then these giants can pick who gets the fast lane into your television set and who is stuck off on the dirt roads. if these giants dictate which startups get a food hold and which ones are left on the ground, they were the giants will be better off. of course he is right. the giants will be better off but everyone else will be worse off, a lot worse off. chairman pai is so committed to these internet giants that he is willing to rewrite the federal rules to help them out. he is willing to rewrite the so that s

i'm going to ask you the same question i asked chairman ajit pai to hope we get i guess a more direct answer to the question. >> the chairman didn't answer your question? >> he did not. so the question i have is that broadband executives in places like at&t, comcast and charter have talked about how title ii and reference it directly in reference to net neutrality will not affect their investment in broadband which has been largely what your, chairman pai's argument is predicated on and at the same time these companies have submitted their investments to you so it seems like in one situation they are misleading one group or the other. what do you think is happening? >> to quibble with your question, not to quibble with it but my concerns are based in multiple layers, is not just the investment argument. there's one argument judah up in the item and my argument is legal precedent and you can go through that in the past in terms of the gymnastic the commission went through to get to the point they did and stick to a lot of steps in 2015 so but your point on reinvestments, i don't believ

on c-span 3, senate appropriations subcommittee hears from federal commission chair ajit pai on the spectrum program and the house armed services subcommittee on military personnel for generals of the army, navy, air force and marines on racial disparity and military justice system. >> next they look at measures related to the coronavirus pandemic that are challenging civil liberties in the us and around the world. including the enforcement of stay at home orders and reduction in medical resources. >> the federal society but for those who did not get a chance on the website, as will more detailed biographies.

. >> fcc chair ajit pai sat down with the conversation about 5g technology and competition at the wilson center in washington, d.c. he discussed the need for the united states to leave the world and the development of 5g technology and how the implementation of 5g will impact how we view the world. this is one hour and 35 minutes. [inaudible conversations] >> good afternoon everybody. and everybody who is looking at us virtually and everybody in line in the security line trying to get in. and everybody who will be watching sometime soon on a cable network. so i am jane harman, president and ceo of the wilson center and today we are probing a very complicated issue that is in my view d valvoline policymakers in washington and all over the world. at least three parts of the problem are the u.s., china, and the 5g supply chain. the wilson center has just produced -- this is a prop, a spectacular policy brief by melissa griffith who is in the front row, and we will see in a little bit which is entitled there is more to worry about the huawei. i think you get the just of this. and she will ex

. >> fcc chair ajit pai spoke about 5g technology and the need for the united states to lead the world in its development and the importance to think about security now before the system is established. it was hosted by the wilson center in dc. >> good afternoon everybody, and everybody who is in line on the security line, and everybody watching us very soon on a cable network. i am jane harman, president of the wilson center and today we are probing a very complicated issue that is be doubling policymakers in washington and all over the world. at least three parts of that problem are the us, china and the 5g supply chain. the wilson center has just produced, let me get my prop, this is a prop, a spectacular policy brief by melissa griffith, who you will see in a little bit which is entitled there is more to worry about than huawei. she will explain in detail but run, don't walk, get this and read it. what captures the attention around 5g is china-based huawei has led the way in developing the superfast networks which will power self driving cars, virtual-reality and cutting-edge techn