Pai's Statement on Public Notice of Technology Transitions Task Force
NEWS
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This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.
See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
May 10, 2013Matthew
Berry,
202-418-2005
Email:
Matthew.Berry@fcc.gov
STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER AJIT PAI
ON THE TECHNOLOGY TRANSITIONS POLICY TASK FORCE’S PUBLIC NOTICE
Today’s public notice is a missed opportunity. Rather than establish well-defined trials totest the Internet Protocol (IP) transition in a set of designated wire centers—what I have called an
All-IP Pilot Program—the Technology Transitions Policy Task Force instead proposes several
case studies to examine what market actors are already doing. For example, the Public Notice
seeks to request information from states like Tennessee that have started the transition to Next-
Generation 911. It is commendable to acknowledge forward-thinking deployments like these,
but the passive collection and perusal of information is not a trial. A survey, perhaps; an
observation, maybe; but not a “trial.”
The Federal Communications Commission is at a crossroads. We can embrace the future
by expediting the IP Transition. Or we can cling to the past by saddling next-generation
networks with regulatory constructs from the 1880s. After today’s public notice, I am more
uncertain than ever which path we are taking.
I still hope to work with my colleagues, those today and those to come, to establish a
modernized regulatory framework for the IP transition. The unmistakable message to be drawn
from the marketplace and the aggregated decisions of millions of American consumers is that the
transition is well underway. Hopefully, we will take the necessary steps—including a robust,
comprehensive All-IP Pilot Program—to ensure that the transition is a smooth and successful
one.
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