November 18, 2020 - 2:55 pm
To Safe and Secure Holidays... and Networks
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Ajit Pai is the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. He was designated Chairman by President Donald J. Trump in January 2017. He had previously served as Commissioner at the FCC, appointed by then-President Barack Obama and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in May 2012.
Regulatory Philosophy
Chairman Pai’s regulatory philosophy is informed by a few simple principles. Rules that reflect these principles will result in more innovation, more investment, better products and services, lower prices, more job creation, and faster economic growth.
- Consumers benefit most from competition, not preemptive regulation. Free markets have delivered more value to American consumers than highly regulated ones.
- No regulatory system should indulge arbitrage; regulators should be skeptical of pleas to regulate rivals, dispense favors, or otherwise afford special treatment.
- Particularly given how rapidly the communications sector is changing, the FCC should do everything it can to ensure that its rules reflect the realities of the current marketplace and basic principles of economics.
- As a creature of Congress, the FCC must respect the law as set forth by the legislature.
- The FCC is at its best when it proceeds on the basis of consensus; good communications policy knows no partisan affiliation.
Selected Issues
Broadband
Broadband is critical in modern American life. Especially when it comes to innovation, the Internet has leveled the playing field. It’s created a phenomenon that Chairman Pai calls the “democratization of entrepreneurship.” With a good idea and a broadband connection, entrepreneurs anywhere can compete in ways unthinkable a generation ago.
Yet too many Americans still don’t have broadband. They are left on the other side of the “digital divide.” Chairman Pai has seen this for himself, from Barrow, Alaska to Fayetteville, West Virginia.
That’s why he has proposed a comprehensive plan to promote broadband deployment to all Americans. The federal government must make it easier to for broadband providers to retire increasingly obsolete copper lines in favor of next-generation technologies like fiber. It must enable rural residents to have the same choice for stand-alone broadband typically found in cities. It must create a roadmap for state and local governments so that companies that want to compete in the broadband market don’t have to jump through unnecessary regulatory hoops in order to lay fiber to consumers. It must promote common-sense policies like “Dig Once” and reform pole attachment rules to reduce the costs of building digital networks. It must streamline the process for deploying wireless infrastructure, from big towers to small cells. It must free up more licensed spectrum for use by wireless carriers and more unlicensed spectrum for things like Wi-Fi. And it must preserve Internet freedom here and abroad, so that the online world can flourish free from heavy-handed government intervention.
First Amendment
Chairman Pai has been an outspoken defender of First Amendment freedoms. When the FCC proposed to send researchers into newsrooms to question why reporters cover some stories and not others, Chairman Pai sounded the alarm. Soon after, the FCC canceled the study. Chairman Pai has also spoken out about threats to free speech here and abroad and has warned against government efforts to regulate the marketplace of ideas.
Public Safety
Public safety is a top priority for Chairman Pai. He took action to ensure that consumers can reach emergency services whenever they dial 911. He has also called on the FCC to help law enforcement combat the rising threat posed by contraband cellphones in our jails and prisons. And he’s pushed for the advancement of Next Generation 911, an Internet-based system which will help keep Americans safe.
Fiscal Responsibility
Chairman Pai has fought to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs. He was the first commissioner to demand an end to corporate welfare in a recent major spectrum auction; the agency ultimately agreed, saving taxpayers over $3 billion. He has been outspoken against the waste, fraud, and abuse in the Lifeline program, leading an investigation into the issue. And he wants to make sure that every federal program under the FCC’s purview gets the most bang for the buck.
Taking the Initiative and Getting Results
In addition to the accomplishments mentioned above, Chairman Pai was the first member of the FCC in over two decades to call for revitalizing the AM radio band; the basic reforms he proposed were adopted in 2015. He also urged the FCC to create a task force to study the “Internet Protocol Transition” and report on obsolete rules that could be repealed; that task force was created. He proposed a way for the FCC to address petitions filed by the public much more quickly; that “rocket docket” is now in place and has dramatically sped up the agency’s decision-making. With respect to outside review and oversight, in at least half a dozen high-profile cases in which he dissented, federal courts of appeals have upheld his position. And in other such cases, one or both Houses of Congress has passed legislation consistent with his position.
Biographical Information
Jenner & Block, LLP. Partner, 2011 – 2012
Federal Communications Commission. Deputy General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Special Advisor to the General Counsel, 2007 – 2011
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Chief Counsel, Chairman Sam Brownback, Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights, 2005-2007
U.S. Department of Justice. Senior Counsel, Office of Legal Policy, 2004 – 2005
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Deputy Chief Counsel, Chairman Jeff Sessions, Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Court, 2003-2004
Verizon Communications Inc. Associate General Counsel, 2001 – 2003
U.S. Department of Justice. Trial Attorney (Attorney General’s Honors Program), Antitrust Division, Telecommunications Task Force, 1998 – 2001
Hon. Martin L.C. Feldman, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Law Clerk, 1997 – 1998
Chairman Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University in 1994 and from the University of Chicago Law School in 1997, where he was an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review and won the Thomas R. Mulroy Prize. In 2010, Pai was one of 55 individuals nationwide chosen for the 2011 Marshall Memorial Fellowship, a leadership development initiative of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
The son of immigrants from India, Chairman Pai grew up in Parsons, Kansas. He now lives in Arlington, Virginia, with his wife, Janine; son, Alexander; and daughter, Annabelle.
Matthew Berry
Chief of Staff
Matthew Berry serves as the Commission’s Chief of Staff. He has previously served as the Commission's General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel. In those roles, he was responsible for providing legal advice to the Commission and managing the Commission's litigation docket. Prior to joining then-Commissioner Pai’s office in 2012, he was a Partner at Patton Boggs LLP, where he was a member of the firm's Technology and Communications practice group. Mr. Berry has also worked at the United States Department of Justice, serving as Counselor to the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Policy and an attorney-adviser in the Office of Legal Counsel. During his tenure there, he earned the Department's John Marshall Award for providing legal advice related to counter-terrorism policy.
Mr. Berry has also served as a law clerk for United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge Laurence Silberman of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Additionally, he has worked as a staff attorney at the Institute for Justice. Mr. Berry graduated summa cum laude from Dartmouth College and received his J.D. from Yale Law School.
Nicholas Degani
Senior Counsel
Mr. Degani has served as Chairman Pai’s Senior Counsel since January 2017, except for a six-week period during which he served as the agency’s Acting General Counsel. From June 2012 through January 2017, Mr. Degani served as then-Commissioner Pai’s Wireline Legal Advisor. He joined the office from a detail to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, where he served as counsel under Chairman Fred Upton and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Greg Walden. Before his detail, Mr. Degani served as an Attorney Advisor in the Wireline Competition Bureau’s Telecommunications Access Policy Division and Competition Policy Division, as well as the Commission’s Office of General Counsel. Mr. Degani entered the Commission through the Attorney Honors Program. Earlier in his career, Mr. Degani clerked for Judge Jeffrey Sutton of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and magna cum laude from Yale University, where he studied Electrical Engineering/Computer Science and History.
Allison Baker
Economic Advisor
Ms. Baker advises Chairman Pai on Economic issues. Ms. Baker joins the Office of the Chairman from her position as Economic Advisor to the Chief of the FCC’s Wireline Competition Bureau. She came to the FCC in 2012, working on data and economics projects in WCB’s Telecommunications Access Policy Division and in the FCC’s former Office of Strategic Planning & Policy Analysis. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from Colorado State University and her master’s degree in economics from Georgia State University. She is also currently enrolled in Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law.
Michael Carowitz
Special Counsel
Michael Carowitz recently served as Acting Chief of the Enforcement Bureau at the Federal Communications Commission, where he led one of the Commission's largest organizational units, including its field offices around the country. For two decades, Mr. Carowitz has held positions within the communications law field, including an association with a leading Washington DC law firm and service as in-house legal counsel for a start-up provider of broadband and other telecommunications services. While at the Commission, from 2013 until January 2017, Mr. Carowitz was Deputy Chief of the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau. Prior to that, he served for seven years (2005-2012) as Associate Chief/ Chief of Staff of the Commission's Enforcement Bureau. He received his J.D., cum laude, and his B.A, from the University of Michigan.
Zenji Nakazawa
Public Safety and Consumer Protection Advisor
Mr. Nakazawa advises Chairman Pai on public safety, homeland security, consumer protection, and enforcement issues. Mr. Nakazawa joins the office from the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, where he served as chief of the Policy and Rules Division. In that capacity, he oversaw several key portfolios, including Next Generation 911, emergency alerting, public safety spectrum issues, as well as issues concerning law enforcement and national security. Prior to that, he served as deputy chief of the division and as a staff attorney and acting legal adviser in the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. He also worked in Japan as a Mansfield Fellow. Mr. Nakazawa graduated from the University of Richmond, T.C. Williams School of Law, and received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Bucknell University.
Alexander Sanjenis
Media Advisor
Mr. Sanjenis advises Chairman Pai on media issues. Mr. Sanjenis previously served as a Legal Advisor in the front office of the Media Bureau, and as a staff attorney in the Media Bureau’s Audio Division, where he focused on a wide range of broadcast policy issues including the licensing of translator, noncommercial educational and low power FM stations. Mr. Sanjenis graduated from the University of Miami School of Law. He earned his LLM from the American University Washington College of Law and received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University.
C. Sean Spivey
Wireless and International Advisor
Mr. Spivey advises Chairman Pai on wireless and international issues. Mr. Spivey joins the Office of the Chairman from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, where he has served as Legal and Policy Advisor to the Bureau Chief. Prior to that, he was a senior associate in the Washington, D.C. office of Hogan Lovells US LLP, where he focused on telecommunications matters. He also worked at the Competitive Carriers Association and a law firm in Houston, Texas. He earned his law degree from Oklahoma City University School of Law and his bachelor’s from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.
Evan Swarztrauber
Policy Advisor
Evan previously worked for Commissioner Brendan Carr as a Policy Advisor on media issues. He also hosts the FCC's official podcast. Prior to joining the FCC, he was Director of Public Affairs at TechFreedom, managing the organization's communications and outreach teams, and representing the organization in a diverse array of coalitions. Evan also served as a communications staffer in the New York State Assembly and worked on a variety of political campaigns in New York City. Evan received his undergraduate degree from George Washington University.
Preston Wise
Wireline Advisor
Mr. Wise has served in the Office of the Chairman since October 2018, most recently as Rural Broadband Advisor, after serving as an attorney-advisor in WCB’s Telecommunications Access Policy Division. Before joining the Commission in January 2017, he worked as an attorney for a firm in Bismarck, North Dakota. He earned his law degree from George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School and his bachelor’s degree in economics from North Dakota State University.
Deanne Erwin
Executive Assistant
Ms. Erwin assists Mr. Nakazawa, Ms. Baker, and Mr. Spivey. Since 2012, she has served as the staff assistant to the office of Chairman Pai. Previously, she was the assistant for William Lake, Chief of the Media Bureau. Ms. Erwin began her career at the Commission in 2000.
Montana Hyde
Confidential Assistant
Ms. Hyde assists Chairman Pai as his Confidential Assistant. She joins the Chairman's Office from the White House where she spent two years serving as the Director of Youth Correspondence. Previously, she served as the Executive Assistant to the CEO at the American Legislative Exchange Council working closely with state legislators. She received her bachelor's degree in Human Services with a minor in Children's Rights from Old Dominion University.
Carlos Minnix
Staff Assistant
Mr. Minnix assists Mr. Sanjenis and Mr. Wise. He joined the Chairman’s Office from the Enforcement Bureau’s Spectrum Enforcement Division, where he was a Staff Assistant. Mr. Minnix had served in that Division since 2007.
Andi Roane-Wiley
Executive Assistant
Ms. Roane-Wiley assists Mr. Berry, Mr. Degani, and Mr. Carowitz. Since returning to the FCC in 2014, Andi has served in various roles, including most recently as staff assistant in the office of Commissioner Brendan Carr. In prior FCC service, Andi served as the special assistant to the chief of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Previously, she worked as an executive assistant for more than two decades in the private sector.
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FCC Answers The Threat From Huawei
Wall Street Journal
October 28, 2019
Connecting Puerto Rico
El Nuevo Día
September 25, 2019
Something can and is being done about robocalls
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Rep. Bob Latta
Cleveland Plain Dealer
August 7, 2019
FCC should block robocalls by default
USA Today
June 6, 2019
Trump administration will let the private sector lead in developing 5G
Kansas City Star
April 25, 2019
5G is in reach. But only if we set the right policies
Washington Post
September 27, 2018
Bridging the rural technology divide
Ajit Pai and Greg Walden
East Oregonian
July 10, 2018
FCC's Ajit Pai: What I learned about tech from Idaho miners, farmers and firefighters
Idaho Statesman
June 28, 2018
FCC chairman: Our job is to protect a free and open internet
CNET
June 11, 2018
In rural America, digital divide slows a vital path for telemedicine
Ajit Pai and Newton N. Minow
Boston Globe
May 21, 2018
Florida is on the leading edge of 5G
Tampa Bay Times
May 16, 2018
Hostile powers like Russia and China threaten US communications networks – enough
Ajit Pai and Tom Cotton
Fox News
April 16, 2018
Do you need state's permission to work?
Memphis Commercial Appeal
April 4, 2018
Cancer project also a bet on rural broadband's future
Lexington Herald-Leader
February 8, 2018
Fighting cellphones in prisons
Post and Courier
February 5, 2018
Wireless carriers must deliver emergency alerts more precisely
San Francisco Chronicle
January 29, 2018
Restoring a light touch to Internet regulations
Washington Times
December 5, 2017
How the FCC Can Save the Open Internet
Wall Street Journal
November 21, 2017
Expanded broadband can help combat rural flight
The Wichita Eagle
September 22, 2017
Bridging the digital divide
Herald-Mail Media
July 11, 2017
Another View -- Ajit Pai: Tech Week: How the U.S. can win the digital future
Union Leader
June 21, 2017
Why I'm trying to change how the FCC regulates the Internet
Los Angeles Times
April 26, 2017
No, Republicans didn't just strip away your Internet privacy rights
Washington Post
April 4, 2017
Bringing better, faster internet access to Iowa
The Des Moines Register
October 10, 2016
Capito & Pai: Bridge is a physical reminder of the digital divide in West Virginia
The Register Herald
August 2, 2016
Yoder & Pai: Passing the Kelsey Smith Act will Help Law Enforcement Save Lives
The Hill
May 25, 2016
Cellphones are Too Dangerous for Prison: Nikki Haley and Ajit Pai
USA Today
April 5, 2016
Eshoo & Pai: The Feds Have to Act to Get America Faster Wi-Fi
Wired
February 7, 2016
Gardner & Pai: Promoting a Digital Future
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
September 11, 2015
Fischer and Pai: Midland Voices: It’s time to make broadband priority
June 29, 2015
Lifeline Opinion
National Review
June 17, 2015
The FCC Shouldn’t Enable More TCPA Lawsuits
The Daily Caller
June 16, 2015
Pai & Goodman: Internet Freedom Works
Politico
February 23, 2015
Pai & Wright: The Internet isn't broke. Obama Doesn't need to 'fix' it
Chicago Tribune
February 18, 2015
Ayotte & Pai: Ending Welfare for Telecom Giants
The Wall Street Journal
February 4, 2015
Opinion: The Government Wants to Study 'Social Pollution' on Twitter
The Washington Post
October 18, 2014
Long & Pai: The Case in Defense of JSAs
Broadcasting & Cable
September 22, 2014
Opinion: End the Sports Blackout Rule
Cincinnati Enquirer
September 13, 2014
Thune & Pai: Taxman, Won't You Please Spare The Internet?
The Wall Street Journal
July 17, 2014
Moran & Pai: Rural Students Deserves 21st - Century Education
The Wichita Eagle
July 4, 2014
Protecting Free Speech from FCC Regulation
Red State
May 30, 2014
Latta & Pai: Switching Off an Outdated Cable Rule
Washington Times
May 15, 2014
Giving Up the Internet: Still Risky
National Review
April 23, 2014
Johnson & Pai: Reform Federal Program to Connect Classrooms
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
February 21, 2014
The FCC Wades Into the Newsroom
The Wall Street Journal
February 10, 2014
Ayotte & Pai: Bringing the Rural Classroom into the Digital Age
New Hampshire Union Leader
February 1, 2014
L.A., Let Uber's Cars Share the Road
Los Angeles Times
July 9, 2013
Switching Wireless Carriers Shouldn't be a Crime
New York Times
June 5, 2013
Why We Need to Move Ahead on IP
National Journal
April 24, 2013
Robert McDowell: Champion of Liberty, Innovation, and Competition
Red State
March 25, 2013
Too Much Government, Too Little Spectrum
Red State
January 3, 2013
Winning the IP Future
Red State
October 25, 2012