We set our job is to be the publics representative in a rapidly changing technological environment, which is affecting the way in which everybody deals with the networks that connect us. At the heart of that was consumers and competition should come first. How did that manifest . I think you can look at a list of things, we had the open Internet Order which says that the internet should be fast, fair and open for everyone. We established privacy rules and with the relationship of the network that says its the consumers information, its not the networks information. We are the Agency Responsible for networks, and its the networks that are the attack sectors in cyber attacks. What you do to make sure that those networks are secure . At the same time, we increased coverage for students in schools. Heres a statistic. Three years ago when i came in, two thirds of the k12 schools in the United States did not have highspeed internet connection. If half of them did not have wifi connection to the students desk for those that did have it. Today, almost 90 of schools have that kind of highspeed connection with every student because of how we overhauled and expanded the rate program that helps schools provide for that kind of capability. Students can get a 21st century century education. We also did some things im proud of for how you apply technology to the challenges of individuals with disability. We are looking at a rare point in history where there are Technological Solutions that can be applied to the challenges that have existed since the beginning of time with individuals with disabilities. We did a lot of those. Chairman wheeler, what what convinced you that title ii was the right Regulatory Framework for the internet. As you know, i had a damascus road kind of experience dealing with how do you get to the experience. My aha woman came late in the summer, when i woke up to the fact that the legislation that i had champions as the head of the Wireless Industry association, that made wireless carriers a common carrier but then said lets take away some of the burden some monopoly based regulations that have a developed over sometime. That kind of model, which the industry sought, which congress and the fcc enacted and we produced an incredible Success Story in american wireless and we could apply the same model to the internet and say how do you save you are a common carrier with common carrier responsibilities and take away some of the most risk and not needed aspects. There is a good chance that could be going away with the new administration a new congress. I hope not. I understand half a Dozen Companies would like to see it go away but there are tens of thousands of other companies that rely on it and millions of consumers that rely on it. I hope the congress, the fcc, whoever wants to revisit this decision will way that in the balance and say that open networks are as american as apple pie. We have had open networks in our country since back to the railroad, the telegraph, telephone. You know peter, we wouldnt have the internet today of the Telephone Network hadnt been open so that the early efforts to get online didnt have to go through any gatekeeper. You just got on and you tried things, and thats how we became leaders and the internet. We dont want to go backwards. We dont want to go to where there are gatekeepers deciding where it would happen. Thank you. Chairman wheeler, following up on that, you warned about empty promises were falsely. When it comes to Net Neutrality legislation. What are some of the concerns you have about a law that would only ensure those three rule. So what the industry has been saying, look, no blocking, no throttling, no privatization and thats enough. Thats not the scope and scale that you need to be sensitive to and aware of to have an open network. If we define the Net Neutrality or open internet, then we are ignoring everything else. We are also ignoring what we know for certain is the absolute certainty that is happening which is Technology Keeps evolving and how people use Technology Keeps evolving and how the networks use Technology Keeps evolving and there needs to be, what i describe as a referee on the field to throw the field and say no, not that. Zero rating is a highprofile issue in the Net Neutrality state and the Wireless Bureau recently released a report that raising concerns about at t and verizon sponsored data programs. They say its free data and this is helping consumers. What are your concerns about this program. We have had an ongoing inquiry into zero rating for many months now. There are many aspects that make a lot of sense. Theres nothing wrong with free, but the issue is, what happens when someone who controls the net and also controls a Competitive Service on that network, uses that network and shuts down the competition for their service. Thats what was going on. At t is saying hey, we will deliver directv, which they owned for free for you. Wow. But then youre turning around and saying but if you want to buy directvs competitor dish or somebody else, you are going to have to pay the data rates associated with that and those are going to drive the price up almost double. They are providing themselves a competitive advantage to thwart competition, and as i sat at the out set, the goal weve had throughout the last three years is how do you promote competition because of competition that protects consumers the best. Dont they on that product with the zero rating issue . They own the content and the distribution, they can give it was free if they want. So the issue is, in their media component they can give it to you free. What theyre saying is well will only give it you free free is if you are subscriber to our service, and by the way, if you then subscribe to one of our competitors, we are going to make them pay us so you are going to had to pay extra, we are gonna make you pay us. One of the things thats fascinating to me is that the companies that are most opposed to the open internet, such as at t are, at the same point in time using it to get on comcast, to get on charter to say the law says that i have to have a competitive product that i can put on your cable system and then they turn around and say we can have that kind of open access in our network. This is a simple question. The internet is the most important asset of the 21st century. Everything we do, all of our future is tied up in machines talking to machines, people talking to people. The Digital Future requires that the pathways that carry that Digital Traffic be fair, fast and open. It speaks to convergent and the former chair of the fcc, this is a quote from him. Telephony is regulated one way, internet a second, cable broadcast a third period as these industries blur, the statutory differences make less and less sense. Do you agree with that. Far be it from me to disagree with bill kinard who was a great chairman and friends. The key point in that statement was in the last line where it is the statutory regimen that say everything is different. One of the realities that we have to live with that the fcc is that the statutes were designed in a different area and interestingly enough, they were designed with flexibility in them, but they never really envisioned some of the convergence that have happened. Thats an issue that congress has to deal with, not necessarily one we can deal with kind of following up on that, i know you met with members of president elect trumps Transition Team, Transition Team, and some of them have advocated peeling back the functions of the fcc. Do you defend your view of the fcc or what you think it should be doing . Margaret, the idea that you should scale back the fcc and give a lot of its responsibilities to the ftc is something that the networks have been pushing for years. Before i took this job there was a headline, an article in the Washington Post that in essence, heres how the networks intend to gut the fcc. It would be tragic if that happened for a whole bunch of reasons. One, a recent Court Decision in a case brought by at t, at t argued that the ftc did not have jurisdiction over common carriers, and the court in a circuit went even further and said not only do they not have jurisdiction over common carriers, but also it doesnt have any jurisdiction over common carriers, noncommon carrier activities. They were getting down into some wonky territory, but what that means is there is a serious question of the scope of the federal trade Commission Based on decisions made and arguments presented by those who want to gut the fcc and throw it to the ftc. At the heart of everything, good people, great agency and at the heart they are enforcers. They dont have rulemaking authority. They cant go out and say here is the behavior you should follow by rule. They say, here is something we will punish you because we determined it is unfair or deceptive so it is a much more different approach than we take, and we are an Expert Agency. They have to deal with everything from king. Chips to bleach, and now we are going to add telecom into that. I think since 1934 there has been an Expert Agency in telecommunications a has made sense to stay that way. You pointed to tradition for a reason to your agency and given that stepping down would start a republican majority, i have to wonder why not but tradition. This is clear, they asked me, the congress, the senate in particular asked me during various hearings what i would do and i told them i would adhere tradition which has always been that if the party in control of the house changes, the chairman resigns. If the chairman doesnt change, the chairman typically stays on and works with Transition Team until that person gets his chairman through the congress. I made a commitment i would do that. I think theres also up practical effect to the whole thing, and that is that a lot of times during my tenure, i was criticized by members of congress and they say hey, youre not allowed to lobby. I would just soon not be silent. How would you describe your relationship to congress over the past three and a half years. I think it has been a healthy relationship. I have had 21 hearings where congress has had me before them to discuss policy issues. We spend a lot of time not having discussion. There are clearly some differences between the republicans in congress and what we have been doing. I have respected my relationship with members of the house and senate on both sides of the aisle. To they get the issues you are talking about and that youre dealing with . I think they are incredibly inquisitive and trying to be informed. Some criticism from lawmaker has been a long party line. What you think has caused telecom issues to become increasingly politicized. Boy, i wish i had the answer to that. The first issue is 8590 of our decisions are unanimous but those dont get the headlines. Even when we have a 3 2 decision , theres actually a 32 decision where im voting with guest the act provides that after a notice to the public and an ability for the public to comment and then reply in comments, the commission has to make a decision based on the record. And so im comfortable with the record that we established that was taken to court and the court affirmed. And im comfortable that the requirement that you have to have a record because, remember on open internet, for instance, twice the court said, no, you dont have the record. Im comfortable there is a record there that will withstand. Host could you advocate for any restructuring of the fcc and its internal organization . Guest so the challenge that you have in this job is how do you make sure that you are being responsive to changes in technology and changes in the marketplace. You can do that by restructuring, or you can do that by saying there are basic principles that govern the relationship between those who build and operate networks and those who use the networks. And then collectively manage to those principles. And i chose the latter. Let me give you an example, youre looking kind of quizzical there. Let me give you an example. So i said what i thought was, what i called the network compact. Access, interconnection, public safety, Consumer Protection and National Security are the five key touchstones of a relationship between those who use networks and those who build and operate. Now, you can sit down and say, okay, im going to organize the fcc that way, or you can say im going to make sure that i can pull expertise from this bureau and expertise from this bureau so that we can put together a program that addresses these collectively and gets as much expertise as possible. I chose that route. Others may choose others, but i chose that i could pull and choose the right kind of expertise. Host does there still need to be, for example, a separate Wireless Bureau and a wire line bureau and only two commissioners can meet at a time without having an open meeting, etc. , etc. Is that frustrating . Guest so, again, the structural issue is one that is solvable by the chairman simply by saying, okay, im putting this task force together, and thats where were going to work this out. Okay . The thing that is forgotten a lot is that in, you know, the Wireless Bureau, for instance, the Wireless Bureau handles 35,000 wireless license transfers a month. Now, thats manager you just thats something you just cant throw over into another bureau. There are specific issues that have to be dealt with there. So theres multiple ways of skinning the rabbit. I chose one way which was how do you bring everybody together in specialized groups focused on a specific thing. And i think thats the way to do it. But, you know, others may have other ideas. Well, speaking of the Wireless Bureau, the incentive auction looks like it could be possibly close to wrapping up, and ive noticed that the fcc has had to reduce the amount of spectrum its trying to buy back from tv stations a few times. And broadcasters have kind of questioned, hey, is there really this demand for beachfront spectrum. So how do you square the call for more spectrum from Wireless Companies with the demand that weve seen in the auction . Guest so, you know, margaret, i, you know, Congress Told us to create an auction that gave the opportunity for broadcasters to sell their spectrum to us and us to reband it and turn around and sell it to wireless carriers. Our job was to create that marketplace. Our job was not to say this is how much spectrum has to clear, this is how much it has to generate. This is all about creating a marketplace. And marketplaces are frequently unpredictable. [laughter] and, but i think what were seeing right now is that weve been highly successful. I mean, if the market if the auction closes where it currently is, itll be the second largest amount of spectrum that has ever been made available in the history of this agency. So i guess that, i guess i wonder what factors do you think kind of affected the appetite for that spectrum, if any. Or do you think the demand is there as its kind of been expressed by Wireless Companies . Guest so, you know, again, my job is not to forecast markets. My job was to create the market, and thats what we did. And, you know, why some carriers bid and maybe some didnt, why they went for this market and not that market, those are decisions that they make that our regulators shouldnt be making. Host tom wheeler is the former chief lobbyist for the cable industry and a member of the cable hall of fame and the Wireless Industry. Whats your reaction to some of the early commentary when you came onboard that you would work to support the industries that youve already been in . Guest oh, you know, its interesting, peter. When i was, was the chief lobbyist for the cable industry, the cable industry was, were the insurgents trying to take on the broadcasters. And when i was the chief lobbyist for the Wireless Industry, the Wireless Industry were the insurgents trying to take on the established wire line telephone companies. My heart has always been with the, with the insurgents. I, between those two gigs i went out and started companies that were new technologies trying to be insurgents. So, you know, i think that people just really didnt understand what my history really was, that ive always been proinsurgent. Host who are the insurgents today . Guest so i think the insurgents are those who are saying ive got new technologies, ive got new approaches, and i need open networks to be able to deliver them. Well, what did you learn about the fcc that you didnt know beforehand given all your experience . Guest wow, what a great question. So, margaret, here was my big, my big learning moment. As peter said, i used to represent the cable industry and the Wireless Industry, and i would go in, and i would sit down with the chairman of the fcc, and i would say let me tell you what is in the Public Interest. It just happens that what i want for my clients is what the Public Interest is all about. And so i get this job, and im sitting in the very same office that i used to go into and say i am so certain i know what the Public Interest is and just happens to be the same thing that my client wants. And i would see that time and time and time again. Somebody would come in and say, oh, this is Public Interest. Its really clear. Its what i need. And then, you know, 30 minutes later somebody would be in die met clickly opposed diametrically opposed, the interest is here. So i began to wrestle with the idea that the Public Interest is actually a very malleable concept. And so i started saying, okay, ive got to think of something broader. And so i started saying to myself how do you find the common good . How do you find how you make a decision that can have the broadest impact, positive impact for the most people . And thats the common good. And there are a lot of Public Interests inside that public good. Host we have time for one more question from each of us. Chairman wheeler, we started by asking whatd you get right. Whats left undone . What do you wish you had done differently . Guest well, you know, we ran out of runway on cable settop boxes. I still think that it, there is a great opportunity there to open the settop box and to use technology to do that. We similarly ran out of runway on whats called Business Data Services which is the hauling of business data on various networks. I wish we could have gotten those done. Host final question. I guess i would have to ask advice for the next chairman and kind of the issues that you think should be taken up. I guess thats two. [laughter] guest margaret, you know, the fcc is the publics representative at a network revolution. And as such, we should be guided by and i hope future chairs are guyeded
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