Pai Defends Controversial Orders in Last Speech as FCC Chief
Ajit Pai said the FCC hasn’t backed down on tough decisions on his watch. He highlighted net neutrality, the C band (see 2101150061), Ligado and Tribune's aborted buy of Sinclair. Pai said the American Enterprise Institute Friday virtual speech was…
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his last as FCC chairman. Buying Sprint meant T-Mobile has its "high-band and low-band assets, and Sprint’s midband assets" and "they’re now competing in 5G” with service to 250 million Americans, he said. The deal likely led to the high level of competition in the C-band auction that closed Friday, he said. Pai said all opposition hasn’t come from the left. On Sinclair, Pai noted he was surprised when President Donald Trump tweeted in 2018 criticizing the FCC decision to issue a hearing designation order on Sinclair's proposed buy of Tribune (see 1807250057). Pai said he was made aware of the tweet when people started to call. “My phone started blowing up, more so than usual,” he said. “As the merger review process unfolded, serious questions came to light about whether Sinclair was willing to take the steps necessary to bring the proposed transaction into compliance with our national ownership rule,” Pai said: While he’s no fan of the rule, “so long as it’s on the books, it must be obeyed.” Pai said the agency also stood strong in light of opposition to the FCC’s proposals on opening the C band to 5G and on Ligado: “Time and again, we did what was right."