Vol. 16, No. 44
November 30, 2020
UPCOMING EVENTS

February 8-10
2021 INCOMPAS Policy Summit
INCOMPAS Announces Board Election Winners
INCOMPAS hosted its annual membership meeting today, and announced that the following companies were named to serve a two-year term on the INCOMPAS Board of Directors:

Small Member Category 
  • Fatbeam - Tony Perkins, COO 
  • FiberComm - Al Aymar, CEO
  • Fuse.Cloud - Gary Watts, Founder and CEO
  • IdeaTek Telcom, LLC - Daniel Friesen, Managing Member and Innovation Officer
  • Mammoth - Brian Worthen, CEO
  • Socket Telecom - Carson Coffman, COO and President

Medium Member Category
  • C Spire - Chris Champion, Vice President, Government Relations
  • Crown Castle - Chris Levendos, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
  • Education Networks of America (ENA) - Kitty Ganier, General Counsel
  • FirstLight Fiber - Kurt Van Wagenen, President and CEO
  • Inteliquent - Jon Clopton, Vice President, Network Cost, Planning and Carrier Relations
  • Uniti Group Inc. - Ron Mudry, Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer

Large Member Category 
  • DISH - Jeff Blum, Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Government Affairs
  • Facebook - Brian Rice, Director, Public Policy
  • Granite Telecommunications Inc. - Mike Galvin, General Counsel
  • Microsoft Corporation - Paula Boyd, Senior Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs
  • Netflix Inc. - Bakari Middleton, Lead, U.S. Federal Policy
  • Twitter - Laura Culbertson, Head of U.S. Public Policy
  • Windstream - Thomas Whitehead, Vice President, Federal Government Affairs
INCOMPAS Statement on Chairman Ajit Pai's Departure from FCC
Today, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced his plans to depart the Commission in January.

“Leaders are defined by moments of great crisis, and Chairman Pai has earned his place in history for his tremendous role in uniting our industry to help keep Americans connected when it mattered most. Rising to meet the moment, Chairman Pai’s COVID response helped save lives, save businesses and save the sanity for millions of families stuck at home and dependent on internet connections for work and school," said INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering.

“Chairman Pai’s time as chairman helped expand connectivity options for new innovators and will be remembered for his commitment to helping bridge the digital divide for rural Americans. While we didn’t always agree on the role of competition, Chairman Pai and his team conducted honest and transparent policy debates, and vigorously defended their positions with creativity, care and substance," Pickering added. "We thank him for his service, and wish him and his family well in future endeavors.” 
FCC Announces Tentative Agenda for December Open Meeting
The FCC announced the tentative agenda for its December 10 Open Meeting, which includes:

  • Securing the Communications Supply Chain – The FCC will consider a Report and Order that would require Eligible Telecommunications Carriers (ETCs) to remove equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the U.S. or the security and safety of its people, would establish the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program, and would establish the procedures and criteria for publishing a list of covered communications equipment and services that must be removed. 

  • Allowing Earlier Equipment Marketing and Importation Opportunities – The FCC will consider an NPRM that would propose updates to its marketing and importation rules to permit, prior to equipment authorization, conditional sales of radio frequency devices to consumers under certain circumstances and importation of a limited number of radio frequency devices for certain pre-sale activities. 
FCC to Host Quantum Internet Forum on December 15
The FCC will host a Quantum Internet Forum on December 15, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., which will be webcast at www.fcc.gov/live.

The agenda will include remarks from FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and a keynote address from David Awschalom of the University of Chicago. The forum also will include several panels on theory and applications of the Quantum Internet, challenges and opportunities, and a look at the global landscape for this technology.

For updates and more information, visit the FCC website.
INCOMPAS | www.incompas.org