STATEMENT OF
CHAIRMAN AJIT PAI
Re: Encouraging the Provision of New Technologies and Services to the Public, GN Docket 
No. 18-22
Section 7 of the Communications Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President 
Reagan in 1983.  It instructs the FCC to respond within one year to applications proposing new 
technologies or services.  
Unfortunately, and to the detriment of both innovators and consumers, the Commission has not 
established any guidelines or rules in the three-and-a-half decades since to implement this future-focused 
tool.
In my first major policy address as Chairman, I promised to eliminate unnecessary barriers to 
technological innovation.  And bureaucratic inertia can often be one of those barriers.  So today, we’re 
proposing clear guidelines and procedures to implement section 7.  Our goal is simple: to ensure that the 
FCC doesn’t stand as a gatekeeper between entrepreneurs who need our OK for new technologies and 
services and American consumers who can benefit from those innovations.  
Under my leadership, the FCC has taken a series of steps to promote technological progress.  
From approving the first LTE-U devices to signing off on the next-generation broadcast television 
standard to green-lighting a power-at-a-distance wireless charging transmitter, we’ve stood on the side of 
innovation.  And by putting in place procedures to give life to section 7, we will help ensure that the FCC 
is an ally to entrepreneurs in the years to come.  
Many thanks to Howard Griboff, Walter Johnston, Julie Knapp, James Miller, Paul Murray, 
Jamison Prime, and Rodney Small from the Office of Engineering and Technology; Matthew Pearl, John 
Schauble, Blaise Scinto, and Joel Taubenblatt from the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau; Robert 
Cannon and Wayne Leighton from the Office of Strategic Planning and Policy; Karen Peltz-Strauss from 
the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau; and David Horowitz and Doug Klein from the Office of 
General Counsel.