STATEMENT OF 
COMMISSIONER MICHAEL O’RIELLY
Re: Encouraging the Provision of New Technologies and Services to the Public, GN Docket 
No. 18-22
I support efforts to speed up Commission decision making, and this notice seeks to fulfill this 
goal by implementing section 7, which requires the Commission to act on petitions or applications 
involving “new technologies or services” within one year.  Ideally, the Commission would implement 
true shot clocks to respond to filings across the board and not just limit it to a subset of our proceedings.  
But, for now, this notice will start a worthwhile discussion about how we can expedite certain 
Commission decisions. 
Today’s item also makes it necessary to explore the issue of delegated authority.  While our 
dedicated staff are more than capable of evaluating innovative services, by their very nature petitions filed 
under section 7 raise new and novel technologies, issues, and fact-specific determinations about whether a 
possible offering fits under the section.  In truth, no one really knows what could be filed under this 
provision and these new procedures.  Therefore, the Commissioners appropriately should have a role.  
While I believe that the Commission must treat all requests found to fall under section 7 as new or novel 
requiring a Commission-level vote, I am willing to explore at this stage alternatives to this requirement in 
our rules.  Thus, I am pleased that, at my request, we are seeking comment on procedures to provide 
Commissioners the opportunity to review these findings before release, to elevate these decisions to the 
floor for a Commission-level vote, and to establish timelines for such a vote so that these actions do not 
get unnecessarily delayed.  This is basically the proposal I floated months ago to address the delegated 
authority problem.  
Going forward, we also must ensure that section 7 is used constructively and does not have 
unintended consequences, such as causing delays to other proceedings that don’t get such treatment or 
providing a competitive advantage to some entities over others.  
I thank the Chairman for implementing my other edits, including seeking broad comment on how 
to comply with the section 7 statutory language for Commission initiated proceedings.  I also thank the 
Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) for working with me on these issues.  I look forward to 
discussing this proceeding – and other ways that the Commission can improve its operations – with 
interested parties.