The New Administration’s Approach to Telecom 

The New Administration’s Approach to Telecom

The next four years of telecommunications policy will be unlike anything Wall Street and other stakeholders have ever seen, according to one long-time analyst and former FCC staff member who has seen his share of changes and administrations over the past three decades.   

“The questions for investors are, what does the President want to have happen, and then how does that get implemented? How do the governors react to that?” said Blair Levin, U.S. Policy and Regulatory Advisor, New Street Research. “Trump’s approach to telecom and media is going to be just completely different than what investors have expected in the past.” 

Levin, who served as FCC Chief of Staff during a time when voice was king and the internet and multi-use data networks were a conceptual dream before he moved into the private sector, noted the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) had a strong backer in the incoming Vice President.  

“JD Vance was the leading Republican senator advocating for an extension of ACP,” said Levin. “He and I had a delightful 10 minutes [during a Congressional hearing.] I should say that was very useful [and] productive. His questions were excellent. He was really trying to get information, not make a speech, unlike some other people at that hearing. In any event, if he becomes a big advocate, maybe that will help move the administration.” 

Affordable access to reliable, high-speed, low-latency broadband is a necessity in today’s society regardless of the administration, Levin asserted. Due to the need to access vital services such as education, job training and placement, health care, and government services on the internet, it is cheaper and more effective for all involved if everyone has access to broadband, most especially for economically at-risk households that need access to assistance. 

“I served in two Democratic administrations, so it should not surprise anyone what my politics are, but the argument I’m making, I would think, would appeal to a lot of Republicans,” said Levin. “We want everybody on the internet because that is the way to participate in the economy and their community and in with their churches and with their PTAs and other kinds of things. That’s where communication is going, and we don’t want short-term economics to be a bar to that.” 

Levin noted that there’s also a lot of uncertainty around the FCC’s Universal Service Fund, due to how it is funded and a growing need for more operational funding to sustain high-cost networks in rural areas. But he doesn’t anticipate the preference for fiber changing at the state level even if NTIA revises its policies in the new administration. 

“There are certain requirements that NTIA put in that I assume they’re gone,” said Levin. “Whatever the merits were, it doesn’t matter, one of them being the preference for fiber. I don’t think simply taking away that changes much, because as long as the governors are in charge [of BEAD funding], most of the governors prefer fiber, and they’re not interested in returning money to the U.S. Treasury. They’re interested in building fiber to as many places as they can, because like that Airbnb with the mountain biking, they would love the rural areas to have better connectivity that people can really rely on.” 

For more insights into why Levin believes the next administration will be different on telecom policy than any of the previous ones, what Wall Street is looking for, and how things have changed since Levin was at the FCC, tune into the latest Fiber for Breakfast.