Admitting his agency plods like a broken mule, new FCC member Pai proposes moving more quickly

In late 2011, US President Barack Obama nomimated Ajit Varadaraj Pai to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Today he gave his first speech as a member of that agency. Happily, Pai appears to have modernization in his sights. The agency could use it.

Noting that the FCC is hardly revered for its speed in coming to regulatory decisions, which can delay the arrival of new devices among other things, according to The Hill, Pai stated in his speech that the agency needs to rapidly accelerate its approval of new technology. This would take the form of a ‘Office of Entrepreneurial Innovation,’ which would strive to come to a decision in, wait for it, a year.

Remember, that year timeframe is an upgrade. The Hill quotes Pai as follows:

Given these responsibilities, the FCC must act with the same alacrity as the industry we oversee. That’s not to say we should rush to regulate, but delays at the Commission have substantial real-world consequences: new technologies remain on the shelves; capital lies fallow; and entrepreneurs stop hiring or, even worse, reduce their workforce as they wait for regulatory uncertainty to work itself out.

In the modern political climate, those words are golden – as the different political parties bicker about how best to create jobs and stimulate the economy, here Pai offers a simple and clear path to cutting down roadblocks to progress. As he notes, doing so would allow products to move to market more quickly, allow for more active capital employment, and, of course, potentially boost hiring.

Whether an agency such as the FCC can match the ‘alacrity’ of the firms that it regulates is a self-answering question, but if it can cut the drag that it loads onto innovation and progress, then that is something that we can all doff our caps towards.

Top Image Credit: johanohrling