Pai: Ready To Maximize Competition, Innovation

New Republican FCC commissioner Ajit Pai is anxious to get to work.

"I am honored that the United States Senate has voted to confirm me to the Federal Communications Commission," new Republican FCC Commissioner AJit Pai told Multichannel News in an e-mail Monday.
"I want to thank President Obama for nominating me and Senator McConnell for his support throughout this process. I am grateful to [Senate Commerce] Chairman [Jay] Rockefeller, ranking Member [Kay Bailey] Hutchison, and the other members of the Commerce Committee for the many courtesies they extended to me in recent months. I also wish to thank my home state senators, Senator Roberts and Senator Moran, for their efforts on my behalf.
I congratulate my fellow nominee Jessica Rosenworcel on her confirmation and am eager to work with her, Chairman [Julius] Genachowski, Commissioner [Robert] McDowell, and Commissioner [Mignon] Clyburn on the critical work ahead of us. Finally, I know from firsthand experience the skills and talents of the staff at the FCC. It will be a privilege to work with them once again to maximize the benefits of competition and innovation for American consumers and to create a regulatory environment that will allow the communications industry to play a leading role in promoting economic growth and job creation."
'Competition,' 'innovation' and 'consumer' are all important words in the current FCC lexicon, though Republicans and Democrats often have quite different views on how to achieve them.
Pai and Rosenworcel were approved Monday by the Senate to assume two vacant FCC commissioner seats (REFERE MAIN STORY).

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.