STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR Re: Implementation of Section 6002(b) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; Annual Report and Analysis of Competitive Market Conditions With Respect to Mobile Wireless, Including Commercial Mobile Services, WT Docket No. 17-69 Even though I am the only Commissioner that is participating in their first open meeting today, this item highlights one thing that I have not missed out on. For the past couple of years, none of my colleagues have been given the opportunity to do what we are doing today, which is simply to cast a vote on the agency’s annual wireless competition report. The Commission’s prior leadership broke from precedent by pressing consecutive reports out at the Bureau level over the objection of two Commissioners. And it was not just the process that had gone awry. In those reports, the agency refused to determine whether there is effective competition in the wireless market, even though the statute requires us to do so. I am glad that this Commission is correcting both of those errors today. As the report details, wireless prices are falling. Speeds are increasing. Network coverage and capacity are expanding. Providers are competing vigorously with each other through innovative technologies and service plans. And for the first time ever, the majority of American households are wireless- only. The facts make it abundantly clear that this is a competitive market and consumers are the beneficiaries. Now, this is not to say that there is no additional progress to be made. The wireless industry is in the middle of a transition from 4G to 5G technologies. This could introduce even greater competition into the market. But to get there, the FCC has to do its part. That means driving down the regulatory costs associated with deploying fiber, small cells, and other network infrastructure. And it means finding ways to streamline and expedite the deployment process. Getting those reforms across the finish line is going to be one of my top priorities at the agency, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on that effort.