FCC Will Have 1-Year Deadline to Rule on New Technologies, Pai Says

The FCC now will adhere to a one-year deadline for decisions on approvals of new technology and services within its jurisdiction, said Chairman Ajit Pai in a speech at a Cato Institute event in New York Friday. “This process is what’s called for in a provision of the Communications Act -- Section 7,” Pai said. “You’ve probably never heard of it, and for good reason. It’s been on the books for decades, but it’s never been enforced. At long last, it will be,” Pai said. That one-year deadline is “lightspeed” in the “regulatory world,” Pai said.