During Wednesday's Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE) questioned Olivia Trusty, nominee to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission, about the future rollout of 6G networks.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Okay, Mr. Chairman, you don't want to do the size stuff with me.
00:05Senator Blunt-Rochester at yet another massive state.
00:09That's correct. That's correct. Delaware. And we are, that's right, we're the first state, though. That's the important thing.
00:17Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and to ranking member Cantwell. Welcome, Ms. Trustee and Mr. Isaacman and your families.
00:25I'd like to start my questions with Ms. Trustee. As an avid tech person myself, I love this stuff.
00:35And based on predictions, I've seen that 6G is coming sometime in the early 2030s.
00:43And I've heard exciting things about how 6G networks will be integrated with AI to enable better connectivity.
00:50In the House, I was fortunate to lead bills on immersive technology and really helping us train our workforce.
01:01AI literacy was one of the bills that I focused on.
01:04And just the notion of being able to do things in real time, real time adaptive changes, presents a lot of opportunities, but it also presents challenges.
01:14There were some issues that delayed the initial 5G rollout, such as Huawei's being used as a potential supplier, infrastructure build-out issues, and more.
01:27And I view the 6G rollout as a crucial step in our competition against China in the national security realm, as well as technology spaces.
01:37Ms. Trustee, if confirmed, what specifically do you think the FCC can do to ensure that the 6G rollout is smoother than the 5G rollout was?
01:50Great. Thank you for the question.
01:51And I really agree with so much of what you said.
01:54I'll start with cybersecurity and making sure networks are deployed in a secure way.
01:58And I applaud this committee on making sure the Rip and Replace Fund was fully funded.
02:02I've been interested to see the creation of the National Security Council at the FCC, and I think that's an opportunity for the FCC to leverage its authorities in the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act to ban other high-risk equipment and vendors from our nation's communications networks.
02:18I also think the FCC can promote the adoption of open radio access network technology, which can help diversify and strengthen our domestic supply chain,
02:28so that we're not overly reliant on one or two vendors, and I think it can help increase security, competition, and ultimately reduce the cost of providing these networks in the first place.
02:38I'm a big supporter, as well, on strengthening our supply chains.
02:42We actually have a Cantwell-Blackburn-Blunt-Rochester bill.
02:47I like to call those my strange bedfellows bills, where we come together on these issues that we know are going to affect all of us.
02:53I want to also discuss the potential security concerns about 6G, particularly given, again, the flaws in 4G and 5G networks, such as a study finding that 100% of 4G networks were susceptible to denial-of-service attacks and 5G being vulnerable to network attacks.
03:14I know this is an easy one, so maybe it's a yes or no.
03:18Will you prioritize cybersecurity for 6G networks?
03:23Yes, Senator.
03:24And what other potential measures do you think the FCC can take to best secure 6G networks in particular?
03:33You know, I think a lot of this can be done through AI.
03:37I'm really excited about the development of the technology, and I think there are tremendous use cases in not only detecting fraud and scams, but securing the network itself.
03:46So if I'm confirmed, I would look to leverage artificial intelligence in these ways.
03:51You kind of preempted my next question, which deals with so many Americans, it's estimated that around 4 million or 4 billion robocalls are made per month.
04:03In fact, Delaware, while we're the first state, I don't like the fact that we're the first state in robocall complaints.
04:10I think I've probably received four of them while I was sitting here.
04:14And there's now this AI-powered grandparent scams.
04:19Back when I was in the House, as I mentioned some of the legislation I introduced, but we had one on the Fraud and Scam Reduction Act to help tackle scams that target seniors.
04:29And I encouraged the FCC, I'm encouraged that they now cover AI voice calls under the TCPA.
04:38And last year, now Chair Carr supported requiring callers to disclose up front to consumers when they receive an AI-generated call.
04:50Do you support requiring callers to disclose to consumers when it's an AI-generated call?
04:57I certainly think that can be helpful in protecting consumers from illegal robocallers, Senator.
05:02And I will say consumer protection is one of the areas that we are very much focused on.
05:09Should you be confirmed, would like to continue to work with you on that.
05:12And Mr. Isaacman, we had a very good conversation as well.
05:17I will be submitting questions for the record because I respect the chairman's time.
05:21So I yield back.