Washington, D.C., October 21, 2020 – Competitive Carriers Association’s (CCA) 2020 Annual Convention took place virtually today with FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr addressing carriers on a variety of policy initiatives including OpenRAN, the 5G Fund, and lessons learned from COVID-19.
In a keynote discussion with Steven K. Berry, president and CEO of CCA, Commissioner Carr noted that overnight millions of Americans switched their lives to the Internet for work, education, and telehealth. “It was a surprise stress test for our networks, and our Internet infrastructure held up exceptionally well as we experienced a 20-30 percent surge in network traffic due to COVID. Other countries were not as fortunate. It was great to see how America’s Internet providers stepped up to the plate. The U.S. is home to the strongest 4G and now 5G platforms in the world and that required a lot of investment by CCA members.”
Commissioner Carr also addressed OpenRAN saying, “It is going to be a game changer, and I’ve been pleased to work with CCA and its members as we see this transition happening. OpenRAN will provide competition that will drive down prices for infrastructure build and increase performance. We’ll see a more affordable network, a high performing network and a far more secure network with a range of US providers who can compete for business on the software level.”
“I’d like to thank Commissioner Carr, Senator Wicker, and Congressman Pallone for speaking with us today,” said Steven K. Berry, president and CEO of CCA. “These challenging times have brought out the best in us, and I am proud of the many CCA members who helped their customers and communities find solutions that have kept life moving along. This moment comes as wireless is entering a new era of accessibility and viability, thanks to 5G and the potential that it offers. Together we will continue to work with policymakers to ensure that carriers can provide their customers the wireless services they need and deserve.”
In his keynote remarks Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation, said technology has been pivotal in sustaining us during the pandemic supporting online classrooms, telehealth services, and businesses. “America can win the race to 5G if we continue to promote investment, protect consumers, and reward innovation.” He also addressed the importance of making more spectrum available, modernizing our infrastructure laws to facilitate fast deployment of 5G for deployment of small cells, and providing skills training to expand the technology workforce.
House Committee on Energy & Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) commended CCA members for their work on the TRACED Act to help consumers combat robocalls and discussed the need to ensure that high speed broadband is open, available, and affordable to everyone.
Keynote Program
T-Mobile’s Neville Ray took to the keynote stage to discuss T-Mobile’s leadership, momentum, and progress accelerating 5G followed by Ericsson North America’s VP of Network Product Solutions, Paul Challoner, who discussed virtual RAN.
FierceWireless hosted a keynote panel, Can OpenRAN Hit Its Stride?, sponsored by Mavenir, and panelists examined how software is being used to tie together components from different suppliers and how OpenRAN promises an end to vendor lock-in and elevated pricing.
Interop Technologies’ President and CEO John Dwyer and VP of Product Management, Josh Wigginton, spoke about the lifecycle of operator messaging and outlined a path for operators to secure their role in 5G messaging.
Mike Keegan, CEO, TNS spoke with Steven K. Berry and discussed robocall prevention measures, the TRACED Act, and the STIR/SHAKEN Call Authentication framework. John Harrington, SVP, US majors accounts of Nokia, closed the keynote program with remarks about networks and how they keep us going.
About CCA
CCA is the leading association for competitive wireless providers and stakeholders across the United States. Members range from small, rural carriers serving fewer than 5,000 customers to regional and nationwide providers serving millions of customers, as well as vendors and suppliers that provide products and services throughout the wireless communications ecosystem. CCA’s 2021 Mobile Carriers Show will take place March 29-31 in Louisville, Kentucky and CCA’s 2021 Annual Convention will take place September 20-22 in Phoenix, Arizona. Visit http://www.ccamobile.org/ Connect: Twitter: @CCAMobile #CCA2020
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