C&T Subcommittee Holds Hearing on the 2027 World Radiocommunication Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, led a hearing titled Securing U.S. Leadership of Communications Technology . “Our nation is the world’s economic powerhouse, and we lead the world in innovation,” said Chairman Hudson. “The United States is home to the world’s best technology companies, which have led in the creation of new devices and services that we rely on every day. On our committee, we are working to ensure we continue to lead in the new technologies of tomorrow.” Watch the full hearing here . Below are key excerpts from today’s hearing: Subcommittee Vice Chairman Rick Allen (GA-12): “If the U.S. were to reduce its engagement at the conference, what countries are most likely to fill that vacuum? And what are the national security implications associated with their increased influence?” Ms. Alexander: “In my 20 years of doing ITU work, what I’ve seen is a marked engagement of Asian countries, in particular China. So, in some cases, when the U.S. companies don’t come, China comes— and China comes even more. And I think that will happen in this case as well. If we were not there and we don’t show up, they will and they’ll show up in big numbers. And that will be bad for national security in the long run for us.” Congressman Russ Fulcher (ID-01): “Can you describe a worst case, best case? Best case if we hold them accountable or worst case if we don’t, what happens?” Ambassador Lang: “Well, I think the worst case we need to prepare for is that China would structure the informal conversations that take place on the side of the conference in such a way that the U.S. would not have a seat at the table, and that at some point the U.S. would be presented with something that other parties were viewing as a consensus, and that we would be pressured to accept. So, I think what’s important is for us to make sure that we are—that we have a seat at the table in every single conversation that takes place. [...] The best case is that they actually conduct it in a transparent and fair manner. I think that they will be under a lot of pressure. They will want this conference to be viewed as a success widely. So, I think, there is reason to think that they will want to have a successful conference that is viewed favorably.” Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11): “Talking about the WRC that’s upcoming and the coordination that you think needs to happen, how behind are we and what needs to happen in order to catch up?” Ms. Alexander: “For WRC, my observation historically is that these processes can be slow, and they can be cumbersome because spectrum is hard. [...] And it’s hard to sometimes deconflict and resolve these competing priorities. But that needs to happen. It needs to happen faster for us to be effective in these environments.” ###
