Jan 25, 2021It would be an understatement to say that the past four years in general, the past year in particular, and especially the two months since the United States' November 2020 elections have been a whirlwind. Many are looking to 2021 to usher in new hope for the morale-damaged country and, by extension, for the entire world. Given President Joe Biden's choices to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the outlook for the Internet of Things (IoT) sector may be looking a bit brighter.
Not long after Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., swore Biden and Kamala Harris in as the 46th President and 49th Vice President on January 20, the nation learned who, under their leadership, would be heading the United States' key agencies that have jurisdiction over the Internet of Things and other broadband technologies. It's too soon, of course, to evaluate how effective Biden's choices will be in their positions, or how much actual change is possible right now given the tumultuous situation in the U.S. Congress. But considering their experience in the IoT space, there's reason to be hopeful.
The FCC's Acting Chairwoman is Jessica Rosenworcel, whom President Barack Obama first appointed to the agency in 2012. Obama renominated Rosenworcel for a second term in 2015, but she left the Commission in 2017 for a short time before returning to her role during Donald Trump's single term in office. Previously, she had served on the Senate Commerce Committee. As Acting Chairwoman, Rosenworcel is the second woman to lead the FCC following Mignon Clyburn.
Rosenworcel has long advocated for bringing the benefits of broadband technology to all Americans, especially children, and to help close the Internet inequality gap. She has pushed to protect Net neutrality, provide broadband service to everyone throughout the country, and ensure access for all students for use during homework and remote learning, and she has worked to develop new methods for supporting wireless services such as the Internet of Things.
Meanwhile, Biden has chosen Evelyn Remaley as the NTIA's Acting-Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. Remaley previously served as the agency's Associate Administrator for Policy Analysis and Development, leading a team of experts who offered support to the NTIA and the White House regarding issues impacting the Internet and the digital economy.
Jessica Rosenworcel (left) and Evelyn Remaley
Remaley's expertise lies in the areas of supply chain risk management, the Internet of Things, privacy, cybersecurity and encryption. Before joining the federal government, she led Booz Allen Hamilton's Cybersecurity and Internet Policy Team, and she also worked for an Internet service provider for a time, as well as helping public libraries provide communities with Internet across.
In short, Rosneworcel and Remaley seem to be strong advocates for the Internet of Things, and they each have abundant knowledge of the industry, which is a good sign for the future. With these two qualified professionals leading the FCC and the NTIA, perhaps the IoT sector will receive more support from the U.S. government than it has in the recent past. There's no easy fix for the country's ills at the moment… but these appointments, at least, are a small step in the right direction.
Rich Handley has been the managing editor of RFID Journal since 2005. Outside the RFID world, Rich has authored, edited or contributed to numerous books about pop culture.
