Today, I am back in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  This is where I first had the chance to put on a harness and hard hat and join some of America’s talented tower techs a few feet off the ground.  In the years since, my respect and appreciation for our country’s telecom workers has only grown.  And I have always welcomed the chance to hang with a tower crew.

Now, as Chairman of the FCC, I want to drive an agenda that makes the work of our construction crews just a little bit easier.  It is time to let these crews finish the job of connecting communities.  It is time to build.

I just wrapped up a speech here in South Dakota that lays out my vision for exactly how we are going to do that.  I call it the Build America Agenda.  You can check it out here.

We are going to put the Build America Agenda to work right away at the FCC.  And it starts with our July meeting agenda, which will feature a number of infrastructure items and steps to unleash economic growth and opportunity.

First, we will be seeking comment on ways to accelerate the upgrade from old copper line networks to modern ones.  The proposal ensures that providers can roll out upgraded networks more quickly and no longer expend resources on maintaining decades-old and costly copper line networks or on lengthy and burdensome regulatory processes that divert resources away from infrastructure work.  This item builds on four actions we took back in March to get Americans out of the slow lane of connectivity.

Second, we will vote on an order that will make it easier to build rural broadband networks.  In particular, we will be updating our pole attachment rules to remove barriers to deployment, encourage investment, and help achieve high-speed broadband availability for all Americans, consistent with the spirit and intent of Section 224.  For too long, a lack of standard rules and timelines for processing large broadband deployment orders have slowed rollouts and led to costly disputes.  By encouraging communications companies and pole-owning utilities to collaborate on larger broadband deployments and by providing more concrete timelines, we aim to streamline high-speed deployments and accelerate investment in infrastructure.

Third, our Build America Agenda is about more than turning dirt and building high-speed lines; it is also about freeing up more of the invisible airwaves that connect communities.  As we move closer to an auction of AWS-3 spectrum, we will vote to update our competitive bidding rules for auctioning licenses in the band.

Fourth, the FCC must rapidly deregulate to keep pace with the clip and cadence of private-sector builds.  To that end, we will unveil a streamlined process as part of In re: Delete, Delete, Delete to remove regulations at scale without going through years of unnecessary legal procedures.  For this first tranche, we will move to delete 18 rule sections adopted in a bygone era—including obsolete regulations on telegraph, rabbit-ear broadcast receivers, and telephone booths.

Fifth, our deregulation work continues with the next item up on the agenda.  We’ll be taking a fresh look at our slamming and truth-in-billing rules.  These rules were adopted decades ago to protect consumers from having their wireline phone service switched to a different provider without warning and ensure that customers knew the charges included in their phone bill.  But changes to the marketplace and technology have made these rules seem outdated.  So, we’ll be looking at ways we can update them to remove regulatory burdens and spur innovation—all while continuing to protect consumers.

Finally, coming full circle, I previously had the chance to visit a 988 call center right here in Sioux Falls.  That’s where Janet and her talented team of call takers shared ideas for reforms to the program that would make a real difference in the support provided to Americans in crisis.  Building on our prior work, we will be voting to require wireless providers to geo-route texts to 988.  This item will ensure that Americans in crisis can be routed to a nearby helpline center so they can receive localized care in the moment it matters most.

It is a packed July agenda for sure.  And we are definitely offering up more than the peanuts I am about to get on the flight back to D.C. tonight.

I look forward to making quick progress on our Build America Agenda and continuing to deliver results for the American people.