Questions Remain on Trump International Telecom Policy, as Key Official Leaves State
Parts of the Trump administration’s international policy remain in disarray. Key positions remain unfilled at the State Department, including U.S. coordinator for international communications (CIC) and information policy. FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly Tuesday urged changes (see 1707250049) at the ITU, which holds the World Radiocommunication Conference every four years.
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The U.S. hasn’t had a CIC since Daniel Sepulveda left at the end of the Obama administration. Acting CIC Julie Zoller is leaving State. Industry officials say it's unclear when the Trump administration will make appointments. The CIC and the ITU are somewhat intertwined. A key CIC role is to help select the U.S. ambassador to the WRC, next scheduled in 2019. The department is being reorganized (see 1706130061). Regulatory lawyers tell us Trump likely will appoint a CIC, possibly without the title of ambassador, a potential stumbling block in recruiting.
Zoller's "departure is a big loss,” said Christopher Bjornson, international lawyer at Steptoe & Johnson. “Her vast institutional knowledge and diplomatic skills command respect from across all industry segments, national administrations.”
A former State Department official said the administration doesn’t seem to have much interest in appointing a CIC, though a key meeting, the ITU Plenipotentiary, is next year in Dubai. If the U.S. is concerned about the ITU expanding its powers, it needs someone as CIC a year ahead of time to build connections and to “be able to make the case for why the ITU should maintain its existing mission and stay with its four corners of authority,” the former official said. The White House didn't comment.
“It’s troubling that the U.S. is essentially going without leadership on international telecom issues” while other countries get more involved at the ITU, said Doug Brake, senior telecom analyst at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “With such a large market, we are generally able to pull vendors along with U.S.-centric policies.” He warned that U.S. focus is needed on issues from 5G to high-altitude platform stations slated for the next WRC.
O’Rielly at a Free State Foundation event said the ITU needs “an overhaul.” He questioned the value of remaining a member of the U.N. group unless changes occur. “If the U.S does remain involved, I suggest that we need to play a bigger role in the ITU leadership,” he said. “It is ironic that we are the second biggest contributor to the ITU … but only one secretary general has come from the U.S. in 150 years.” O’Rielly warned against some ITU trends. It's being "used by authoritarian governments to push their myopic agendas,” he said. “Controls need to be put into place to ensure that the ITU remains focused on its core mission as opposed to engaging in mission creep, such as their activities to regulate the internet, to placate certain governments. Failure to reform are likely to lead to calls for the U.S. to defund the ITU.”
The ITU has some U.S. officials. Joanne Wilson, deputy program manager of the NASA Spectrum Management contract, is an elected member of ITU’s Radio Regulations Board. Doreen Bogdan-Martin, chief of ITU’s Strategic Planning and Membership Department since the beginning of 2008, is considered the most senior-ranked woman at ITU.
FSF President Randolph May said O’Rielly was right to raise questions about the ITU and “authoritarian countries that are using the organization to promote their not-so-subtle agendas to exert greater government control over communications."