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President Trump appointed FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai as the new Chairman of the FCC. Ajit Pai, a republican, was appointed by Barack Obama to serve as a commissioner for the FCC. Trump was quick to get to work and he wasted no time appointing new leadership for America's communications regulator after former chairman Tom Wheeler stepped down. This is all per The Hill.
Ajit Pai has made headlines strongly opposing net neutrality, and really being the anti-regulatory voice in FCC. Pai has strongly apposed previous FCC head Tom Wheeler's moves, but there really could be no better appointee than Pai for this position. Given Pai has already served as commissioner, and according to Forbes, Pai served some years in the Office of the General Counsel of the FCC and extensive knowledge of communications law. Pai was a senior attorney at a law firm that served a major telecommunications company. Pai will be in charge of the nation's regulatory body of all telecommunications. If you know what Pai is about, it's easy to guess where he could take the Commission, and one could assume it'll be deregulation. Like stated above, Pai has been a real voice for the regulations pushed by the Obama administration that put major restrictions on the telecommunications industry as a whole. Here is a brief video summary of Pai's view and plans per Wochit News:
You'd think with Republicans controlling The House, The Senate, and The White House, Pai will have no issue doing what he wants to do, well that is true, but there is one thing. The AT&T-Time Warner merger, the $85 billion deal that has President Trump shaking his head on. That is the one thorn in the side Pai will have, is Trump's disapproval of the merger. Trump stated back in October, he thinks it puts too much power "in the hands of too few".
Trump obviously does not seem to be a fan of consolidation, which sadly is the trend in the telecommunications and media industries, but Pai doesn't oppose it. In the next four years look for a lot of meetings between President Trump and Chairman Pai, especially when a merger or acquisition comes up within the industry. It's safe to say Pai will push free market policies and deregulate the telecom and media industries. That overall vision aligns with Trump's pro-growth, pro-American vision. Expect to see more jobs, innovation, and market growth within telecommunications and media over the next four years. Again, Pai and Trump will spar over mergers and acquisitions as both have good and fair arguments; Pai wants a free market approach as Trump wants a competitive approach. Consolidation is good in some instances, if it benefits the consumer and the market place, but too much could create an oligopoly which is not good. Investors should keep a close eye on stocks in the telecom and media industries over the next four years, also keep and eye on those ETFs as well. With Trump promoting pro-growth policies across the board, and Ajit Pai now the Chariman of the FCC, this sector could take off. Consumers and investors alike should all be excited for this new era in America, and once Pai gets to deregulating and promoting growth, industries will pick up steam and really take off. Technology overall, which a lot has to be approved by the FCC, has been over flowing with innovation and growth, but regulations have slowed that growth, and has kept a beast in it's cage long enough. Chairman Pai and President Trump will unleash the full potential of the telecommunications and media industries.
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