Remarks of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Adam Cassady at NVIDIA GTC

Remarks of Adam Cassady
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
NVIDIA GTC
October 29, 2025

Hello everyone. It's great to be here at GTC-thank you to NVIDIA for having me. My name is Adam Cassady, and I'm Deputy Administrator at NTIA at the Department of Commerce. We are the feds for spectrum, basically.

Before the panel kicks off, I want to draw a few lines connecting what we're discussing today at the conference to our own vision at NTIA-because the themes at GTC this year line up perfectly with two of our top priorities here at NTIA: AI, and 6G. In AI, NTIA's vision is just that of the Administration's: we want the United States-led AI to power the future. Of work, of recreation, of life. And second, and more specifically at NTIA: We want to ensure that the United States leads, together with secure and trusted global partners, in the next generation of connectivity, 6G. And as yesterday's announcement demonstrates, these aren't separate goals. They're already converged.

AI will shape how 6G works under the hood-optimizing networks, predicting failures, dynamically allocating spectrum-and 6G will, in turn, shape how AI reaches the edge. It's a feedback loop between intelligence and connectivity, and the countries that understand that relationship first will define the next digital era. And that's why we were so excited to hear that NVIDIA is prioritizing connectivity with its $1 billion investment in Nokia. We look forward to seeing what the best in AI and the best in network architecture can do to bring radically new capabilities online. Because, let's be clear: AI-driven networks are table stakes for competitiveness in the future. If you aren't leaning forward, you're already behind.

At NTIA, we want to help ensure that the 6G future we build represents the same thing that the NVIDIA-Nokia partnership represents: the best technology, and the best engineering knowhow, working together to build on a platform of standards and partnerships that make open, trusted, and secure networking possible worldwide.

When I was on the ground in Beijing last month for 3GPP meetings, where 6G standards are created, we saw exactly why that matters. Industry-led work yielded a real win for openness and interoperability in the 6G standard: the O-Ran Alliance specification, for the first time, was referenced in the 3GPP 6G spec. That's a concrete win that makes it possible for more secure and trusted vendors to interoperate, and to partner, with one another to scale networks more quickly. And that's going to matter where the rubber meets the RAN, so to speak.

So we want to help-we want to play a supporting role. We want to work across the government with our federal partners, and with industry, to identify the use cases that will drive value for consumers, for industry, and for government applications in 6G. And to do that, we need to open our doors to the industry-to you all in the room. So bring us your ideas, your pitches, your shower thoughts. As we lead on developing the US's 6G roadmap, we're going to need you all to be our Waze. Route around the slowdowns, and help us avoid the speed traps.

And speaking of roadmaps-let me talk about one of the most exciting projects we're lining up: the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. If there were ever a stage built for innovation, led by America in partnership with its friends and allies, that's it, right? And we intend to use that spotlight to show what's possible-with a NTIA-led, industry-driven demonstration of early 6G technologies. We're calling it Mission LA 2028.

The idea is simple: take the most ambitious, forward-leaning 6G concepts-integrated sensing, AI-powered networking, immersive experiences-and show the world that they can work, safely and securely, at scale-and, proverbially, ahead of time and under budget. We don't know yet what it's going to look like: that's going to be, at least partially, on the folks hosting this conference, together with all of the other folks up and down the 6G stack.

But maybe it will feature drones powered by 6G-enabled sensing and AI navigation tracking Olympic sailing races in real time, transmitting ultra-high-definition video feeds directly to broadcasters and fans. Maybe it's integrated sensing that creates a three dimensional digital twin of a venue, allowing someone to explore the track in extended reality. Maybe it is seamless connectivity between terrestrial and satellite used to facilitate streaming connections between and among venues.

But we aren't going to be the ones who define that vision; you all are. We're looking for partners to make that story real-hardware, software, AI, all of it. If that sounds like your kind of moonshot, reach out to us at [email protected].

Now, all of this-AI, 6G, standards, demos-it can sound abstract. But at its core, it's about people. It's about whether the technologies we build amplify freedom, creativity, and opportunity-or whether they don't. So as we head into the next wave of connectivity, the real test won't just be speed or latency. It'll be whether our systems reflect our values: openness, security, and innovation. Here in America, at least, we know where we stand.

Thank you very much.