WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congressman Richard Hudson (NC-09), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, delivered the following opening statement at today's hearing titled Securing U.S. Leadership of Communications Technology.

Subcommittee Chairman Hudson's opening statement as prepared for delivery:

"Good afternoon, and welcome to today's bipartisan subcommittee hearing examining strategies for the U.S. to lead the future of communications technology.

"This subcommittee has jurisdiction over the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Both are integral to our nation's spectrum management policies. The FCC also plays a critical role in overseeing the communications industry. In addition to these domestic agencies, there are also international treaties, meetings, and bodies that help establish global rules that govern these services.

"The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations' agency responsible for international coordination of communications services. The ITU manages a global table of spectrum allocations reflecting international agreement on identified uses of spectrum frequencies across the world. The ITU also allocates satellite orbits.

"The ITU meets every four years to set its strategy for the next four and hold elections for the organization's five top officials, the 48-seat Council membership, and 12 Radio Regulations Board members. The ITU also holds the World Radiocommunication Conference every four years to review and update international treaties governing spectrum and satellite orbits.

"WRC-27 is expected to cover a variety of topics, including discussions to identify additional spectrum bands for International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT) service.

"WRC-27 will also feature a number of important agenda items related to the satellite services. The satellite industry has been in a period of robust growth and innovation over the last decade-with the U.S. companies leading much of the world in those developments. Satellite technology plays an increasingly important role in our communications infrastructure, including broadband and other critical services. Satellite communications services have also been transformational for our first responders. In my home state of North Carolina when Hurricane Helene devastated terrestrial-based infrastructure, satellite was able to bridge the gap and keep first responders connected. Demand for these services has resulted in the deployment of thousands of new satellites.

"Satellite-based services are a global enterprise, and these deployments require close coordination with the ITU and other countries.

"Our nation is the world's economic powerhouse, and we lead the world in innovation. The United States is home to the world's best technology companies. These companies have led in the creation of new devices and services that we all rely on every day. On our committee, we are working to ensure we continue to lead in new technologies of tomorrow.

"China wants to surpass the U.S. as the global technology leader. Under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), China has subsidized and stolen technology across a wide range of industries, including communications technologies. CCP-affiliated companies like Huawei (Waah-way) have exported communications equipment around the world, giving support to the CCP's espionage activities.

"The CCP also seeks to sideline the United States in international telecommunication and technology standards bodies. If successful, our allies and partners around the world may increasingly turn to CCP-linked entities for telecommunications and satellite solutions, and digital services. This is bad for American businesses, bad for Americans who rely on these devices and services in their daily lives, and ultimately undermines our economic and national security.

"The CCP notched another win in this column last year when the ITU announced it would hold the 2027 World Radiocommunications Conference (WRC-27) in Shanghai, China. As the host country, China will serve as chair of the conference, allowing the CCP to steer these critical discussions.

"Given this, the U.S. should be an active participant in all upcoming ITU engagements. As I mentioned, WRC-27 will consider a number of agenda items related to communications services, including spectrum allocations. Key decisions will be made at these meetings to establish technical rules for communications technologies.

"I look forward to hearing from the witnesses today about what is at stake in these upcoming engagements and what success looks like for the United States."

###