Sam Liccardo
Mayor

Chairman Ajit Pai
Federal Communications Commission
445 12th Street SW
Washington, DC 20554
January 25, 2018

Dear Chairman Pai,
It has been my honor to participate in policymaking to broaden the economic and educational
opportunities of the residents I serve as San José’s Mayor. It was my hope that I might have just
such an opportunity on a broader scale through the Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee
(BDAC).
When I joined this committee, I hoped to develop balanced, common-sense recommendations that
will advance our goal of expanding broadband access across the country, particularly for the 34
million low-income and rural Americans who lack that access. I joined the BDAC cognizant that
the composition of the panel heavily favored the industry, with more than three-quarters of the
membership representing telecommunications companies or interests closely aligned with those
companies. I’d hoped that through our work, we would be able to engage in constructive dialogue
with the industry about how to bridge the digital divide, which you identified as your “top priority”
at yesterday’s meeting.
The chairs of the working groups on which I participated have been very cordial, and collaborative
in tone, and I am grateful for that. However, after nine months of deliberation, negotiation, and
discussion, we’ve made no progress toward a single proposal that will actually further the goal of
equitable broadband deployment. Although we’ve adopted principles that pay lip service to that
objective, not a single one of the draft recommendations attempts to meaningfully identify any new
or significant resources to promote digital inclusion. My team’s vocal attempts – and those of other
stakeholders – to note that glaring omission have not resulted in any meaningful changes.
This became particularly apparent at our most recent meeting in Washington, DC. One working
group, which did not have a single municipal representative among its 30+ participants, created a
draft model state code that included provisions to eliminate all municipal control over when, how,
and whether to accept industry applications for infrastructure deployment. Another working group
had an industry representative dramatically re-write its draft municipal code in the 11th hour,
pushing aside the product of months of the working group’s deliberations. The result, in each case,
were provisions that plainly prioritized industry interests.
It has become abundantly clear that despite the good intentions of several participants, the industryheavy makeup of BDAC will simply relegate the body to being a vehicle for advancing the interests
of the telecommunications industry over those of the public. The apparent goal is to create a set of
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th floor, San José, CA 95113 tel (408) 535-4800 fax (408) 292-6422 www.sjmayor.org

 rules that will provide industry with easy access to publicly-funded infrastructure at taxpayersubsidized rates, without any obligation to provide broadband access to underserved residents.
As a result, I am compelled to submit my resignation to the FCC Broadband Deployment Advisory
Board, effective immediately.
Sincerely,

Sam Liccardo
Mayor of San José