Lowell Mcadam on tech regulation
From 5G, Digital Inclusion and the Future of Communication - A Conversation with Lowell McAdam · · Worth Media
“I think transparency is important and that's the thing that people are a little concerned about right now the the for me is a Level Playing Field and we have said that time and time again fewer regulations but anybody that's in the internet ecosystem should be regulated the same and in the past there's been this let's regulate the cable companies or the telephone companies and let the Google and the Facebooks do whatever they want and I think that's how you get dominant positions and that's how you get in some of the trouble we're in today.”
On , Lowell Mcadam, Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Verizon, spoke about tech regulation during 5G, Digital Inclusion and the Future of Communication - A Conversation with Lowell McAdam on Worth Media.
About Lowell Mcadam
In a 2017 conversation, Lowell McAdam discussed Verizon's strategy for 5G deployment, describing a plan to use fiber to a neighborhood node and then broadcast wirelessly to homes, which he said would be cheaper than running fiber directly to each residence. He also addressed the digital divide, stating that Verizon's Innovative Learning schools program provides connectivity, laptops, and teacher training, and he reported a 60% improvement in test scores at participating schools. McAdam expressed frustration with the economics of the telecom industry, noting that while Verizon invested in network infrastructure, companies like Google and Facebook profited. He said Verizon was investing in content assets such as Yahoo and AOL under the Oath brand to create alternatives. On regulation, he stated that he was not a fan of regulation but advocated for a level playing field where all internet ecosystem participants are regulated equally. He also discussed municipal fees for antenna placement, citing examples of cities that either made deployment unaffordable or worked collaboratively. For rural areas, he suggested a government-subsidized model where one carrier builds infrastructure for shared use.