Meredith Attwell Baker

Meredith Attwell Baker is the president and chief executive officer of CTIA, an industry trade group that represents the international wireless telecommunications industry. From 2009 to 2011, Baker was a member of the United States Federal Communications Commission, nominated by U.S. President Barack H. Obama. She also served in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration as a political appointee, and was subsequently named a deputy assistant secretary of the Commerce Department by President George W. Bush in February 2007.[1]

Meredith Attwell Baker
Member of the Federal Communications Commission
In office
July 31, 2009 – June 3, 2011
PresidentBarack Obama
Personal details
Born1968
Houston, Texas, USA
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)James A. Baker, IV
RelationsJames A. Baker, III
ParentsKirby Attwell (father)
ResidenceMcLean, Virginia
Alma materWashington & Lee University (B.A.)
University of Houston (J.D.)[1]
WebsiteFCC Profile

Early life and education

Baker is a native of Houston, Texas.[2] Her father, Kirby Attwell, was president of Lincoln Liberty Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Lincoln Consolidated, at which he worked with the late former Texas Democratic U. S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Her great-great grandfather was Isaac Van Zandt, a political leader in the Republic of Texas. The Attwells have had long-standing friendships with the Baker and Bush political families. She is a daughter-in-law of James A. Baker, III.[3]

In high school, Baker attended the Sidwell Friends School for one semester.[2] She earned her Bachelor of Arts in journalism and Spanish in 1990 from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.[3] She procured a law degree from the University of Houston in 1994.[3][1] Baker is a member of the State Bar of Texas.[1]

Career

Early in her career, Baker worked at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Houston, and later at the law firm DeLange and Hudspeth,[1] where she focused on bankruptcy and corporate law.[3] She worked at the U.S. Department of State in the agency's Legislative Affairs Office from 1990 to 1992.[1]

From 1998 to 2000, Baker served as director of congressional affairs for CTIA,[1] at which she helped designate 9-1-1 as the national emergency number and fought against cell phone "cloning".[3] She then served as senior counsel at Covad Communications from 2000 to 2002,[3][1][4] taking time off to assist George W. Bush's campaign with the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida.[3] She later served as vice president at Williams Mullen from 2002 to 2004,[3] where she focused on intellectual property, international trade, and telecommunications.[1][4]

United States Department of Commerce

In January 2004, Baker joined the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce, as a senior advisor. She was subsequently named a deputy assistant secretary of the Department of Commerce by President George W. Bush in February 2007,[1] and then assistant secretary and acting head of NTIA after John Kneuer left the agency in November 2008.[2][3] She also served as the Office of International Affairs' acting associate administrator and was detailed to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.[1]

During her tenure at NTIA, Baker "advised and represented the Executive Branch on both domestic and international telecommunications and information policy activities".[1] According to her FCC biography, Baker's mission at NTIA was to "promote market-based policies that encourage innovation and benefit consumers" as she encouraged efficient radio spectrum use by the federal government and headed the management of the Internet's domain name and numbering system.[2][1] Baker argued the "government would do best to tread lightly" in broadcast regulations given the "robust and diverse media marketplace".[3] In 2008, Baker voiced concern over the FCC's ruling that Comcast violated policy by "blocking and degrading" file-sharing applications.[5] She also oversaw the $1.5 billion coupon program to help consumers with the nation's digital television transition.[2][3][1][6]

Federal Communications Commission
Commissioner Baker in 2010

Baker was nominated by President Obama as a member of the FCC on June 25, 2009.[1] She was sworn in on July 31, 2009, and held the role until June 3, 2011.[1] Like all of President Obama's political appointees, she signed an ethics pledge preventing her from lobbying anyone working at the FCC for two years after she left the independent agency, or any FCC appointees for the rest of Obama's presidency.[7] Baker was one of two Republicans on the five-person commission.[7][8]

During her tenure, Baker supported efforts to increase radio spectrum availability for wireless broadband services.[2] She also advocated for smart antenna technology and a spectrum database to maximize radio wave use.[2] Baker reportedly voted "with some reservations" to start creating new net neutrality guidelines only after voicing her concerns to Julius Genachowski. She disagreed with his inclusion of wireless service providers within net neutrality policies.[2]

NBC Universal

In May 2011, Baker accepted a job as senior vice president of governmental affairs for NBC Universal.[6][7][9] The move, which came four months after the FCC approved the merger of Comcast and NBC Universal, received some criticism from groups who opposed the merger and voiced concerns about the revolving door between legislative and regulatory agencies and private sector companies.[7][8][10][11] The company said that it did not approach Baker about the position until mid April, after NBC Universal lobbyist Bob Okum resigned. Similarly, Baker said she had no contact with NBC Universal or Comcast about the position when the acquisition was pending.[12][13] Both Baker and Comcast said the FCC's general counsel, Austin Schlick, was made aware of the potential transition on April 18, and Baker recused herself from merger discussions. Comcast also noted that Kyle E. McSlarrow, who hired Baker at NBC Universal, was not employed by the company when the merger was completed; he was serving at the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) at the time.[14]

While Baker could immediately lobby Congress and supervise employees who directly lobby the FCC, to comply with Obama's ethics pledge, she could not personally lobby any executive branch political appointee (including the FCC) during Obama's presidency. However, after two years, she could lobby non-political appointees at the FCC. Additionally, she may never personally lobby anyone on the Comcast/NBC merger agreement.[11][12]

CTIA

Baker became CTIA's president and CEO in mid 2014,[15][16] having previously served as the advocacy group's director of congressional affairs from 1998 to 2000.[1][4] In a statement released after her hiring, Baker identified three spectrum priorities for the association: "place more emphasis on technical and engineering expertise related to spectrum and wireless technologies; work with commercial and government users to produce a viable five-year plan for the future of spectrum usage; and begin to regularly assess how efficiently spectrum is being used."[17]

In January 2015, Baker testified on the importance of an open Internet but against the reclassification of mobile broadband as a Title II service under the Communications Act of 1934 at a hearing held by the House Energy Subcommittee on Communications and Technology.[18] Two months later, CTIA, NCTA, and USTelecom, filed legal challenges against the FCC's net neutrality order reclassifying broadband under Title II.[19]

Baker has testified before Congress on the issue of spectrum.[20] In a March 2016 media call, she said the industry is ready to invest billions of dollars to fund spectrum and new infrastructure, suggesting the "spectrum pipeline should become a national priority" because "100 MHz of spectrum is equal to $30 billion to the economy and 1 million jobs."[21] In 2016, CTIA released reports outlining the importance of U.S. leadership in 5G and high band spectrum.[22][23] The organization praised the FCC's unanimous vote in July 2016 to allow wireless operations above 24 GHz.[24]

In 2017, CTIA released a report authored by Accenture on the economic benefits of 5G deployment, with Baker noting, "Accenture's report confirms the significant benefits from the next generation of wireless, driven by hundreds of billions of dollars that the wireless industry will invest to deploy 5G."[25]

Personal life

Baker and her husband James A. Baker, IV, who serves as a senior partner at the law firm Baker Botts as of 2009,[2][3] married in Ravello, Italy, in 2006. James is the son of attorney and statesman James Baker, III,[2] who served as White House Chief of Staff and United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Ronald Reagan, and as United States Secretary of State and White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush.[3][1]

As of 2009, the couple resided in McLean, Virginia, with his four daughters from a previous marriage.[3][1]

Works
  • "Building our mobile life". The Hill. August 26, 2014.
  • "5G Networks: The Next Generation of Wireless". Wireless Week. October 20, 2015.
  • "Incentive auction will transform spectrum policy". The Hill. December 8, 2015.
  • "How to make America great? Invest in our smartphone networks". The Hill. February 2, 2017.
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References
  1. "Biography of Former Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  2. Kang, Cecilia (December 23, 2009). "Act Two for FCC's Meredith Attwell Baker". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 2269358. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  3. McAvoy, Kim (June 17, 2009). "Baker: Likely A Light-Handed Regulator". TV News Check. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  4. Poirier, John (June 25, 2009). "Obama eyes Meredith Baker for U.S. FCC position". Reuters. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
  5. Hearn, Ted (August 1, 2008). "FCC Hammers Comcast on File Sharing". Multichannel News. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  6. Tsukayama, Hayley (May 12, 2011). "FCC commissioner Meredith Baker to join Comcast-NBC". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  7. Wyatt, Edward (May 11, 2011). "F.C.C. Commissioner Leaving to Join Comcast". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  8. Healey, Jon (May 11, 2011). "Observations and Provocations from the Times' Opinion Staff". Los Angeles Times. tronc. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  9. Boliek, Brooks; Kirgman, Eliza (May 11, 2011). "FCC's Baker to resign, join NBC". Politico. Capitol News Company. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  10. Blethen, Ryan (May 13, 2011). "Comcast and the FCC just got a tad too cozy". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. ISSN 0745-9696. OCLC 9198928. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  11. Fernandez, Bob (May 15, 2011). "Straight from Washington, new Comcast executive will face lobbying limits". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia Media Network. ISSN 0885-6613. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  12. Wyatt, Edward (May 13, 2011). "F.C.C. Commissioner Defends Taking Comcast Job". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  13. Kang, Cecilia (May 13, 2011). "FCC's Meredith Baker goes on the defensive". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  14. Scherer, Michael (May 13, 2011). "Without a Hitch, the Revolving Door Still Spins at the FCC". Time. Time Inc. ISSN 0040-781X. OCLC 1311479. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  15. Bachman, Katy (April 23, 2014). "Meredith Baker Exits Comcast for Wireless Lobby: Wants CTIA to be the 'go to' organization on communication issues". Adweek. Prometheus Global Media. ISSN 0199-2864. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  16. Kang, Cecilia (April 23, 2014). "Wireless lobby group names former FCC member Baker as president". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  17. Barbagallo, Paul (Apr 24, 2014). "In Baker, CTIA Gets a Spectrum Czar—And at a Crucial Time". Bloomberg BNA. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  18. "Testimony of Meredith Attwell Baker President and CEO CTIA – The Wireless Association on "Protecting the Internet and Consumers Through Congressional Action" Before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology" (PDF). U.S. House of Representatives Document Repository. January 21, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  19. Bode, Karl (March 19, 2015). "Verizon Will Let CTIA, NCTA Sue FCC Over Neutrality". DSLReports. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  20. Eggerton, John (July 29, 2015). "CTIA Plugs Need for Licensed Wireless Spectrum". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  21. Goovaerts, Diana (March 18, 2016). "CTIA, Verizon Renew Calls for Swift Gov't Action on 5G Spectrum". Wireless Week. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  22. Stott, Rob (February 10, 2016). "5G Is Coming: CTIA Discusses the Next Wireless Network in a New Report". Dealerscope. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  23. Gibbs, Colin (June 16, 2016). "CTIA lobbies FCC to release high-band spectrum for 5G". FierceWireless. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  24. McGrath, Dylan (July 17, 2016). "U.S. takes the lead in 5G after FCC nod". EE Times Asia. Retrieved May 28, 2017.
  25. Goovaerts, Diana (January 12, 2017). "5G Deployments Could Create 3 Million Jobs, Boost U.S. GDP by $500 Billion, Report Says". Wireless Week. Retrieved May 28, 2017.

Further reading
External video
Full Keynote: CTIA Meredith Attwell Baker at #SuperMobility, September 10, 2015
CTIA President & CEO Meredith Baker: Keynote Remarks, September 20, 2016
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