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Ajit Pai, Chairman of US’ Federal Communications Commission, Talks About India Banning 59 Chinese Apps
Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission of the United States.
Ajit Pai, the Chairman of the United States Federal Communications Commission, has said that India addressing the security concerns at an application layer and banning 59 Chinese mobile applications was a key step.
Pai was talking on the Bharatvaarta podcast, interacting with Pune-based technology entrepreneur Amit Paranjape and Bengaluru-based technology marketing specialist Roshan Cariappa, who hosted the podcast.
Talking about 5G being a huge opportunity of the future, Pai advocated a risk-based approach to evaluating the hardware as well as software which goes into 5G networks.
He touched upon his proposal to ban funding for telecom equipment from companies which do not adhere to the appropriate security standards in the US.
Pai mentioned that the United States and India very fairly well aligned on the need for network security as a forethought and not as an afterthought.
He explained that once the 5G networks are deployed for applications in key sectors like transportation and healthcare, it may be more difficult to address the security concerns.
As part of the US 5G push, Pai outlined three priorities that he has personally championed.
Pai was in India in February during the visit of President Donald Trump. He talked about his interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Information Technology Minister along with other Indian officials.
He stressed that the US and India had similar concerns when it came to telecommunications policy.
Pai also touched upon other issues including net neutrality and how activists had tried to bring in ideas and proposals detrimental to the growth and productive use of the Internet.
On a personal note, Pai recalled his Indian connections fondly.
He revealed his special interest in Indian classical music and his appreciation of the art of Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Kishori Amonkar and Ustad Bismillah Khan.
He also explained his experience of growing up in Kansas, a state which traditionally does not have a lot of Indian-origin people, but how he felt welcome growing up.
