The U.S. Senate has confirmed Arielle Roth as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information by a vote of 52 to 42.
Roth will become the Director of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and hold sway over the rollout of the $42.5 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program.
Indeed, BEAD likely will be her most pressing agenda item. The program was established during the Biden administration. The incoming Trump administration called a timeout and, on June 6, announced changes to how technologies are selected. The most significant was what in effect is a demotion of fiber from preferred technology to one of several potential platforms. The focus now will be on deployment costs.
In late March, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on the nomination of Arielle Roth.
Several questions touched on her position regarding the pause that eventually became the revised selection criteria. Her responses were noncommittal on both those questions and others aimed at the program in general. It seems unlikely, however, that she would have been chosen for the post or would have accepted the nomination if she was not on board with the revised plan.
At the time of her nomination, Arielle Roth was the Policy Director for the committee before which she testified. She has served in various roles at the FCC and as a Legal Fellow with the Hudson Institute’s Center for the Economics of the Internet. Her focus was on federal telecommunications law and policy.
Roth is listed as a “contributor” to the Federalist Society on its website. The bio there says that she was the telecommunications policy director for Ranking Member Ted Cruz while at the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. It is unclear whether she held other posts at the committee.
Industry insiders welcomed the confirmation of Arielle Roth as head of the NTIA.
“Congratulations to Arielle Roth as she steps in to lead NTIA at a pivotal time for American innovation and connectivity. We stand ready to work with her to deliver on NTIA’s mission to help connect everyone in the U.S. to world-class broadband,” USTelecom President and CEO Jonathan Spalter said in a prepared statement.
NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association CEO Shirley Bloomfield issued a statement congratulating Roth on her confirmation.
“NTCA congratulates Arielle Roth on her confirmation to serve as the administrator of NTIA. Her experience on Capitol Hill and at the FCC will position her well to hit the ground running as she steps into this important role. We have greatly appreciated the opportunity to work with her in the past, and we look forward to continuing to work with her in this new role to ensure that every American gets and stays connected.”
