In the Telecommunications Act of 1996, the government called for an Internet 'unfettered by Federal or State regulation.' The result of that fateful decision was the greatest free-market success story in history.
In my country, Gabon, entry into the digital age, which is the future, can be seen in numerous sectors - from telecommunications to security, finance, and hospitality.
We see opportunities in the networking and telecom space, including 5G, where we see accelerated investments.
The telecom industry reaches into every corner of our economies, societies, and private lives, and it is one of the greatest drivers of economic growth and human equality the world has ever seen.
WhatsApp provides phone-number-based messaging, and people asked, 'Isn't that what SMS is?' Yes, but SMS is expensive, antiquated, and what WhatsApp did was modernize and level that playing field. For example, in Europe, if France wants to talk to Belgium, it's extraordinary costly because of border and telecom charges.
Bell Labs was an astonishing place for many decades, though it fell on somewhat hard times during the telecom meltdown some years ago, as its corporate owner had to cope with shrinking markets.
I can get my voicemail transcribed and sent to me as e-mail. I want to be able to have my address book and all my life come up on my TV and video chat. The whole telecommunications experience through a wire is still very relevant.
There is no lack of profitability or investment among these telecommunications companies. There is nothing that an open-internet order did to them that diminished their success.
Telecom companies are doing very, very well. And the internet economy is doing very, very well.
The telecom industry pretends like it's not getting paid.
