CTIA appoints Meredith Baker CEO and President

Industry trade body the CTIA has appointed former commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Meredith Attwell Baker as its president and CEO. Baker will take on the role from June 2^nd 2014.

Baker has previously worked for the CTIA and will replace Steve Largent who has been in the role since 2003 and announced his retirement last October. She was an FCC commissioner from 2009 to 2011 before spending more than two years as senior vice president of government affairs for Comcast-NBCUniversal.

Baker said she plans to bring new ideas and initiatives to the CTIA, such as bringing in technical and engineering expertise related to spectrum and wireless technologies. She also intends to work with firms and governments to produce a five year plan for the future of spectrum usage and wants the CTIA to regularly assess how efficiently spectrum is being used globally.

“The wireless industry has grown significantly over the past decade and now permeates every part of our lives from education, and health care to energy and business,” said Baker.

“CTIA should be in the centre of discussions about how wireless is reshaping our economy, our society and our culture. I look forward to continuing CTIA’s long tradition of finding bipartisan solutions to ensure adequate spectrum availability and opportunities to unlock the next generation of investment and innovation.”

She added that the CTIA must become the ‘go to’ organisation on all wireless issues for both the industry and governments.

Dan Mead, chairman of CTIA and CEO of Verizon Wireless said Baker is a “perfect fit” to lead the CTIA.

“She is also widely respected on both sides of the political aisle. She is a proven leader with boundless energy and fresh ideas that can take our industry to the next level with both consumers and government officials, in the U.S. and around the world.”

Earlier this month, the CTIA recruited smartphone manufacturers to join its Smartphone Anti-Theft Voluntary Commitment. The Commitment calls on operators and smartphone manufacturers to offer users the capability to remotely wipe their data in the case of loss or theft and to render the device inoperable to an unauthorised user.