During yesterday’s FCC meeting, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced the appointment of Andy Hendrickson as Chief of the FCC’s Office of Engineering and Technology (OET). Hendrickson will be the Commission’s principal technical advisor, helping to shape spectrum policy, guiding equipment authorization, and ensuring regulatory standards reflect today’s rapidly evolving communications landscape. Ira Keltz, who has been the Acting Chief of OET since last October, will resume his prior role as Deputy Chief of OET.
Hendrickson brings more than 20 years of technical leadership across telecommunications and large-scale digital infrastructure, according to the agency. Most recently, he was Chief Technology Officer in the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, where he guided field operations, consulted on emerging-tech, policy, enforcement, cybersecurity, AI, 911, and network-outage mitigation.
Prior to joining the FCC, Hendrickson was Senior Director of Technology at Verizon Communications, participating in the rollout of Verizon’s 5G network and overseeing engineering and operations for the Verizon Cloud Platform. He also led global technology initiatives at Esri Inc. and taught environmental geomatics at Rutgers University.
“As the FCC’s Build America Agenda ramps up, our work will benefit greatly from Andy’s understanding of both the technical foundations and real-world impact of our decisions. I look forward to drawing on his expertise to leverage transformative technologies like 5G, next-gen satellite, and AI to better serve the public interest,” said Carr. He also thanked Keltz for serving in this job “in an acting capacity over the last several months and am pleased that he will continue his public service as a Deputy Chief in OET.”
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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