Lance Visits Verizon in Basking Ridge to Talk 21st Century Technology

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. --- Congressman Leonard Lance (NJ-07) toured Verizon in Basking Ridge last week and hosted a town hall meeting with employees to discuss 21st century technology and how public policy is helping empower private technology companies to innovate.

“Millions of jobs and countless opportunities depend on the reliable and high-speed digital economy. We need the technological infrastructure to support residences and businesses that have multiple wireless devices. That’s why we took action in Congress to turn over more space for private companies to build smarter networks, enabling faster service and better consumer experiences. Right here in Somerset County some of the major 21st century innovations are being created that will change the way we browse, read, shop, learn and create,” said Lance, a member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology in the U.S. House.

Lance specifically touted the work of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology which championed freeing up much-needed spectrum — the virtual highways by which Internet, phone and data information flows. The Federal Spectrum Incentive Act encouraged government agencies to relocate from certain spectrum bands and allow private companies to bid on the additional spectrum for commercial use. The result has been twofold: the revenue from the spectrum auction has been tens of billions for the federal treasury and the additional broadband has boosted the speed and reliability of the internet for millions of consumers.

Lance also talked about this consumer protection measure, the Anti-Spoofing Act. “I hear from constituents all the time about being bombarded with calls from scammers who have ‘spoofed’ their phone numbers to look like a local call or like a state or federal agency, in order to scam them out of personal and financial information. I need your help in cracking down on these bad actors,” Lance asked the Verizon staff. Last year, Lance’s bill picked up the support of Somerset County Sheriff Frank Provenzano after scammers cloned the phone number of the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office and impersonated the sheriff’s staff in an effort to steal residents’ personal information.

Lance has hosted dozens of business tours and town halls to hear directly from industry leaders what tools they need from government to grow and create jobs.

|:000