The Senate Commerce Committee approved Thursday a spectrum bill to...
The Senate Commerce Committee approved Thursday a spectrum bill to streamline relocation for federal users. By voice vote, the committee reported S-3490 to the full Senate with a substitute amendment by sponsor Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Roger Wicker, R-Miss.…
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The legislation aims to set up a more orderly process for moving federal users off bands that would be reviewed by a three-member technical panel reporting to the FCC and the NTIA. At the markup, Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the bill would ensure that relocation is open and transparent. But it may need further adjustments before it hits the Senate floor, he said. Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, and John Kerry, D-Mass., have concerns, but Warner and Wicker plan to work with them before the next vote, said Warner. The Wireless Broadband Coalition, representing AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cisco and Qualcomm, welcomed approval by the committee. The bill “doesn’t make spectrum allocation decisions, but it does make future spectrum allocation decisions easier to implement,” said the coalition’s executive director, David Taylor. “Delays in the AWS spectrum relocation process have slowed broadband deployment. The WBC believes that Federal policy should seek to promote infrastructure investment and broadband deployment, not slow it down.” The Warner-Wicker bill will spur broadband deployment and investment and create jobs, and the coalition believes it “can and should be enacted into law this year.” The legislation “will make the spectrum relocation process more predictable and transparent, thereby producing a more efficient relocation process for all parties and advancing the broadband deployment goals we all share,” said CTIA President Steve Largent. “We hope the full Senate will act on S. 3490 as soon as possible.” The spectrum bill is similar to House legislation HR-3019 by Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., but it addresses some concerns that had been raised by the White House (CD June 17 p6). The House Commerce committee passed the Inslee bill in March.