Negotiation Time 'Much Needed' on Senate Spectrum Package, Nelson Says
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., invoked recent terrorist attacks in Europe and the importance of juggling spectrum for purposes of government defense with commercial use when weighing in on Mobile Now for the first time Wednesday. Commerce tentatively plans to mark up Mobile Now the second week of December, a senior GOP Commerce Committee staffer told us Wednesday.
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The wide-ranging Mobile Now package would set mandates for how much spectrum must be freed up by 2024, provide incentives for federal agencies to give up spectrum and includes sections on broadband deployment shot clocks and the dig once proposal. The measure originally was slated for markup during a Wednesday session but was pulled from the agenda over the weekend after the intervention of NTIA (see 1511160060) and concerns from committee members and the Senate Armed Services Committee.
“We’re working with them,” Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., who wrote Mobile Now, told us Wednesday of Armed Services. “There were some things that kind of popped up, and the administration ... pushed back and gave us some feedback, too.”
“There were some interference concerns that some in industry had raised,” the senior GOP Commerce Committee staffer told us of the Armed Services concerns. “We’re going to continue to talk to NTIA and [Senate Armed Services] and [Department of Defense]-type folks.” Given the amount of federally held spectrum, “DOD is obviously a big player,” the senior staffer said. No concerns are “red flags," he said, referring to what he judged many bipartisan proposals within the package. "The Armed Services Committee is working with the Commerce Committee and the Department of Defense on this issue to ensure there are no negative impacts on national security," confirmed a GOP spokesman for Senate Armed Services, not elaborating on negotiations.
“I am glad that the chairman has decided to pull his draft bill from today’s markup,” Nelson said during an opening statement for Wednesday’s markup. “This will give us much needed time to consult with stakeholders to try to find consensus. The question this committee always faces with respect to spectrum policy is how to strike the right balance between the needs of federal and non-federal spectrum users. As a senior member of both the Commerce and Armed Services Committees, I have seen a lot of progress made on freeing up additional spectrum in recent years through the productive collaboration between the private sector and federal agencies such as the Department of Defense. As a result, we must tread carefully and make sure that nothing we do inadvertently compromises those important steps or jeopardizes national security.”
Both Thune and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., told us early last week that they are in discussions about how to advance Thune’s bill (see 1511100059). NTIA contacted the committee Friday to weigh in on the draft legislation’s provisions about freeing up 50 MHz by 2024, the bigger goal of freeing up 500 MHz and other interference concerns regarding the possibility of sharing rules applied to the 3700-4200 MHz band. Thune’s package would involve “defining where that would come from,” he told reporters of the 500 MHz goal of the Obama administration, “and I think they’re uncomfortable with that.”
“Most of what’s included in that legislation ultimately we’ll have a pretty strong vote for,” Thune told reporters after the Wednesday markup. He said some lawmakers, including Nelson, and the administration “want to see some opportunity to work with the defense community, for example, and ensure that we’re moving forward in a complementary way.” Thune said it “might be a heavy lift” to see a floor vote on the package by year’s end “because of everything that we have to do.” He said the legislation isn't moving too fast, pointing out the years of work and hearings on the topics. All the issues before Commerce now “are fixable” and Thune hopes for a strong vote, he said. None of the challenges seem to be “deal breakers,” he said.
“Nelson and I both thought it best to take a little more time to work through the constructive feedback we have received, including from the administration,” Thune said Wednesday during his markup opening statement. "We hope to mark up Mobile Now after Thanksgiving, so we ask everyone to work with our staffs on any additions or amendments you would like to see included in the bill.”
Verizon lauded both the Mobile Now draft and an unlicensed spectrum proposal from Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, who hopes to hitch it to Mobile Now (see 1511120046). Thune’s draft measure is “the Senate bill that could save the Internet,” Senior Vice President Peter Davidson said in a Tuesday blog post. “Incorporating this concept from the Schatz bill, ensuring consideration of unlicensed spectrum in the legislative discussion, makes a lot of sense and would significantly expand the amount of airwaves available to fuel our 21st century digital economy.” Lawmakers must “act quickly,” Davidson added. “If Congress fails to pass spectrum legislation by the first half of next year, the distraction of the upcoming presidential election, and delays that always accompany a new Administration and new Congress will needlessly displace an opportunity for Congress to secure a solid digital future for consumers.”