NTIA's Redl Likely to Face Senate Commerce Questions on Spectrum, Broadband Mapping
A Wednesday Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing with NTIA Administrator David Redl will likely -- to varying degrees -- focus on the federal spectrum policies of President Donald Trump's administration (see 1806120056), improving national broadband map data accuracy and the 2016 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority transition, said lawmakers and communications sector experts in interviews. The hearing will begin at 2:30 p.m. in 253 Russell. It's Redl's first before Senate Commerce since his November confirmation (see 1711070076, 1711070084 and 1711080015). Redl also testified during a March House Communications Subcommittee hearing.
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Lobbyists and industry officials cited spectrum as the likely main focus of the hearing, particularly given the FCC's upcoming 5G spectrum auctions in the 28 and 24 GHz bands. Officials also noted FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's proposals for allocating additional spectrum from the 26 and 42 GHz bands. “I think you'll hear a lot” on the 3.7-4.2 GHz citizens broadband service band and the 5 GHz band given the interest in “how the FCC is moving forward” to auction spectrum on both bands “and how they're working with” NTIA, a telecom lobbyist said.
American Action Forum Director-Technology and Innovation Policy Will Rinehart will be interested to hear from Redl “what's going on” with the 3450-3550 MHz band given DOD's plans to begin studying later this year opening up that band to sharing. “I'd like to hear” where NTIA stands in working on potential sharing “and potential restrictions,” Rinehart said. CBRS could be a focus “to the extent there's a federal nexus,” another communications lobbyist said.
Rinehart and others called broadband mapping a potential hot spot. The accuracy of data collected by the FCC and the Department of Commerce has come under scrutiny in hearings this year, including with Redl, Pai and Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross (see 1803060048, 1803130056, 1804260068 and 1805100054). “A lot of people have talked about the broadband map” issue, but there should be more focus on the extent to which NTIA is or isn't doing additional outreach to the data science community, Rinehart said: “It's a perennial problem” for NTIA and the FCC alike. NTIA is working on improving its data collection practices, but “I would hope they would be working more broadly” with the data science community as part of that effort, Rinehart said.
Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, told us he intends to focus on NTIA's current position on the IANA transition, particularly given the agency's notice of inquiry last week on whether the switchover should be “unwound” (see 1806070016). The NOI's text attempts to “thread the needle” between Redl's commitment last year to Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, to convene a “panel of experts to investigate options” for reversing the handoff and his assurances to Schatz that he wouldn't reverse his position that the issue is settled (see 1711080015 and 1801240048), a communications official said.
The handoff “is done, so I think the challenge now is to move forward,” Schatz said. “We couldn't undo this if the entire Congress wanted it to happen. You don't get back the responsibility” for IANA from the multistakeholder ICANN community. “They won't give it back to us now so as far as I'm concerned it's done,” he said. “That's something I want to confirm” with Redl.
Redl's appearance could be a venue for Senate Commerce members to vent on other telecom policy issues, including Democrats' ire over the FCC order rescinding 2015 net neutrality rules, an action that took effect Monday (see 1806110054), lobbyists said. Redl “is a very seasoned field guy” on a range of telecom issues because of his experience as the House Commerce Committee's top telecom policy aide, so “he should be well prepared,” said former NTIA Administrator John Kneuer. “NTIA has historically avoided much of the political and partisan controversy that has bedeviled the FCC and I think [Senate Commerce] members will appreciate that.”