House Communications Democrats Blast Pai on Location Data Probe, Other FCC Actions

House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., used it as a platform to announce refiling of the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s (Lift) America Act infrastructure bill. It would, in part, allocate $40 billion for broadband projects, $12 billion in grants for implementing next-generation 911 technologies and $5 billion in federal funding for a loan and credit program for broadband projects. Democrats first filed the bill in 2017 (see 1706020056). House Commerce plans a May 22 hearing to examine the bill. It will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn, the committee said.

“People all over this country are looking for a real infrastructure plan that invests in our future and strengthens our economy,” Pallone said. President Donald Trump in late April agreed with top congressional Democrats to pursue $2 trillion in spending on broadband and other infrastructure projects (see 1904300194). House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., led the formation earlier this week of the House Task Force on Rural Broadband (see 1905130053).

House Commerce ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., floated a proposal to delay from 2021 to 2024 the deadline for public safety agencies to move off the 470-512 MHz T band for states and localities that comply with calls to “put an end to 911 fee diversion.” A provision in the 2012 spectrum law mandates 2021 as the deadline for the T band move. “Concerns have been raised about planning for the [T band] move,” he said.

It's imperative to halt 911 fee diversion “so that states stop ... using fees paid by consumers to support essential public safety services as slush funds,” Walden said. The FCC reported in December that states diverted nearly 10 percent of the $2.9 billion in 2017 911 fee revenue for unrelated purposes (see 1812190059). Reps. Chris Collins, R-N.Y., and Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., last month refiled the 911 Fee Integrity Act (HR-2165), which would bar states from engaging in 911 fee diversion and give the FCC the power to decide on “acceptable” uses for the money (see 1809260062).

Spectrum

House Communications Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., committed to filing her expected C-band-centric Win 5G Act (see 1904230069). The bill would seek to find a “compromise, consensus-based” solution to the debate over competing plans for reallocating spectrum in the band proposed by the C-Band Alliance (see 1905150014) and others.

Matsui didn't describe the potential compromise. It would “rapidly reallocate” spectrum in the band. She said cable, wireless and rural entities are “preparing to support” the bill, which would result in a “quick, equitable” reallocation process.

House Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., on Tuesday favored a public auction of the C-band spectrum and criticized the CBA proposal. It would be “irresponsible and unconscionable” for the FCC “to give money to four different satellite companies when the broadband needs of our nation are so great,” he said.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., steered the conversation in the direction of Pai's support for Congress giving the FCC forbearance authority over the broadcast space. That would be similar to its authority in the telecom and cable sectors that allows the agency to forbear from enforcing a regulation if it can demonstrate that competition has made the rule no longer in the public interest. Extending forbearance authority into broadcast would “enable the FCC to work with much greater dispatch, would allow us to align our rules with the realities of the marketplace and would allow you to see the benefits of the innovation and investment that could take place if we didn't have rules on the books that were holding it back,” Pai said.

Criticisms

Doyle and other Democrats trained their strongest fire on FCC conduct of its investigation into wireless carriers' location tracking practices, including the sale of customer location tracking data allegedly accessed by bounty hunters (see 1805240073). Pallone cited the probe as one of many actions under Pai's chairmanship in which the FCC has “turned its back on the public” and put “big corporate interests first.” Pallone and other leaders pushed for information in January but were initially turned down because of the partial government shutdown (see 1901220030).

Doyle repeatedly pressed Pai to provide an update on where the probe stands, including whether it's determined whether the carriers have completely stopped sharing the location data. Pai refused to comment, saying he couldn't talk about an ongoing investigation. Doyle said he found Pai's nonanswers “wholly insufficient. This committee expects you to do more than just sit on your hands.” He later told reporters “we didn't really get any answers,” but the probe has been “going on for over a year, which tells us that they must have some kind of tolling agreements to be able to continue” beyond the one-year statute of limitations. “I think members made it clear that [the FCC] better not be running out the clock on this,” Doyle said. “We want to see this thing move forward. I think we heard that on both sides of the aisle.”

Eshoo and Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., also criticized the agency on the location data review. Eshoo said she wasn't having a “good feeling” about the hearing's outcome, in part citing Pai's nonanswers. "You have the power to do something about this," she said. Eshoo claimed Pai's “quite a talker” but is withholding information on the investigation from Democratic Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Geoffrey Starks, who both have criticized handling of the inquiry. Starks said the initial briefing he received when Pai asked him to head the investigation showed the FCC's response was inadequate, which led him to back out of leading it.

Walden aimed to deflect some of the heat from Pai on the location data issue, saying “the reality is that many carriers have already completely cut off” third-party aggregators' access to that data and those entities are now turning to use data collected by tech companies. Those companies' collection of data is often “more pervasive” and “more precise,” he said. Pai said the FCC doesn't have the authority to regulate data aggregators' use of data from tech companies, but the FTC does.

Doyle also criticized the FCC for using faulty data to justify its decisions on a number of policy issues, including its use of inaccurate Form 477 broadband coverage data in its draft 2017 Telecom Act Section 706 broadband deployment report that led Pai to overstate broadband deployment improvement for that year (see 1902190057). The FCC released a revised version of the report earlier this month that still shows a narrowing digital divide, with notable broadband deployments particularly in rural areas (see 1905010205). “The time for Band-Aids is over,” Doyle said. “We need real solutions.”

Eshoo and Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., were among those who criticized a proposed USF cap and bids to revamp the Lifeline program, with McNerney calling on Pai to scrap the current proposal entirely. It has “almost no support” from stakeholders and would harm veterans and other groups, McNerney said. Eshoo urged Pai to “do something” about concerns about the Lifeline proposal and other issues. "You really have to put the pedal to the metal," she said. Pai said he “can't forecast” how FCC consideration of the Lifeline proposal will shake out while Rosenworcel said it will harm millions of Americans who depend on it the most.