Senate Appropriations Clears FY20 FCC-FTC Funding Bill With C-Band Public Auction Language
The Senate Appropriations Committee voted 31-0 Thursday to advance to the floor its Financial Services FY 2020 budget bill with report language to pressure the FCC to hold a public auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band. The measure, which the Financial Services Subcommittee cleared Tuesday, would allocate $339 million to the FCC and its Office of Inspector General and $312.3 million to the FTC (see 1909170060). The House-passed equivalent (HR-3351) allocated the FCC the same funding level but gave the FTC $349.7 million -- $37 million more than Senate Appropriations proposes (see 1906260081).
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The House, meanwhile, voted 301-123 Thursday for a continuing resolution to extend the federal government's funding through Nov. 21. It's a bid to avert a government shutdown at the end of this month. The measure needs Senate approval.
Senate Appropriations “encourages the FCC to conduct a public auction of the C-band spectrum that is fair, open, and transparent,” said a copy of the FCC-FTC funding bill report text we obtained before its expected release. The committee “encourages the FCC to prioritize resources toward exploring opportunities for spectrum to help accelerate the deployment of 5G to rural” communities. “The mid-band spectrum, specifically the C-band, is particularly well-suited for 5G services,” the report says. “Airwaves are a public resource,” and federal government “has a responsibility to exercise appropriate oversight of its allocation.”
The committee “remains concerned by proposals” for reallocating C-band spectrum for commercial use “that entail limited FCC oversight and public input, and contain no guarantee that taxpayers and the U.S. Treasury benefit from revenues generated by the sale” of the airwaves. The C-Band Alliance proposes a private auction to free up 200 MHz of C-band spectrum, which Senate Appropriations Financial Services Chairman John Kennedy, R-La., criticized (see 1907190051).
Kennedy told us he “would have preferred” to attach the C-band language as a rider to the funding bill rather than as report text because riders carry more force. The Senate's two-year budget deal enacted in early August bars inclusion of “poison pill” amendments in appropriations measures during that time frame “and any reasonable person would have seen [the C-band language] as a poison pill,” Kennedy said. He believes agencies “pay a lot of attention to” bill reports' language, so the provision will carry substantial weight with the FCC.
Kennedy is open to filing a Senate companion to pending House legislation aimed at encouraging a public auction of C-band spectrum. “I believe in transparency and I think in the vast majority of cases, I'm going to prefer a public option,” Kennedy said. “I'm sure there's some instances where it may not be appropriate, maybe in an emergency or something like that. But all things being equal, I think especially with something as valuable as this spectrum, we should insist.” House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., and Vice Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., have been working to marry elements of Doyle's draft bill and Matsui's Wireless Investment Now in (Win) 5G Act (HR-4171). Doyle has been more pessimistic recently about the timeline for filing such a measure (see 1909180031).
The funding bill report includes language on other telecom policy matters, including USF revamp and the FCC's handling of the debate over opening up the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi and other unlicensed use. The agency took comment earlier this year on 6 GHz and saw lots of opposition to sharing with unlicensed (see 1902250054). Senate Appropriations “expects the [FCC] to ensure its plan” for 6 GHz “does not result in harmful interference to incumbent users or impact critical infrastructure communications systems,” the report says. The committee “is particularly concerned about the potential effects on the reliability of the electric transmission and distribution system.” Senate Appropriations “expects the FCC to ensure any mitigation technologies are rigorously tested in coordination with relevant sector specific agencies, and found to be effective in order to protect the electric transmission system.”