House Commerce Democrats Urge Biden to Name US CTO
Congressional Spectrum Caucus co-Chair Rep. Doris Matsui of California and seven other House Commerce Committee Democrats urged President Joe Biden Friday to quickly nominate a U.S. chief technology officer “to support the development and execution of the Administration’s spectrum” policy.…
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The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy began searching for a CTO in December but has been “having a hard time clearing” a “list of potential” contenders for the role, said a communications sector lobbyist who follows Democratic talks. OSTP didn’t comment. “With the backing of the White House, a CTO can be a powerful force in ensuring the administration speaks with one voice on spectrum matters,” the Democrats wrote Biden. The U.S. is “on track for a successful rollout of 5G” in the C band, but “the significant dispute over its use demonstrates the ongoing need for meaningful coordination across the Federal government. To ensure agencies have the requisite resources to fulfill their mandates and to maintain U.S. leadership in next generation communications networks, it is imperative that the Federal government have a unified approach to spectrum policy.” House Transportation Committee members during a Thursday hearing (see 2202030081) cited breakdowns in federal interagency spectrum coordination as a primary cause of the C-band aviation safety fracas that preceded delays last month in AT&T's and Verizon's rollout of commercial 5G use on the frequency. The House Commerce members want Biden to “take action to bolster” NTIA’s “statutory role as manager of the federal government’s use of spectrum.” They noted former President Barack Obama’s 2013 spectrum sharing memo (see 1306170038) required all federal agencies to coordinate with NTIA before filing comments on spectrum policy matters to ensure a unified federal voice. “With Alan Davidson’s confirmation as NTIA Administrator, we believe there is an urgent need to revisit this memorandum and consider targeted ways to expand its scope to provide the agency with the Administration-backed authority it needs to fulfill its mandate,” the lawmakers said.