Leaders of the House Communications and Senate Appropriations Financial Services subcommittees are using the month-plus August recess to finalize their plans for a legislative solution to the debate over how to clear spectrum in the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band for 5G use. Some lawmakers said they need to reach a quick decision on how to proceed to influence the outcome before the FCC releases its proposal. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai appears to be aiming for a plan to clear at least 300 MHz of C-band spectrum (see 1908200044). The sides offered conflicting readings earlier this month of initial comments to the FCC on alternative plans (see 1908150042). Those comments showed little move toward consensus (see 1908080041).
Jimm Phillips
Jimm Phillips, Associate Editor, covers telecommunications policymaking in Congress for Communications Daily. He joined Warren Communications News in 2012 after stints at the Washington Post and the American Independent News Network. Phillips is a Maryland native who graduated from American University. You can follow him on Twitter: @JLPhillipsDC
All state-level attorneys general and a dozen major telecom companies announced an agreement Thursday to improve their ability to combat illegal robocalls, saying action was needed as they wait for Capitol Hill to negotiate a compromise bill. The FCC earlier this month updated anti-spoofing rules 5-0 (see 1908010062) as part of implementation of anti-robocalls language in the Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services (Ray Baum's) Act. Further FCC action on the issue may take time (see 1908220053).
President Donald Trump's administration appears to be slow-walking work to nominate a permanent NTIA administrator nearly three months after David Redl's abrupt departure from the agency (see 1905090051), lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Several telecom-focused Hill Republicans said they're pessimistic about confirming a nominee any time soon, with some admitting they haven't even recommended potential candidates to the White House. Lobbyists also were pessimistic on the chances for a confirmation before the 2020 presidential election, pointing to publicly aired views of spectrum policy confusion within the Trump administration (see 1907310033). Deputy Administrator Diane Rinaldo is acting administrator.
Three Democratic 2020 presidential hopefuls -- Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts -- separately called Wednesday for major investments in broadband deployments as part of their release of competing rural-focused policy platforms in Medium blog posts. That's one of the first major forays into telecom policy for any of the Democratic candidates during this campaign cycle. Much of the tech-focused debate thus far focused on the antitrust implications of the growth of major tech companies, including Warren's proposal to break up big tech companies like Google, Facebook and Amazon (see 1904170046 and 1906270010).
Congressional interest in the debate on Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization is continuing to heat up during Capitol Hill's August recess. Timing and leadership dynamics favor STELA renewal, but several lawmakers we spoke with are now openly declaring themselves undecided or opposed to renewing portions of the law. The timeline, meanwhile, is going to make it more difficult to include a revamp of media rules or other issues in an extension measure, lobbyists told us. STELA sunsets at the end of this year.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and other committee members said during a Wednesday hearing they have no appetite for any further extensions beyond 2020 for railroads to fully implement positive train control technology. Federal and rail officials told the committee railroads have made significant progress since the end of 2018 toward implementing PTC, but some warned about ongoing hurdles from tech interoperability and outside vendors. Congress in 2015 extended to the end of 2018 the deadline for railroads implement PTC technology but allowed them to seek an extension through the end of 2020 if they met benchmarks.
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., confirmed to us he hosted a meeting Monday with Cisco Systems CEO Chuck Robbins and several members of the Senate Finance and Intelligence committees. Thune said the meeting focused “on the state of play on 5G, the influence that [Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer] Huawei has on the market and what we can do about that.” Communications sector officials said Thune brought Robbins in to brief senators about ways to encourage the creation of an effective U.S. radio access network competitor to Huawei given concerns about that company's role in 5G development. Members of Congress are continuing to seek legislative avenues to target national security concerns about Huawei, including conference negotiations on the FY 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (see 1907220053). Senate Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., and Senate Finance Global Competitiveness Subcommittee Chairman John Cornyn, R-Texas, confirmed they were involved in the meeting. Cornyn described the meeting as a "brainstorming" session aimed at ensuring there's a "U.S.-based manufacturer" of 5G infrastructure. Cisco didn't comment.
Leaders on anti-robocall legislation say they're confident they can get a conference agreement over the August recess to marry elements of the House-passed Stopping Bad Robocalls Act (HR-3375) and the Senate-passed Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (Traced) Act (S-151). The House passed HR-3375 last week 429-3 (see 1907240063). House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, was among those voicing optimism about the prospect for conference legislation, during an interview on C-SPAN's The Communicators to have been televised Saturday.
House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., again (see 1905150061) criticized the C-Band Alliance's proposal for clearing spectrum in 3.7-4.2 GHz, saying during a Thursday House Commerce Committee hearing it could disrupt the opportunity for using proceeds from sales of the spectrum to pay for rural broadband deployment. Several tech and telecom policy topics came up during Thursday's hearing on the policy priorities of lawmakers who aren't its members. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, urged House Commerce to probe the tech sector's Communications Decency Act Section 230 liability shield and make further CDA changes.
Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., moved forward Tuesday with the long-delayed (see 1903270071) refiling of their Advancing Innovation and Reinvigorating Widespread Access to Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum (Airwaves) Act (S-2223), but the reappearance of a House version of the measure won't happen until at least after Labor Day. The Airwaves Act, first filed during the last Congress, aims to identify spectrum for unlicensed use and free up mid-band spectrum for wireless industry purchase via an FCC auction (see 1802070054). Four other senators are co-sponsors -- Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.; Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Marco Rubio, R-Fla. T-Mobile and several communications sector groups backed S-2223 -- the Competitive Carriers Association, CTA and NCTA. CTIA Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Kelly Cole stopped short of endorsing S-2223 but said Gardner and Hassan “are rightly focused on getting more spectrum into the commercial marketplace as possible, which is critical for 5G.” House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., told reporters his office is “still negotiating” with other lawmakers on a revised House version of the Airwaves Act, which he said is being developed entirely independently of S-2223. “Those discussions are ongoing,” but the filing of a bill is “going to have to wait until the fall” since the House is expected to begin its five-week August recess after this week, Doyle said. He has been eyeing potential lead Republican co-sponsors for the measure, including Reps. Susan Brooks of Indiana and Tim Walberg of Michigan (see 1905080050).