Senate Commerce Confirms March 3 Markup for Mobile Now

of the MOBILE NOW Act is an opportunity to advance reforms that the full Senate could pass this year,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., in a statement on the S-2555 markup. “Once enacted, these reforms will accelerate the deployment of ultra-fast wireless connections that are critical for the next wave of Internet innovation.” Free State Foundation visiting fellow Gregory Vogt identified weaknesses in Mobile Now, despite lauding its bipartisan achievement. “But since there are no actual mandated measurable achievements, I fear that any bold move will not occur on the incentive issue,” he said in an essay released Wednesday about S-2555. “Providing a more material incentive, such as allowing an agency to share in auction proceeds like the broadcaster incentive auction or assign opportunity cost values to government spectrum and using other good management techniques, would better encourage government to use spectrum efficiently.” The bill’s language on millimeter-wave reallocation rules also “does not actually mandate reallocation within any specific timeframe,” Vogt said. “A firm deadline when the FCC must hold the auction and award licenses would substantially advance availability of 5G spectrum.” He criticized other changes to the legislation from the drafts circulated late last year. The text was pared down following negotiation with the Obama administration and other lawmakers. “MOBILE NOW also apparently eliminated a firm 90-day deadline for federal agencies to grant applications seeking infrastructure access to government lands,” Vogt noted. “Such a deadline would parallel existing FCC actions that enforce strict deadlines on local zoning authorities that review wireless infrastructure applications. It is regrettable that the federal government might receive favored treatment in accommodating wireless infrastructure applications over their local counterparts.” He didn’t worry about the balance with unlicensed spectrum provisions, saying that belonged in a “wait-and-see category” before judging. Vogt argued that overall, “the Senate may be settling for a weaker solution than is desirable, perhaps because of demands either from the Administration or congressional Democrats” and laid out possible improvements achievable through the amendment process: “(1) by imposing a deadline on actual reallocation of millimeter wave spectrum, (2) by establishing effective incentives for government to vacate unneeded spectrum and ensuring the use of modern technology, and (3) by imposing a firm deadline for federal agencies to grant infrastructure access to government lands.”