NTIA’s new spectrum coordination agreement with the FCC shows the two agencies are committed to building up an “evidence-based” approach to evaluating the potential that future wireless industry use of spectrum bands will cause harmful interference to users of adjacent frequencies, said Administrator Alan Davidson during a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing. Many subcommittee members focused on whether the FCC-NTIA agreement announced Tuesday will effectively quell the interagency spectrum infighting that plagued the Trump administration and extended into the Biden administration’s first year in office (see 2202150001). Lawmakers also questioned Davidson’s vision for NTIA implementing programs to distribute $48 billion in broadband money included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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
NTIA stakeholders will watch a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee NTIA oversight hearing for any signs of lawmakers’ interest in pursuing legislation to revamp the agency, amid an uneven Senate appetite for such measures. NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, who has led NTIA for just over a month, is likely to face questions about his vision for the agency’s disbursal of connectivity money under its control from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and COVID-19 aid measures. The hearing is likely to also focus on the NTIA-FCC commitment to improve the two agencies’ coordination on spectrum policy (see 2202150001). The hearing will begin at noon EST. It’s House Communications’ first NTIA oversight hearing since 2018 (see 1803060048).
The FCC and NTIA committed Tuesday to update their 2003 memorandum of understanding, among other ways to improve the two agencies’ coordination on spectrum policy matters amid continued congressional ire over federal infighting on those matters that’s extended into the Biden administration (see 2202030081). The FCC-NTIA agreement is likely to be a main focus of a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing with NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, communications officials told us. Lawmakers continue to show interest in pursuing legislation to prevent future policy fracases, though it could be tough to address this year (see 2202070066). NTIA stakeholders will also watch the Wednesday hearing for any signs of lawmakers’ interest in pursuing legislation to revamp the agency (see 2202150075). The hearing will begin at noon EST. It’s House Communications’ first NTIA oversight hearing since 2018 (see 1803060048).
Vice President Kamala Harris and other Biden administration officials touted the FCC’s $14.2 billion affordable connectivity program Monday as an example of successful implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, as the program hit a milestone of enrolling more than 10 million households. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., is holding out hope that Congress could appropriate additional money for the FCC Emergency Connectivity Fund and other broadband programs by passing it as part of a balkanized chunk of the scuttled Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package (HR-5376) but told us he believes keeping the connectivity money isn't going to make or break his support.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., rejected committee Republicans’ suggestions that the panel follow up its second confirmation hearing with Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn with a sequel appearance by FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya (see 2202080080). His confirmation hearing was in November (see 2111170059). All 14 committee Republicans voted against Bedoya in December amid concerns about the nominee's Twitter activity linking the Trump administration to white supremacy (see 2112010043). “No, we’re not having another hearing” on Bedoya just to discuss his “social media posts,” Cantwell told reporters Wednesday after Sohn’s second hearing (see 2202090070). “We had this hearing because in between” Sohn’s December hearing and now, the nominee agreed to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters (see 2201270073) “and members had questions about that recusal letter.”
The Senate Commerce Committee’s Wednesday follow-up confirmation hearing on Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn changed next to nothing about the dynamics driving her prospects for winning the chamber’s approval, said lawmakers and communications policy observers in interviews. Committee Democrats, even those who were latecomers to supporting Sohn, said during and after the hearing they still back her. Panel Republicans remained steadfastly opposed to the nominee, in part citing what they viewed as her still-insufficient candor about her role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition and her January commitment to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters.
Senate Commerce Committee Republicans told us they’re interested in pursuing a follow-up confirmation hearing with Democratic FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya given their hopes for the outcome of a Wednesday panel with FCC nominee Gigi Sohn that will serve as her de facto second confirmation hearing. Senate Commerce postponed planned votes last week on Bedoya and Sohn, in part citing the extended absence of Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., while he recovers from a stroke (see 2202010070).
Democratic FCC nominee Gigi Sohn struck back against what she deems “unrelenting, unfair, and outright false criticism and scrutiny” in written testimony we obtained ahead of a Wednesday appearance before the Senate Commerce Committee widely seen as a follow-up confirmation hearing. The panel, which began at 10 a.m., is expected to largely focus on Sohn’s role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition and her January commitment to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters.
Lawmakers are frustrated that interagency spectrum policy infighting that became endemic during the Trump administration continues to be an issue one year into Joe Biden’s presidency, despite early hopes for a shift (see 2010260001). Some on and off Capitol Hill believe the Biden administration’s handling of the high-profile C-band aviation safety fracas that preceded delays last month in AT&T and Verizon rolling out commercial 5G use on the frequency (see 2201180065) has stirred an increased appetite for enacting a legislative solution. Others want to hold off on legislation for the time being in hopes recently installed NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and other officials will be able to quickly nip the squabbling.
House Transportation Committee members and witnesses at a Thursday Aviation Subcommittee hearing criticized breakdowns in the federal interagency spectrum coordination process as a primary cause of the C-band aviation safety fracas that preceded delays last month in AT&T and Verizon rolling out commercial 5G use on the frequency (see 2201180065). FAA Administrator Steve Dickson told lawmakers he believes “we are in a much better place than we were” in mid-January, before the wireless carriers and the agency reached agreement to temporarily defer turning on C-band 5G service around some airports. Lawmakers wondered if the situation will deteriorate again when cellular carriers lift those temporary restrictions.