The Biden administration is working behind the scenes on plans to name Mozilla Foundation Senior Adviser Alan Davidson its nominee for NTIA administrator, former government officials and communications sector lobbyists told us. The White House is facing increased pressure to quickly fill the post since the agency is on course to administer the bulk of $65 billion in broadband money if Congress enacts an infrastructure spending package that a bipartisan Senate group formally filed Sunday. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., swiftly filed amendments aimed at addressing anti-digital redlining and consumer protection provisions in the broadband title he sees as a potential back door to rate regulation, as expected (see 2107300054).
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
Senators voted 66-28 Friday to proceed to debate on a vehicle (HR-3684) for the bipartisan infrastructure spending package, even as a pair of telecom-focused GOP leaders in the chamber said they’re continuing to pursue alterations to the developing measure’s broadband title (see 2107290061). Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., got a deal from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to address some of her concerns. Leaders of the bipartisan effort hoped final language, to be filed as a substitute amendment, would have been ready Friday night.
Provisions in the $65 billion broadband title in a developing infrastructure spending package weren't completely finalized Thursday, a day after the Senate cleared an initial test cloture vote 67-32 on proceeding to a shell bill (HR-3684). A bipartisan group of senators agreed Wednesday on the outlines of the package (see 2107280065). The Senate will vote Friday on the motion to proceed to HR-3684. Telecom-focused senators in both parties told us through Thursday that the thorniest broadband issue -- the extent of pricing transparency and digital redlining language -- remained in flux.
Bipartisan Senate negotiators were finalizing language Wednesday for their long-sought infrastructure spending package, after reaching a deal earlier in the day to resolve outstanding broadband and other items that had divided the group in recent days (see 2107220040). The measure is expected to keep broadband funding in the package at the agreed-upon $65 billion (see 2106240070), Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters. It’s also expected to include an extension of the FCC-led emergency broadband benefit, part of what’s expected to be a split decision between Democratic and Republican positions on connectivity affordability, lobbyists told us.
The House Science Committee advanced the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Future Act (HR-4609) on a voice vote Tuesday despite some lawmakers' misgivings about how the agency’s proposed role in spectrum and telecom tech research could clash with NTIA. Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, was awaiting feedback from the Department of Commerce. House Science also advanced the National Science and Technology Strategy Act (HR-3858) and other measures that mirror elements of the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260).
Broadband-focused lawmakers and industry supporters are wary about the trajectory of a bipartisan infrastructure package, amid widespread perceptions that talks are falling apart. A framework that President Joe Biden backed in June allocates $65 billion for broadband (see 2106240070). The House Rules Committee was, meanwhile, considering broadband-focused amendments to an FY 2022 appropriations “minibus” (HR-4502) Monday, before a likely floor vote later this week. The committee was eyeing a proposal to zero out CPB. The underlying HR-4502 includes $388 million for the FCC, almost $390 million for the FTC (see 2106300028), more than $907 million for Department of Agriculture rural broadband programs and $565 million for CPB in FY 2024.
Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup and others urged lawmakers to establish a civil space situational awareness (SSA) operation and update the framework for mitigating orbital debris amid proliferation of low earth orbit satellites (see 2106150034), during a Thursday Senate Commerce hearing. “Potential for catastrophic accidents if we continue with the status quo is real,” said Senate Space Subcommittee Chairman John Hickenlooper, D-Colo. “We can’t wait for the next collision to occur before taking action,” including enacting the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act. S-1260 would shift responsibility for handling commercial SSA issues to the Commerce Department and includes $20 million for an elevated Office of Space Commerce (see 2106080074). “The space around Earth is becoming congested and the problem is only going to grow,” said ranking member Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. “Government must take the lead” on SSA and to “prevent and remove orbital debris.” The federal government should “act now to implement a more modern” SSA environment, “including leveraging both commercial and government capabilities to yield a U.S.-developed cutting-edge space sustainability model,” Stroup said. Any revised space safety framework shouldn’t dictate “specific technologies to meet requirements.” A “successful, modern and sustainable space traffic management system will include all of the types of space activities,” Stroup said. “The U.S. cannot accomplish this on its own and, if regulations are not appropriate, satellite operators will continue to ‘forum shop’ and license systems in foreign administrations.” Other witnesses supported further empowering Commerce’s OSC. Commercial Spaceflight Federation President Karina Drees recommended the FCC “modify its rules to require that any company that serves the U.S. market must comply with U.S. orbital debris rules. This requirement would significantly improve global orbital debris activities, while leveling the playing field for companies licensed in” the U.S. An FCC revisit of its orbital debris rules could happen once the commission gets a Democratic majority (see 2105070004).
The Senate failed to invoke cloture Wednesday on the shell bill (HR-3684) for a bipartisan infrastructure package under negotiation. Republican members of the group working on the measure believe the legislation will be ready next week with enough GOP support to proceed. A 157-page draft of part of the bipartisan measure’s broadband language gives NTIA responsibility to define low-cost broadband service options for grantees. It would set a minimum speed threshold below what fiber advocates are seeking for projects receiving money from a $40 billion pot slated for NTIA-administered state-level grants. The overall proposal, which President Joe Biden backed last month, allocates $65 billion for broadband (see 2106240070).
Amazon again supplanted Facebook in Q2 as top lobbying spender in tech and telecom, with NCTA and Comcast rounding out the top four. Huawei, Twitter, the Information Technology Industry Council and Telecommunications Industry Association had the sectors' largest percentage increases compared with the same period last year. Broadcom, BSA|The Software Alliance and the Computer and Communications Industry Association had large decreases. Amazon spent $4.86 million in Q2, up almost 11%. Facebook paid $4.77 million, down 1%. NCTA disbursed $3.26 million, down more than 10%. Comcast spent $3.25 million, down almost 11%. AT&T spent just over $3 million, down more than 10%. Verizon expended $2.76 million, up almost 9%. Charter Communications was little changed at $2.57 million, and CTIA at $2.5 million was also flat. Microsoft spent $2.47 million, a 15% decrease. T-Mobile spent $2.4 million, down 8%. NAB fell 5% to $2.18 million. Qualcomm gained 8% to $2.13 million. Google reported $2 million, a more than 23% increase. Apple had $1.64 million, an almost 11% increase. ViacomCBS paid $1.6 million, up 39%. Dell's $1.12 million was a 23% increase. Huawei spent just over $1 million, a 523% increase. IBM was $980,000, down more than 5%. Disney spent $830,000, down more than 6%. Cox's $810,000 was down almost 13%. Twitter spent $660,000, a 69% increase. ITI spent $600,000, rising 43%. USTelecom was relatively unchanged at $570,000. Lumen had $520,000, an almost 9% increase. The Internet Association disclosed $390,000, up more than 14%. Broadcom posted $360,000, down 40%. BSA was $290,000, down almost 31%. ACA Connects was level at $160,000. NTCA also spent $160,000, an 11% decrease. ICANN spent $85,000, similar to Q2 2020. TIA spent $70,000, a 40% increase. CCIA's $30,000 was down 25%.
House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, told us she’s still deciding whether to pursue spectrum legislation, after a Tuesday committee hearing in which lawmakers and witnesses offered a mixed assessment about whether Congress needs to intervene now. The panel, as expected, focused on the interagency spectrum policy fracas among the FCC, NTIA and other entities, and specifically the disagreement over possible 24 GHz band interference risks to weather data collected by federal satellites in the adjacent 23.8 GHz band (see 2107190067).