Eight House members cautioned the FCC to keep in mind international coordination with Canada and Mexico before reassigning broadcast frequencies as part of the voluntary incentive auction. Referring to the FCC’s answer to a letter these members sent earlier in the year, they wrote, “Your response implies that the Commission may proceed with the reverse auction and channel allocations prior to having completed negotiations with Canada and Mexico,” they said in a Thursday letter to FCC acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn (http://bit.ly/1a5DU0c). If so, the FCC should make sure those border customers “continue to have access to the free over-the-air broadcast signals they currently receive,” the members said, asking the FCC how it plans to accomplish that. Signers include House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo and Rep. Doris Matsui, both California Democrats.
New product introductions are in danger of being delayed by the government shutdown, TIA officials told us Tuesday. Products by TIA members need certification from FCC-approved telecommunication certification bodies (TCBs), but those labs can’t submit their reports to the now-shuttered FCC websites for ultimate approval. Without FCC approval, manufacturers can’t ship their products. “No new devices of any kind that need FCC approval can be marketed in the U.S. until the shutdown ends,” TIA General Counsel Danielle Coffey said.
The FCC Wireline Bureau released its mandatory special access data order Wednesday. The bureau used its delegated authority to “clarify the scope of the collection to reduce burden” to respondents, it said (http://bit.ly/1dpM6gu). After the Office of Management and Budget gives Paperwork Reduction Act approval, the bureau will announce the deadlines for data submission, it said. Commissioner Ajit Pai released a statement criticizing the bureau for overstepping its authority when it approved the collection of potential competition data on a less granular basis than the commission requested.
The Lifeline program must be updated to address broadband, wrote acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., in a joint op-ed for The Hill Monday. They each advocated similar positions last week (CD Sept 13 p5). The op-ed described the program’s history, its importance and the challenges in reforming it to prevent fraud and abuse. “And it’s important that we look ahead,” Clyburn and Matsui wrote (http://bit.ly/17E6FDA). “Plain old voice service is necessary, but clearly not sufficient in today’s communications ecosystem. Universal broadband is imperative for all Americans, especially as our economy becomes increasingly linked to the Internet.” They pointed to the FCC’s Lifeline broadband pilot program. “The data the Pilot produces will guide us all as we consider the future of Lifeline and in Congress, the Broadband Adoption Act would allow households that qualify for Lifeline support to choose support for landline service, mobile service or broadband,” they said.
Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn offered an impassioned defense of the Lifeline program Thursday, saying it’s crucial to help lift the downtrodden out of poverty. It should be expanded, not limited, she told a New America Foundation audience. Clyburn commended Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., for sponsoring the Broadband Affordability Act, which would require the FCC to expand Lifeline to broadband services (CD April 24 p3).
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers urged the FCC to test spectrum sharing with automobile manufacturers in the 5 GHz band as a means to expand Wi-Fi use. The request came in a letter sent Wednesday to acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn. “It’s our hope this process will unleash the capabilities of gigabit Wi-Fi and lead the adoption of rules that ensure [Intelligent Transportation Systems] and unlicensed devices can coexist in this band,” the letter said. Then-FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced an initiative earlier this year to free up 195 MHz of spectrum for Wi-Fi in the 5 GHz band (CD Jan 16 p1). The auto industry is testing vehicle-to-vehicle warning systems in part of the spectrum targeted by Genachowski -- the 5850-5925 MHz band. The letter was signed by House Communications Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif.; Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio; Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif.; and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers reintroduced legislation Thursday to require the FCC to pair for commercial auction the 1755-1780 MHz band with the 2155-2180 MHz band, as was expected (CD July 18 p13). The Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act was co-sponsored by Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif.; Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.; Adam Smith, D-Wash.; and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., and mirrored legislation which failed to pass in the 112th Congress (CD April 12/12 p1). Pairing 1755-1780 MHz band, which has long been a top target of carriers, with the 2155-2180 MHz band would allow the spectrum to be auctioned and licensed by February 2015.
A bipartisan group of House lawmakers plans to reintroduce legislation to require the FCC to pair for commercial auction the 1755-1780 MHz band with the 2155-2180 MHz band, Capitol Hill sources told us Wednesday. The forthcoming bill, which will be co-sponsored by Reps. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., will mirror the Efficient Use of Government Spectrum Act which failed to pass in the 112th Congress (CD April 12/12 p1). Pairing the 1755-1780 MHz band, which has long been a top target of carriers, with the 2155-2180 MHz band would allow the spectrum to be auctioned and licensed by February 2015. Spokesmen for Matsui and Guthrie did not comment. The bill provides the Department of Defense and other federal agencies a five-year window to leave the band and offers reimbursements for planning costs and the acquisition of replacement systems, Hill sources said. Defense is a large user of the band and the federal demand for spectrum is increasing due to the prevalence of advanced systems like drones. The cost of relocating Defense systems would be covered by the Spectrum Relocation Fund, which would be paid with the proceeds from the future commercial auction of the 1755-1780 MHz band, according to the bill. A March 2012 NTIA report estimated that repurposing all 95 MHz of the 1755-1850 MHz band would cost $18 billion and take 10 years to clear. NTIA had no comment. CTIA Vice President-Government Affairs Jot Carpenter said in an email statement the group “strongly supports efforts to reallocate the 1755 to 1780 megahertz band in time for it to be auctioned with the 2155 to 2180 megahertz band. Congresswoman Matsui has been a consistent advocate for the reallocation of the 1755 band and we greatly appreciate her continued leadership on this issue.”
The top Republicans and Democrats of the House Commerce Committee plan to convene monthly meetings with spectrum officials from the FCC, NTIA and DOD to encourage the agencies to quickly target federal spectrum that can be reallocated or shared for commercial wireless use. House Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., said Thursday that he and Ranking Member Henry Waxman, D-Calif., are “both concerned we are not making progress fast enough,” during a subcommittee hearing with public and private sector spectrum stakeholders.
The Obama administration is committing $100 million to spectrum sharing and pushing cooperation between federal agencies and industry, almost a year after the President’s Council of Advisers on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommended the White House shift its focus from exclusive-use spectrum to sharing (CD July 23 p1). Until now, the White House had been generally supportive of sharing, but hadn’t released a presidential memorandum in reaction to the PCAST report. The White House also issued a paper making the argument that the administration is making progress on broadband deployment (http://1.usa.gov/11NlwJI).