FCC, Broadband Oversight Kick Off Fall Hill Agenda

CTIA said it hopes that Congress will pass spectrum inventory legislation (S-649, HR-3125) this fall, to jumpstart planning for another auction. “We need additional spectrum,” President Steve Largent told reporters last week. “We want to try and tee that up as quickly as possible. We know that the last spectrum that was auctioned took somewhere between eight to 11 years to come to fruition. We really can’t afford to wait eight more years and certainly not 11 more years before we have another auction at the FCC for additional spectrum.”

The industry is worried that though other countries have new spectrum in the pipeline (CD Sept 2 p3), none is lined up in the U.S. But government agencies, particularly the Defense Department, are getting nervous about having to reveal their holdings in a spectrum inventory, according to Hill and industry sources familiar with the legislation. The qualms could squelch legislation in a year when there are many other pressing matters. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said he will allow floor time on a cybersecurity measure but none for satellite. This means that to pass Congress, any other telecom provisions must have the full support of all members, an especially daunting test in the Senate.

Lawmakers’ efforts on the spectrum audit could set off a “major policy firestorm,” said Jeff Silva, a technology analyst with Medley Global Advisors. “The Pentagon, heavily reliant on radio spectrum deemed mission-critical … would undoubtedly dig in for trench warfare. There would also likely be strong pushback by other federal agencies holding spectrum assets.” But some lawmakers could jump on the spectrum effort in hopes of bringing more money into the Treasury as the budget deficit skyrockets, he said.

Broadcast spectrum also is a target, Silva said. With the transition to digital signals completed, some question whether broadcasters should “remain stewards of some of the most pristine spectrum real estate when such a relatively small percentage of Americans receive over-the-air television.” Silva cited a recent George Mason University study that estimated the Treasury could gain up to $60 billion if “broadcast spectrum were dumped into the market.”

The search for spectrum looms as one of the major policy issues the government faces in trying to increase broadband deployment, FCC broadband plan coordinator Blair Levin said at a breakfast meeting last week (CD Sept 2 p2). “We are looking for creative solutions from everyone -- government, think tanks, spectrum license holders, wireline providers, cable systems -- that will help deliver the synergies of broadband to the entire nation,” Levin said in a recent blog post, blog.broadband.gov/?p=212. Among the “worries” he listed is that the Universal Service Fund, a potential source of funding, “is already stretched thin.”

USF, Cybersecurity, Satellite

Progress is slow on Universal Service Fund legislation spearheaded by Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., and Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. A hearing could be held this year, but draft legislation is still being worked on, Commerce aides said. Efforts in the Senate aren’t even that far along, although interest is strong among Commerce Committee leaders. But health-care and climate- change bills are expected to dominate the committee’s agenda.

Hearings may be held on a national wireless framework legislation, data roaming, special access and handset exclusivity, CTIA officials said. The association is on the sidelines on most of these issues since its members have differing views, officials said. Hearings could allow Congress to express opinions as the FCC pursues its notices of inquiry on related matters. “Everyone is watching” for any potential legislation dealing with privacy and online behavioral advertising, a point of interest for Boucher, Largent said.

Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., tentatively plans a hearing Sept. 14 on cellphone use and cancer, his spokeswoman said. A “significant” study by a European group, Interphone -- in the works several years and involving 13 countries -- could shed some light on the subject, said CTIA Legislative Vice President Jot Carpenter. “It would be nice to have the study” in time for the hearing in the Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee, he said. On another safety matter, CTIA said it supports state a ban on texting while driving.

Senate leaders want to pass a cybersecurity bill, a goal that Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., has pursued intensely. His most recent draft would allow the president, working with industry, to develop a plan for responding to cybersecurity threats. This tones down previous provisions that would have allowed the president to shut down Internet traffic in response to a major threat. But several other committees have drafted their own bills, and they would have to be coordinated for a measure to pass Congress.

Satellite reauthorization legislation needs coordination by the Commerce and Judiciary committees in both chambers. The House has taken the lead with a narrow bill passed by the Communications Subcommittee. The House Judiciary Committee released a draft before the August break, and staff on both committees are working mostly working in tandem, aides and lobbyists said.

Action in the Senate is mostly on hold. Several sources said there’s tacit agreement to let the House take the first crack at the legislation. Once the House passes a measure, the Senate is likely to “whittle it down,” said a lobbyist following the issue closely. The legislation opens the door to complex issues that broadcasters, cable and satellite want resolved, and the House is the more likely chamber to sort out how proposals would affect constituents. But Reid made clear early in the year that the bill must be noncontroversial enough to pass by unanimous consent. So unless broadcasters and satellite can agree on a pristine deal that paves the way for expanded satellite service in rural areas without harming local broadcasters, the bill probably will have only narrow legislative fixes and extend the satellite compulsory license, said several lobbyists and aides familiar with the process.