Maps, Receiver Standards Sought by FCC GOP Members

Better FCC broadband maps, receiver standards -- perhaps from industry -- and scaled-back telehealth restrictions were among telecom items sought Friday at a Free State Foundation event. Commissioner Brendan Carr hoped to find out when updated maps will be available, and Republican colleague Nathan Simington again raised the issue of receiver standards. Ex-Commissioner Mike O'Rielly suggested considering factors other than where a company is headquartered in assessing trustworthiness of foreign-made telecom gear. And former Cable Bureau Chief Deborah Lathen wants stakeholders to consider the virtues of permanently scaling back telehealth restrictions.

With spectrum the subject of discord among stakeholders, including sometimes other agencies, Carr suggested the FCC press ahead on frequency issues. Further actions may require the FCC to spend some of what he called its political capital (see 2109150055). He seeks "FCC leadership that is willing to step up" here. He wants the commission to "withstand the pushback from the federal users" of spectrum because "the FCC needs to continue to be the strong voice," Carr told reporters. He noted the FCC can have a broader perspective on frequencies than other agencies. The commission didn't comment. Carr said his concern predates speculation about why President Joe Biden hasn't named acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel or anyone else permanent FCC chief.

Though there was a "brief rumor" at a March Senate Commerce Committee hearing that the FCC would soon wrap up its broadband mapping work (see 2103170068), that doesn't appear to have happened, Carr noted. It's still "a black box" when maps will be completed, he said. "So much planning that can take place once we know when those maps are going to get done." He described it as "a key to so much infrastructure discussions that are going on" in Washington. "We’re spending unprecedented sums on broadband infrastructure," as much as $800 billion that includes money that could also be spent on other purposes, he told reporters. Lack of a congressional FCC oversight hearing for a year concerns him. "We have to superintend" this, Carr said. "That’s the key, to have oversight."

Simington again suggested industry could develop receiver standards (see 2109100068). He cited "cheap edge devices that are sensitive to interference," noting there "will potentially be a very big expense" if there are failures. It may be easier to build a cheaper RF device in China, but good ones could be manufactured in the U.S., he said: "Industry already sets its own floors" on such standards. With his recent talk of receiver standards, Simington noted that "predictably, I have ruffled a few feathers." He said, "Our best bet is to serve as a clearinghouse to encourage industry coordination and autoregulation. But I do think that the specter of regulation, from time to time, must loom in order to help industry act." CTIA declined to comment by our deadline.

Simington thinks industry could be "speaking with one voice before the problem manifests," he said of interference, which would help the private sector "avoid strict controls." He agrees the commission "might have a hard time" setting standards. He said there's "a vast wealth of knowledge out there that we have to tap" at the FCC, which doesn't "merely regulate transmissions. ... We regulate reception, too." But "I hope the commission doesn’t … regulate receivers."

Easing off some telehealth restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic helped lead to increased use, said Lathen. "Government has to be flexible when regulating things." Before such waivers, she couldn't have a virtual appointment with her doctor in Maryland from her residence in Washington, Lathen noted. "So many of the regulations that pertain to telehealth, it's divided between states, Medicare, Medicaid. We need to have a serious study" of the pandemic and telehealth, she added: "We need to eliminate some of the barriers." It's "the beginning of a new frontier when it comes to telehealth" and stakeholders should "come together for a proper framework," Lathen said. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services declined to comment by our deadline.

O'Rielly said the "principle of free trade has become somewhat passe recently." On telecom gearmakers, he said the issue shouldn't be corporate location but other factors. "Trusted manufacturers," not headquarters location, he said, "should be the deciding factor."

Factors to consider in gauging a gearmaker's trustworthiness could include whether the U.S. uses "it as a vendor for its sensitive services," O'Rielly emailed. Other considerations are whether the business has Americans "in contact with the US government if a problem arises" and is the company "part of and compliant with government security practices." The former commissioner said he would seek input from national security agencies, including internationally, "on what would work the best."