Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., is “not optimistic” Democratic senators will support Republicans’ Congressional Review Act effort to kill FCC net neutrality rules, the ranking member of the Communications Subcommittee said Wednesday. Until the election, DeMint hopes to “minimize the damage” of the Democratic-controlled Senate and executive branch, he said. In other speeches also at a Free State Foundation event, Reps. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Cliff Stearns, R-Fla., also railed against regulation. Stearns supported the FCC effort to revamp the Universal Service Fund, but said Congress should take the next steps of revamping USF contribution rules and updating the 1996 Telecom Act.
Cable and rural telecom industry executives headline at Wednesday’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on revamping the Universal Service Fund. Testifying are: NCTA President Michael Powell, National Telecommunications Cooperative Association President Shirley Bloomfield, U.S. Cellular President Mary Dillon and Frontier Communications Chief Legal Officer Kathleen Abernathy, the committee said Tuesday. Washington state Utilities and Transportation Commissioner Philip Jones also plans to testify, the committee said. The hearing is 2:30 p.m. in Room 253, Russell Senate Office Building. Cable companies “strongly support” efforts to update USF and intercarrier compensation, Powell said in written testimony that circulated among lobbyists Tuesday. Powell urged tweaks to the ABC plan. VoIP and circuit-switched calls must be treated the same, Powell said. He criticized telcos for “refus[ing] to pay the appropriate intercarrier compensation on VoIP traffic” that cable exchanges with them. Powell also supported capping the USF high-cost fund at its current level, $4.5 billion. And USF distribution should be technology-neutral, he said. “The FCC should put in place support mechanisms that harness marketplace competition, like competitive bidding or reverse auctions, to award subsidies to the most efficient provider, regardless of what type of technology that provider uses,” Powell said. “At that point, legacy high-cost support should end.” Frontier’s Abernathy urged adoption of the original ABC plan. “It is a carefully negotiated proposal among the carriers with the most history and involvement in universal service and intercarrier compensation,” she said.
Friday’s spectrum letter by the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction “confirms” MF Global’s view that the super committee will take up spectrum auctions in its legislation due this Thanksgiving, MF Global analyst Paul Gallant said in a research note Monday. The letter (CD Oct 11 p4) likely was “aimed at nudging the Administration to repurpose the 1755-1850 MHz band for commercial wireless service” as a proposal in an upcoming NTIA report due in the next three weeks, he said. The spectrum, which has been much lobbied for by the telecom industry, is currently used by the Defense Department and other federal agencies. “We believe the NTIA report will support repurposing of 1755-1850 MHz, but probably over a longer timeframe, possibly 5-10 years,” Gallant said. “However, we also expect the report to say that the specific band most coveted by wireless operators -- 1755-1780 MHz -- could be used in five years, subject to certain engineering limitations, and could be auctioned in perhaps 2-3 years.” That’s a longer timeframe than some would like, but is still good news for the industry, Gallant said. The House Communications Subcommittee had planned to mark up spectrum legislation last week, but postponed the vote. “No date has been set for a markup,” a spokeswoman said Tuesday. Under full committee rules, 48-hour notice must be given prior to a markup. Chairman Greg Walden, R-Ore., has said he wants to pass a bill by year-end.
CTIA’s top priority is getting Congress to pass spectrum legislation, and the association thinks it’s not a question of if, but when a bill will be approved, CTIA President Steve Largent said during a press conference Wednesday. CTIA officials also said Universal Service Fund reform remains a significant issue for wireless carriers, with the FCC poised to take up an order at its Oct. 27 meeting. Largent said he’s confident the 1755-1780 MHz band will be reallocated for wireless broadband.
The House Communications Subcommittee plans a spectrum markup “sometime next week,” a spokeswoman told us Tuesday. She didn’t give an exact date. Democrats and Republicans on the subcommittee have been engaged in talks about the legislation. A major area of contention had been what to do with the 700 MHz D-block. Republicans wanted to auction the spectrum band commercially while Democrats supported reallocating it to public safety. The committee must submit its recommendations to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction by Oct. 14. The Senate Commerce Committee has already approved spectrum legislation (S-911) by Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., that would reallocate the D-block.
House Agriculture Committee lawmakers seek broadband “equality” between rural and urban areas, they said a Rural Development Subcommittee field hearing Saturday in Springfield, Ill. The lawmakers said they may take up the issue when they reauthorize the farm bill next year. Among other things, Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Costa, D-Calif., urged revision of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s definition of rural. Witnesses at the hearing testified about the importance of broadband to education, healthcare and business.
Senate Republicans resumed their effort to reject the FCC’s December net neutrality order, after the rules were published in the Federal Register on Friday. Publication meant they will take effect Nov. 20 and started a 60-day shot clock under the Congressional Review Act for Senate Republicans to move their joint resolution of disapproval (SJ Res 6). The House passed its own joint resolution (HJ Res 37) earlier this year. But it could be difficult for Republicans to overcome a veto threatened by the White House. Meanwhile, Verizon and MetroPCS are expected to file challenges in coming days to the rules now that they're taking effect. Other legal challenges are also expected.
The Wireless Tax Fairness Act could get a House floor vote in mid-October, telecom industry lobbyists said. HR-1002 by Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., would place a five-year moratorium on new state and local taxes for wireless. The Judiciary Committee approved the bill in July, and is now “working to have the bill considered on suspension,” a committee spokeswoman said. Suspension is a fast-track procedure in the House that prevents amendments and requires a two-thirds majority for passage. Industry officials said mid-October might be an optimistic prediction. Because the tax bill is sponsored by a Democrat, the Judiciary Committee wants to pair it with a Republican bill and pass both of them on the House floor by suspension, industry officials said. The GOP bill would not have to be similar to the Lofgren bill. But the committee was tied up with controversial E-Verify immigration legislation and hasn’t had a chance to mark up the non-controversial bill, an industry official said. The committee approved the E-Verify bill Wednesday, but the House is on recess next week and won’t have another markup until October. Meanwhile, the Senate version (S-543) by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is still pending before the Finance Committee.
The House and Senate Commerce Committees are working largely behind the scenes on the LightSquared matter rather than in a public forum, despite the increasingly political nature, including claims of undue political influence. The approach likely reflects a willingness to let the FCC, in its role as the expert agency, sort out the spectrum interference issue, said observers. Other committees, including the House Science Committee and House Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, haven’t been reluctant to criticize the FCC for its handling of the issue.
Cloud computing shows potential but there remain security and infrastructure concerns, House members said at a hearing Wednesday of the House Science Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation. Broadband buildout and spectrum will be critical to maintaining U.S. leadership on cloud systems, a Microsoft official said. Later, at a Hill briefing hosted by TechAmerica, Congressional High-Tech Caucus Co-Chair Doris Matsui, D-Calif., announced a task force to work on policies promoting advancement of cloud technologies.