Adam Bender

Even historically nonpartisan telecom issues have become political in an increasingly divided Congress, and it’s become increasingly difficult to pass substantive legislation, former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said in an interview Thursday with Communications Daily. The Commerce Committee alum urged the FCC to complete what Congress couldn’t: an overhaul of the Universal Service Fund. Dorgan blamed radio talk show hosts for politicizing the net neutrality debate, but he predicted demise for Republicans’ effort to overturn the FCC’s December order using the Congressional Review Act.

Comprehensive spectrum legislation was introduced Wednesday in the Senate by Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine. The bill would authorize voluntary incentive-based FCC auctions. It would require the FCC and NTIA to do a spectrum inventory from 300 MHz to 6.5 GHz. The agencies also would have to do joint studies related to spectrum use and a cost-benefit analysis on spectrum relocation opportunities for federal users. The bill would require added collaboration between the FCC and NTIA on spectrum policy and management-related issues, and the creation of spectrum sharing and reuse programs. And it would provide for market-based incentives to promote efficient spectrum use. The legislation would require Wi-Fi hot-spots and encourage installation of femtocells and other wireless antenna systems in all public federal buildings and would streamline federal rights-of-way and wireless tower sitings on federal buildings. “Freeing our nation’s airwaves to run at full capacity will help unleash innovation and maintain America’s leadership in communications technology,” said Kerry. “We know that our nation’s airwaves are a finite resource, and it’s more important than ever to use them as efficiently as possible. The analysis this legislation demands will help drive innovation, encourage competition, and create jobs, all while lowering prices for consumers in Massachusetts and across the country.” Snowe said the government’s “current spectrum management framework is inefficient and has not kept up with technological advancements to ensure providers have the necessary wireless capacity to meet growing demand for this finite resource.” Enacting the Kerry-Snowe bill “will help avert the looming spectrum crisis that could create a major barrier to national growth and innovation at this critical juncture in our economic recovery,” she said. “Moreover, this comprehensive approach to spectrum reform will ensure our ability to meet the future telecommunications needs of all spectrum users.”

Converting the Universal Service Fund to broadband could cause the fund to balloon unless policymakers first reexamine “the purpose, design, and management” of the subsidy program, the GAO said in a report. The report dated Tuesday deals with opportunities to reduce duplication in government, save tax dollars and increase revenue. GAO recommended that Congress give USF increased attention since it falls outside of the annual appropriations process. In a speech Wednesday, Aspen Institute’s Blair Levin said “waste, fraud and abuse” are buzz words that don’t grasp the USF’s real problems.

The House Judiciary Committee is expected to hold a hearing on wireless tax fairness on March 15 in the Courts Subcommittee, a telecom industry official said. The hearing is to start at 1:30 p.m., the official said. The committee didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Spectrum is the subject of a House Communications Subcommittee hearing planned for next week, Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., told broadcasters Tuesday at the NAB State Leadership Conference. Telecom industry lobbyists said the hearing will happen March 10. Upton wants to design a strategy that’s a “win” for broadcasters, wireless carriers and the public “in terms of deficit reduction,” he said. “We want incentives for every one of those different players to get the job done.” Upton doesn’t know “what it’s going to look like at the end of the day,” but the hearing is step one of the process, he said.

House Commerce Committee Democrats said it’s too soon to vote on legislation to kill the FCC’s December net neutrality order. The Communications Subcommittee plans to mark up a Congressional Review Act joint resolution of disapproval at a business meeting Wednesday morning. But the committee and subcommittee’s ranking members -- California Democrats Henry Waxman and Anna Eshoo -- said they want a “legislative hearing” first. Meanwhile at the NAB State Leadership Conference, Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., predicted quick House passage of the joint resolution.

FCC staffers met Monday to prepare for a possible government shutdown when the existing Continuing Resolution expires Friday. While House Republicans and Senate Democrats may soon agree to a short-term extension, the threat of a later shutdown lingers, said lobbyists. A shutdown could jeopardize RUS and NTIA broadband projects, delay FCC work on CenturyLink’s purchase of Qwest, and create problems for those with expiring spectrum licenses.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., hired Greg Orlando as his telecom counsel, a spokeswoman for the senator said Friday. Ensign is ranking member of the Senate Communications Subcommittee. Orlando previously worked for former FCC commissioner Deborah Tate and former Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J. He most recently was communications policy specialist for the NTIA, handling legal compliance and policy development for the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The FCC must not forget rural areas as it seeks to revamp the Universal Service Fund and intercarrier compensation, former Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., said in an interview Friday. Dorgan, who recently joined the Arent Fox law firm as senior policy adviser, said Congress has worked a long time on USF but “doesn’t seem to be getting it done.” The Senate had worked on the issue, but has shown less interest “the last couple of years,” he said. “The question is, what will the FCC do as it rethinks” USF and intercarrier compensation, “and will it pay as much attention as is necessary to avoid having a digital divide in the future with regard to advanced services?” Dorgan is “tinkering around with an op-ed piece” about USF overhaul discussing the “dramatic changes that have occurred since I've been in Congress and still the urgent need not only for universal service but intercarrier compensation funding” for small telcos in rural areas, he said. “I come from a town of 300 people, and so I've always been concerned that whatever happens … there needs to be an understanding of the buildout of advanced services and the financial capability to do that in the rural areas.” Most high-speed broadband buildout goes to “the biggest cities where there’s the largest income streams,” Dorgan said. But the original idea behind universal service was that a telephone in a rural area is just as important as one in an urban location, he said. “That concept has to continue through the development of these advanced services. Otherwise you will leave a lot of parts of the country behind economically.”

Broadcaster participation need not be high to raise nearly $28 billion from voluntary incentive auctions, said Phil Weiser, National Economic Council senior adviser to the director for technology and innovation. The White House estimated in its FY 2012 budget that the wireless effort could raise $27.8 billion. At a New America Foundation event Wednesday on the Hill, Weiser and other government officials acknowledged that the auctions and much else in Obama’s wireless plan rely on Congressional action. Meanwhile, speakers from industry and public interest groups urged government not to lose focus on spectrum sharing as it moves forward on auctions.