Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and other lawmakers expressed interest Thursday in pursuing legislation and other solutions to address what they see as a dysfunctional relationship between the FCC and other federal agencies on spectrum management. Thune later told us Capitol Hill is unlikely to address the issue this Congress given the dwindling legislative calendar. FCC approval of Ligado’s L-band plan wasn’t directly mentioned despite earlier expectations (see 2007220066).
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced a trio of tech and telecom bills Wednesday during an executive session that also moved FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s renomination (see 2007220066). The committee voted by voice to advance a revised version of the Data Mapping to Save Moms’ Lives Act (S-3152), the amended Fundamentally Understanding the Usability and Realistic Evolution of Artificial Intelligence (Future of AI) Act (S-3771), and amended Advancing AI Research Act (S-3891). S-3152 would require the FCC map areas that lack broadband connectivity and have poor maternal health. S-3771 would direct the Commerce Department to establish an AI panel. S-3891 would establish National Institute of Standards and Technology AI research. Senate Commerce also voted 14-12 to advance confirmation of Commerce Department acting General Counsel Michael Walsh.
A Thursday Senate Communications Subcommittee hearing on the FCC and NTIA roles in spectrum policymaking is likely to at least partially focus on the dispute between the two agencies over Ligado’s L-band plan, lawmakers and officials said in interviews. The hearing is also likely to be a venue for lawmakers to address other related policy matters, including FCC disputes with other federal agencies on the 24 GHz auction and other frequencies, and bids to allocate proceeds from the coming auction of spectrum on the 3.7-4.2 GHz C band, lobbyists said. The panel begins at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell (see 2007160054).
Facebook and Comcast were the tech and telecom sectors’ top lobbying spenders for Q2, while other entities in those industries reported a mix of increases and decreases. NCTA, Charter and Microsoft earlier reported increases; the Internet Association, NAB and IBM reported decreases (see 2007200062). Facebook said it spent $4.83 million, up more than 17% from the same period in 2019. Comcast had $3.65 million, up more than 14%. Google fell 42% to $1.69 million. Huawei rose 142% to $170,000. Amazon spent $4.38 million, up 9%. AT&T shelled out $3.46 million, a more than 4% increase. Verizon reported $2.53 million, up almost 4%. CTIA was $2.48 million, down almost 5%. Qualcomm spent $1.97 million, up more than 1%. Apple fell 18% to $1.48 million. Dell was little changed at $910,000. CenturyLink spent $570,000, down 40%. USTelecom spent $560,000, up 12%. Twitter laid out $390,000, down 11%. The Competitive Carriers Association was flat at $180,000. The Telecommunications Industry Association fell by half to $50,000.
FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly would "give due consideration to a stay” of the order approving Ligado’s L-band plan “if such an item is circulated by” Chairman Ajit Pai, he told Senate Commerce Committee members in response to follow-up questions from his recent reconfirmation hearing. O’Rielly defended the FCC’s approval of the Ligado plan during that hearing (see 2006160062). The committee posted O’Rielly’s responses Monday. Senate Commerce votes Wednesday whether to advance O’Rielly’s renomination to a term ending in 2024. The meeting begins at 9:45 a.m. in G50 Dirksen.
NAB, the Internet Association and IBM reported Q2 decreases in lobbying spending Monday, while NCTA, Charter and Microsoft had increases. Other major telecom and tech companies hadn’t reported their quarterly spending by our deadline. IA said it spent $340,000, down more than 50% from the same period in 2019. IBM said it spent $1.04 million, down 35%. NAB spent $2.31 million, down almost 22%. NCTA expended $3.65 million, up almost 9%. Microsoft laid out $2.91 million, a 6% increase. Charter spent $2.59 million, up 6%. Cox shelled out $930,000, up 2%. Disney spent $890,000, an almost 6% increase. BSA|The Software Alliance spent $420,000, a 16% decrease. The Wireless Infrastructure Association devoted $180,000, down 10%. ACA Connects' $160,000 was little changed. The Computer & Communications Industry Association spent $40,000, down 20%. Viacom CBS spent $1.15 million. In the year-ago quarter, Viacom and CBS as separate entities spent a combined $1.52 million.
The House began considering its FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395) Monday, with anti-Ligado language intact. The House Rules Committee didn’t allow floor consideration of three proposed amendments trying to advance and stop efforts to hinder Ligado’s L-band plan, despite support from committee member Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas (see 2007170059). The panel ultimately agreed to allow votes on several other tech and telecom amendments, including ones aimed at Chinese companies ByteDance and ZTE (see 2007150062).
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., will watch the House Antitrust Subcommittee July 27 hearing with tech CEOs for answers on “what they’re doing to make sure that they don’t have anticompetitive platform privilege.” Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Apple’s Tim Cook, Google’s Sundar Pichai and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg are to testify (see 2007070043). Khanna isn't a Judiciary Committee member. The chiefs should answer how their companies aren’t using their “platforms to suppress competition” within the tech sector, he said during an appearance on C-SPAN’s The Communicators that was to be televised over the weekend. There needs to be “a nuanced conversation” on Capitol Hill about tech competition that goes beyond saying “‘let’s break up a company’” like Apple or Google, instead asking “what can we do to make sure that other companies can compete, that” tech giants “aren’t charging too much for the use of their own platforms, that they aren’t hurting competition,” Khanna said. He believes there needs to be a more “nuanced antitrust framework” within the federal government, and an update should look at factors beyond “consumer welfare,” including a company’s impact on jobs and communities. Major transactions need “be looked at with great scrutiny,” including what companies are doing on giving competitors access to their platforms, Khanna said. He believes there should be “extra scrutiny” on major tech companies’ activities during the pandemic, and those firms “should limit themselves to more or less organic growth and should not be trying to expand their footprint.” Policymakers and tech companies should have a “very thoughtful view of speech,” including whether content is “suppressing the vote” in the upcoming presidential election, is “leading to violence” or is “making it harder for others to have equality” on a platform, Khanna said.
The House Rules Committee considered proposed amendments to the chamber’s FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395) Friday, including those trying to advance and stop efforts to hinder Ligado’s L-band plan. HR-6395 and Senate NDAA version S-4049 have anti-Ligado language (see 2007010070). Most telecom and tech-related amendments (see 2007150062) lawmakers proposed to attach to HR-6395 hadn’t come up by early evening.
The House Commerce Committee approved 10 telecom bills Wednesday, including the Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecom Act (HR-6624), as expected (see 2007140062). Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., emphasized that the measures up for votes Wednesday were "all consensus bills, which are truly bipartisan, and the details of which have been worked out with myself and" ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore. The committee is known to have excluded (see 2007130054) some high-profile bills the House Communications Subcommittee advanced in March that had drawn Republican criticism, including the Clearing Broad Airwaves for New Deployment (C-Band) Act (HR-4855) and Reinforcing and Evaluating Service Integrity, Local Infrastructure and Emergency Notification for Today’s (Resilient) Networks Act (HR-5926).