Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell of Washington and other chamber Democratic leaders told us they haven’t signed off on the House Commerce Committee’s portion of the Build Back Better Act budget reconciliation package because of what they consider an underwhelming amount of money for broadband. Senate Republicans we spoke with appeared unified with their House colleagues in opposition to the language.
Federal next-generation 911 funding has a slim chance of making it into a final infrastructure spending package, but Congress has other viable paths to enact the money this year, supportive lawmakers and officials said in recent interviews. The Senate passed its amended Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (HR-3684) with $65 billion for broadband but no NG-911 funding (see 2108100062). Some 911 stakeholders hope House Commerce Committee Democratic leaders will push to add at least some of the $15 billion they proposed in the Leading Infrastructure for Tomorrow’s (Lift) America Act (HR-1848) when the chamber considers HR-3684 or via a coming budget reconciliation package.
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., floated a last-minute bid Thursday to kill a $42.5 billion NTIA-led broadband equity, access and deployment grants program included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and redirect it to the FCC for similar purposes. The amendment appears unlikely to get a floor vote, in line with expectations on other GOP bids to strike or pare back the $65 billion broadband section of the infrastructure substitute to shell bill HR-3684 (see 2108040072).
The Wireless ISP Association urged a single-round, sealed-bid 2.5 GHz auction format, in a call with FCC Office of Economics and Analytics staff. There's “strong interest among WISPA’s members in participating,” said a filing posted Friday in docket 20-429. WISPs seek to buy licenses “for targeted areas.” The auction's “lack of fungibility contrasts with other spectrum auctions where the licenses are typically offered for an unencumbered area,” the group said, “in equal-size spectrum sizes.”
Bipartisan Senate negotiators were finalizing language Wednesday for their long-sought infrastructure spending package, after reaching a deal earlier in the day to resolve outstanding broadband and other items that had divided the group in recent days (see 2107220040). The measure is expected to keep broadband funding in the package at the agreed-upon $65 billion (see 2106240070), Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, told reporters. It’s also expected to include an extension of the FCC-led emergency broadband benefit, part of what’s expected to be a split decision between Democratic and Republican positions on connectivity affordability, lobbyists told us.
Commissioners OK’d a Further NPRM proposing revised rules for short-range radars in the 60 GHz band 4-0 Tuesday, as expected (see 2107090047). But Commissioner Brendan Carr questioned whether the FCC is moving aggressively enough on opening spectrum for 5G and unlicensed use. The FNPRM explores new rules for the 57-64 GHz portion and asks questions about using the broader 57-71 GHz band.
No broadband-related actions President Joe Biden asked the FCC to take in his Friday executive order on competition can easily proceed until there are additional commissioners to secure a Democratic majority, EO supporters and opponents told us. The directive encourages the FCC to at least bring back rescinded 2015 net neutrality rules and act against some other communications sector practices. Congressional Democrats have become increasingly frustrated by Biden’s slow nominations process (see 2106160056). (For the EO's tech provisions, see 2107090060.)
Telecom-focused lawmakers want to see more information on how a bipartisan infrastructure proposal President Joe Biden backed Thursday structures broadband spending. Some Democrats also cited a likely follow-up bill to address, via budget reconciliation, infrastructure spending not in this compromise as a potential vehicle for more connectivity money. The Biden-backed deal includes $65 billion for broadband, the same the administration previously offered during unsuccessful talks with Senate Republicans (see 2105270072).
Congressional Democrats are pressing harder for President Joe Biden to name a permanent FCC chair and a fifth commissioner, citing the need for a majority to act on changes to net neutrality rules and other priorities unlikely to garner GOP support. Lawmakers remain publicly hopeful the administration will soon announce its FCC nominees. Privately, Senate Democrats in recent days told the White House their patience on FCC nomination delays has evaporated, aides said.
The FCC released rules for the 3.45 GHz auction, to start Oct. 5, in a Wednesday Wireless Bureau and Office of Economics and Analytics public notice. The FCC will auction 4,060 10 MHz flexible-use licenses in the contiguous 48 states and Washington, D.C., the PN said. All will be for 15 years and renewable. Licensees may hold up to four 10 MHz blocks in the band in any market. Short-form applications are due July 21, upfront payments Sept. 2. Staff rejected complaints by the Rural Wireless Association and Blooston carriers that the timing is too aggressive. The timing “is not only consistent with the Commission’s historical timing between spectrum auctions, it is actually considerably longer than the period between most recent spectrum auctions,” the FCC said: “Neither RWA nor Blooston have made any attempt to explain how this auction differs from previous spectrum auctions such that potential applicants need an entire year to prepare.” The agency adopted a $25 million cap on bidding credit discounts for an eligible small business and $10 million on discounts for an eligible rural service provider, same as proposed. “We are unpersuaded by comments suggesting that the adoption of a $25 million cap has inhibited participation by small businesses in recent auctions,” the PN said. It relented on minimum bids. “Given the totality of the comments regarding the proposed minimum opening bid amounts and how they might affect potential new entrants and small carriers, we adopt revised, lower minimum opening bid amounts … as proposed by Verizon and supported by US Cellular and T-Mobile,” the FCC said. The notice adopts 3 cents per MHz/POP for partial economic areas 1-50, .006 cent for PEAs 51-100 and .003 cent for all other markets, with a minimum bid of $1,000. The agency had proposed 6 cents/MHz/POP for PEAs 1-50 and 2 cents elsewhere. The PN rejected AT&T’s request to address the “no excess supply” rule in cases where a bidder wishes to reduce demand from two blocks to none and only one block of that reduction can be applied due to insufficient excess demand. “We disagree with AT&T’s premise that a license for a single block of spectrum in the 3.45 band cannot be used efficiently,” the FCC said. “This auction will bring us closer to 5G service that is fast, secure, resilient, and most importantly, available across the country,” said acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel. It had sought comment in a notice commissioners OK’d 4-0 in March (see 2103170061).