Government, Industry Should Foster Opportunities for Small, Minority-Owned Business, Say Lawmakers
Policymakers and telecom industry leaders must ensure opportunities for small, minority-owned business are created and that the openness and proliferation of innovation aren’t stifled by regulation, said current and former members of Congress. The way broadband and mobile devices will be used in the future is “mindboggling,” said Cliff Stearns, former chairman of the House Commerce Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee. “There’s convergence, yet there is sort of a digital divide,” he said Wednesday at a Minority Media & Telecom Council event. Mobile broadband and other technologies are creating enormous opportunities for individuals and economies around the world, said David Grain, Grain Communications CEO. Over the next five years global mobile data use and higher speeds are expected to grow, he said. “We should recognize that the picture isn’t universally bright."
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To help lessen the divide in broadband, education is needed, said Stearns. There’s inequality when it comes to new technology because people don’t know how to use it, he said. Education is necessary, he added: “That aspect we can work on together.” With the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, there was $7.5 billion to provide broadband deployment in areas that were unserved and underserved, he said. But those areas weren’t mapped out, he said. Congress should do more to ensure that people in those areas get the full 4G LTE service to help make them successful, he said. “I think FCC needs reformation.” During the FCC’s auction 73, “small players were able to acquire a lot of spectrum,” he added. Stearns said he'd like to see future auctions with similar results.
In addressing the future of the Internet, “we must remember that it is its openness and limitless nature that allowed it to become the invaluable tool we know it is today,” said House Cybersecurity Subcommittee ranking member Yvette Clark, D-N.Y. She encouraged colleagues in Congress and regulators to encourage further innovation in the field and to “take measures to make sure innovation isn’t impeded.” Lawmakers should ensure that there are measures to stop ISPs from discriminating against content providers, she said. Lawmakers also must “carefully monitor data caps and permit those that aid in preventing network disruptions,” she added.
Policymakers should make sure “when money is allocated that it goes where it’s supposed to go,” said former House Commerce Committee member Edolphus Towns, D-N.Y. Another task is to “ensure that we structure our telecom and Internet policies to continue to support technological innovation and remove any barriers that could make this difficult,” he said. Public hearings also are needed to help move things forward, he added.
Small and minority-owned businesses face daunting challenges, including in the telecom sector, Grain said. The success of these firms in FCC spectrum auctions has declined to nearly zero, he said. In media and telecom, there’s a need for Congress and commission to take a hard look at the data and help increase ownership levels for members of minority groups, he said. The commission should “incorporate adequate mechanisms to promote participation,” Grain said. The FCC should consider whether it should dismantle obstacles from small and minority-owned firms to work with larger firms, he said. The FCC’s ongoing incentive auction process “provides an excellent opportunity to address these critical issues,” he said. Policymakers and regulators should use policy levers to create new opportunities for larger business to partner with smaller, minority owned businesses, he added.
Grain urged regulators to incentivize corporations and small businesses through FirstNet, the forthcoming public safety broadband network, he said. Federal and state policymakers can advance small and minority-owned businesses by creating incentives for big firms to partner with these smaller firms, he said. He commended Verizon Wireless for structuring an open and inclusive process around the sale of 700 MHz spectrum: This should serve as a model “for other corporations to partner with small, minority owned firms.” Grain also challenged Softbank, Dish Network, Sprint and other telecom corporations to identify areas for such collaboration.