Walden Plans FirstNet, Spectrum Auction Oversight Hearings in 2013

The subcommittee will begin its session with a joint hearing on federal regulations regarding the Internet with the House Foreign Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade. “I am very concerned about what happened in Dubai regarding the Internet,” Walden said. The hearing will examine what America’s policy should be going forward “to make sure the Internet is free from legacy regulation and from countries that have a different view about democracy and freedom,” he said. Walden said he doesn’t yet have a sense for which witnesses would be called for the hearing.

If the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit overturns the FCC’s net neutrality order, Walden said he will prevent the advance of any legislation aimed at codifying the commission’s ability to ensure an open Internet. “Not on my watch,” he said. “In fact I think it’s part of the problem we have internationally. We heard … from some who were at Dubai that pointed to the FCC’s net neutrality rule as an example of the United States getting involved at some level in managing the Internet or regulating the Internet. I actually think it brings about a problem that could be much greater.” Subcommittee Ranking Member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said Tuesday that if the court overturns the order she would introduce legislation to clarify the authority of the agency to protect an open Internet (CD Jan. 23 p4).

The Subcommittee will hold a hearing “fairly early on” to do oversight of FirstNet’s development, Walden said. “I want them to get off to a good start and make sure it works,” he said. “I want them to be able to leverage local assets -- which was our theory from the beginning -- that states and localities had a lot of assets in the private sector that can be utilized so you don’t duplicate what’s there.” Walden said he wants to examine some of the roadblocks that the FirstNet board has identified, such as their concerns with certain federal rules that regulate salary caps and some contracting positions. They are realizing all “the handcuffs and choke points that they believe will slow them down. … I think we have an obligation to hear them out in a hearing.”

The subcommittee will hold an oversight hearing of the FCC’s spectrum incentive auction “at some point,” Walden said. “We are hearing, from various groups, concerns about how the FCC is planning to do this auction and so we will wait to see all the comments that come in,” he said (See separate report in this issue). “We want the auction to work. We think it has great potential to expand wireless broadband and to generate revenue.” Walden said it’s unlikely that he would push for a spectrum inventory this session: “I would say NTIA has a pretty good handle on how much spectrum is out there.”

Walden said he continues to worry about the amount of unlicensed guard band spectrum the FCC is seeking to preserve following the auction. “I would take a dim view of just making it available at no charge,” he said. “That is of concern to me because we are trying to free up spectrum so that it can be auctioned for arguably the biggest demand, which is wireless services. Any that you don’t make available diminishes our ability to build out more broadband across the countryside,” he said. Walden said he was encouraged by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s comments at the Consumer Electronics Show about pursuing the 5 GHz band for unlicensed use. “That’s a more appropriate area for unlicensed. I would like to see us try and minimize the guard band needs.”

Walden said the subcommittee will hold a hearing on the reauthorization of STELA, which expires Dec. 31, 2014. He said the hearing will “lay the groundwork” to evaluate whether changes in the marketplace will require a clean reauthorization or if it leads to a look at the Cable Act or the Telecom Act: “There are some people out there in the [communications] world that say you don’t have to reauthorize it and there are other people who want to hook every trailer they ever thought about having in video environment onto it. So we will start with an open process there.” Walden said a discussion of retransmission consent will likely emerge during the subcommittee’s STELA hearing.

Walden would not commit to any legislative reforms of the ‘96 Telecom Act or the ‘92 Cable Act but said he would continue to evaluate the need to modernize them. “They are big undertakings, I know that. And yet I think at least we need to start down that path and evaluate what is working and what is not, and where we have rules that really are legacy, that hold back technology and jobs. And so I am willing to undertake that. … This is a very vibrant part of our economy that can be made more so if we make the right policy choices."

The subcommittee will continue to hold hearings that examine how the future of audio, video and data should dictate whether new laws are needed to regulate the marketplace, Walden said. “I'm one who believes that these laws have been on the books a long time and technology has changed while we are sitting here,” he said. “We will continue to look at these issues … because I think we still have more work to do.”

Broadband Technology Opportunities Program oversight is also on tap for the subcommittee, Walden said. “NTIA has spent $4.7 billion on broadband grants and we are going to continue to look into [if] the taxpayers are getting their money’s worth [and if] there [is] overbuild,” he said. “It’s a lot of money that went out of the door very rapidly from an agency that really wasn’t set up to manage this. It’s more money than I think they have ever managed before."

Walden touted the subcommittee’s work on cybersecurity legislation last session and described HR-3523, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) as “a good starting point.” Generally, the subcommittee is seeking first to “do no harm,” he said. “Don’t over regulate in this environment. … Don’t get too prescriptive -- because when you get too prescriptive the bad guys know what the good guys are held accountable to and then they figure out a way around it.” Walden urged President Barack Obama to “hold off” on issuing a cybersecurity executive order “and work with us on finding common ground.”

The subcommittee will again seek to advance FCC process reform legislation, Walden said. “We intend to take another look at that to bring more accountability and transparency at the FCC.” Walden said he plans to examine issues related with the FCC’s open dockets and the commission’s shot clocks on issues “so that people would have some predictability in a process that lacks that right now. … I'm into reforming how they operate so it is more open and transparent and predictable for all involved.”

The subcommittee may also take a look into the effect that natural disasters like Sandy and the Derecho storm had upon the nation’s communications systems, Walden said. “I'm an old broadcaster so I have been involved in small town disaster issues over time, and communications. So I think it is important to do a look into what works and what doesn’t.” Walden said that due to the demands of the subcommittee’s busy legislative schedule he would likely fold such an inquiry into the its FirstNet hearing.