Walden Wants the Full FCC for a December Hearing to Talk Process Revamp

FirstNet Board Chairman Sam Ginn will appear before the subcommittee during an oversight hearing Thursday, Walden said, which a subcommittee notice specified is at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn. Walden wants to make sure the top officials of the public safety broadband network are reaching out to appropriate stakeholders, especially the states, he said. Walden wants to target “what’s working, what’s not” and he mentioned concerns about FirstNet transparency. “This is a pretty big buildout, and I think when it comes to government building out communications networks, it’s important to stay on top of it,” Walden said. “Our job is to ensure the appropriate oversight to make sure no one’s gaming the process.” He declined to say whether Motorola Solutions has behaved poorly, as others have alleged and Motorola has denied.

The outcome of the Aereo court battle “will perhaps influence what happens going forward,” Walden said of any video legislation. He reiterated his commitment to introducing a Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act reauthorization in Q1. Congress will need to reauthorize STELA by Dec. 31, 2014. Walden has called for a generally clean reauthorization multiple times throughout the past year. “That bill hasn’t been written yet,” Walden said. “My staff is working on that.” A retransmission consent revamp has a “lot of issues at play” and also “would be somewhat connected” to the Aereo case, he said. “Let’s see what the court says. Is Aereo a legal new innovator in the marketplace or is it another company just skirting law?” He called Aereo “potentially a disruptor of the marketplace if it’s held to be legal.”

The recent video proposal of Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., is “a very bold initiative,” Walden remarked, “and I assume he will work through the same sort of hearings process and reach out to stakeholders for their input as we do.” Rockefeller’s bill intends to even the playing field for online video distributors and inspired significant doubts among lobbyists and observers last week about its ability to pass Congress (CD Nov 14 p5). Public Knowledge again praised Rockefeller’s proposal Thursday, with Government Affairs Associate Martyn Griffen writing a blog post calling the Consumer Choice in Online Video Act “a strong move in the right direction” (http://bit.ly/17z5715). Walden noted the rapid, dynamic changes of the video market. The subcommittee is continuing to gather information, with a reluctance to pick winners and losers, Walden said.

Subcommittee Vice Chairman Bob Latta, R-Ohio, introduced his own video legislation, HR-3196, in September that proposed ending the integration ban requiring cable operators to use CableCARDs instead of built-in security in set-top boxes. The bill has slowly accumulated cosponsors, including two new ones last week, and is now up to five cosponsors, three Democrats and two Republicans, joining Latta. “There are some discussions about all that, but again, the video marketplace has changed a lot, and the question is what vehicle do you do that in, if you do that at all,” Walden said when asked about whether and when Latta’s bill might advance. “Those decisions haven’t been made yet."

On industry consolidation, Walden cautioned against the formation of monopolies but indicated the need for case-by-case consideration. “For some companies and the competitiveness of the marketplace and the way video has changed, they may have to do that,” Walden said. The FTC is “best equipped to look at consolidation,” he said.

Congress wanted to ensure AT&T and Verizon “can play, as should others,” in the FCC’s broadcast incentive auction, Walden said, describing a desire for more bidders involved and not fewer. If the FCC comes up with an auction structure that limits AT&T and Verizon, congressional reaction “will be strong, and it will be effective,” Walden said. “I expect the Federal Communications Commission to follow the letter and the intent of the law, in this and other matters.” That sentiment applies to licensed as well as unlicensed spectrum, he said, criticizing any action that would take valuable spectrum and make it free and unlicensed. “I want a competitive marketplace in the auction.” It doesn’t seem fair to “take some of the biggest players out of the process in the beginning,” given the goal of generating maximum revenue to fund deficit reduction and FirstNet, he said. “The more they reduce the ability of participants to generate the revenue in the auction, the less we'll be able to meet that challenge.” Walden is a fan of unlicensed spectrum uses but is cautious to not “give it all away” given the taxpayer money concerns, he said. The spectrum working group Walden assembled is making “some good progress there,” he said.

In the upcoming H-block spectrum auction, a Walden aide said the staff is disappointed any time a company categorically says it will not participate in an auction. It’s a business decision if Sprint and T-Mobile don’t participate, but Walden’s staff are pleased they aren’t excluded upfront, the aide said.

Walden emphasized the need for an FCC revamp. The House passed the FCC Consolidated Reporting Act unanimously in September, and Walden has urged the Senate to pick up the legislation. “I'm encouraged by Mr. Wheeler’s comments and his hiring of Dianne Cornell” as special counsel, Walden said. “I am encouraged by his comments related to the need to do process reform at the FCC.” The subcommittee plans to work “in partnership with them on that cause” and talk about those issues during the December hearing, he said. Latta’s other bill focusing on regulatory forbearance is “not on our list right now, [but that] doesn’t mean it won’t be,” Walden said. “I just haven’t focused on that.” The subcommittee is focused with the FCC and subcommittee Democrats on “what we can get accomplished” in terms of a process revamp, he said.

Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Walden were “greatly disappointed at being stiff-armed by the Commission,” Walden said of the recent debate over the UHF discount, which the FCC proposed killing in a September NPRM. Upton and Walden slammed the move in a joint Wall Street Journal op-ed in October (CD Oct 18 p15). The FCC acted in a “less than responsible way” in this case, Walden said, emphasizing the way the agency’s decisions affect the market and criticizing the freeze on the rule. Washington sometimes fails to realize “the incredible effect, and a negative one, that decisions can have out in the marketplace,” he said. (jhendel@warren-news.com)