LAS VEGAS -- Commissioners will next week get a calendar laying out basic timing of the rulemakings and other actions that follow up on the National Broadband Plan, FCC officials said at the spring CTIA meeting. Commissioners won’t vote on the schedule but it’s expected to be discussed at the April 22 meeting.
Passage of health care reform legislation over the weekend may loosen bottlenecks that held back other legislation, industry officials said Monday. But Congress won’t necessarily intensify telecom legislation efforts, they said. An ongoing debate among Hill leadership is whether, in the wake of passing health care, they should lay low or come out swinging, said an industry lobbyist. The health-care debate took some of congressional leaders’ attention from telecom issues, said Hill and industry officials. Health care was a huge priority for Senate Commerce Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and it delayed action on telecom, said a Senate GOP staffer. Senate Republicans hope the resolution of health care and the recent release of the National Broadband Plan mean an increase telecom activity in days to come, the Hill staffer said. House Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., was also deeply involved in the health-care debate, said a telecom executive. But lawmakers may want to avoid contentious matters a while, the source said. Cybersecurity legislation has a good chance of moving forward soon, said industry officials. The issue seems to have approached “critical mass,” with a great “sense of urgency” surrounding it in Congress, said Washington Research Group analyst Paul Gallant. Legislation by Sens. Rockefeller and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, is scheduled for committee markup Wednesday morning. Reid has shown interest in the legislation and has been actively coordinating efforts across committees, said Senate and industry officials. House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., is expected to soon introduce bills on privacy and the Universal Service Fund. Boucher has said he intends to do USF before privacy. Industry officials said they didn’t expect to see the USF bill before Congress leaves for its spring recess starting Friday. However, it could appear in the “next month or so,” said Independent Telephone and Telecommunications Alliance President Curt Stamp. For communications issues, the health care debate had mostly been a bottleneck at the leadership level, said Gallant. Work on telecom operated on a separate track and committees with jurisdiction had the staff bandwidth to work on telecom simultaneously, he said. Committees still may have had difficulty getting leadership to focus on their issues, coordinating with the White House and the other chamber of Congress while the health care debate was going strong, he said. A House GOP aide said the health care debate never got in the way of committees’ telecom work. Waiting for the National Broadband Plan was the biggest obstacle, the aide said. There are other possible distractions in the coming months, especially the upcoming election, said industry observers. The lead up to November elections historically has meant a light summer, said Stamp. It’s not a sure thing the trend will repeat this summer because the health care debate proved that this Congress will work even through weekends and holidays when necessary, he said. Work on financial reform could take time on the floor schedule, and climate change is still “hanging out there” and could become the next big legislative priority, Stamp said. Congress also still has work to do on appropriations, said an industry lobbyist. The broadband plan could lead to a series of congressional oversight hearings on specific issues, which could eat up the calendar for the rest of the year, said industry officials. It would make sense to hold multiple hearings to focus more intensely on specific issues, but nothing has been finalized, said the House GOP aide. General hearings on the plan are scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in the Senate Commerce Committee and Thursday in the House Communications Subcommittee.
Passage of health care reform legislation over the weekend frees Congress to finish the oft-delayed satellite TV reauthorization and may also loosen bottlenecks that held back other legislation, industry officials said Monday. But Congress won’t necessarily intensify telecom legislation efforts, they said. An ongoing debate among Hill leadership is whether, in the wake of passing health care, they should lay low or come out swinging, said an industry lobbyist.
The FCC approved Tuesday by a unanimous vote a brief statement of principles on broadband. FCC Republicans Robert McDowell and Meredith Baker were sharply critical of some aspects of the plan itself, which was not put up for a vote before being submitted to Congress. Both found lots to like in the plan but said it must not be used as a lever for imposing more regulation. Agency officials said the FCC will offer a list in coming days of more than 40 rulemakings that will be begun as a follow-up to the plan.
The FCC approved Tuesday by a unanimous vote a brief statement of principles on broadband. FCC Republicans Robert McDowell and Meredith Baker were sharply critical of some aspects of the plan itself, which was not put up for a vote before being submitted to Congress. Both found lots to like in the plan but said it must not be used as a lever for imposing more regulation. Agency officials said the FCC will offer a list in coming days of more than 40 rulemakings that will be begun as a follow-up to the plan.
Wireless carriers may get less in the FCC’s National Broadband Plan than meets the eye, commission officials indicated Monday. Although the plan recommends that 300 MHz of spectrum be made available for wireless broadband over the next five years and 500 MHz total over 10 years, FCC officials made clear Monday that not all will be dedicated to licensed use. The plan also provides substantial detail in its recommendations for the Universal Service Fund, including a phase-out of the high-cost fund. The plan will be presented to FCC commissioners Tuesday. They won’t vote on the plan, only on a mission statement setting out goals for U.S. broadband policy.
The FCC will issue a white paper following release of the National Broadband Plan urging the expansion of broadband accessibility and adoption among disabled people, commission members said during a Silicon Flatirons event in Washington. A $10 million dollar Universal Service Fund allowance, changes to hearing aid compatibility rules and lowering the cost of assistive devices are some of the major recommendations, the commission said. “Few populations stand to benefit more from broadband than the millions of Americans with disabilities,” Chairman Julius Genachowski said. “Broadband allows people with disabilities to live independent lives in their communities of choice.”
A “fundamental” recommendation of the National Broadband Plan will be creation of “partnerships” between the government and the private and nonprofit sectors to bring down the cost of computers and monthly broadband service for the poor and to provide free training and applications to help people access education and employment information online, said Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Tuesday at the Digital Inclusion Summit, co-hosted by the FCC. “The government can’t do it alone,” Donovan said. Tuesday’s summit included four of the five FCC commissioners and members of Congress. It came a week before formal unveiling of the National Broadband Plan by the FCC. The Tuesday meeting was also hosted by the Knight Foundation.
A “fundamental” recommendation of the National Broadband Plan will be creation of “partnerships” between the government and the private and nonprofit sectors to bring down the cost of computers and monthly broadband service for the poor and to provide free training and applications to help people access education and employment information online, said Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Shaun Donovan Tuesday at the Digital Inclusion Summit, co-hosted by the FCC. “The government can’t do it alone,” Donovan said. Tuesday’s summit included four of the five FCC commissioners and members of Congress. It came a week before formal unveiling of the National Broadband Plan by the FCC. The Tuesday meeting was also hosted by the Knight Foundation.
Proposals to overhaul the Universal Service Fund mechanism including eliminating funding for voice-only networks will involve 10 years of transforming the high-cost fund into the Connect America Fund, the FCC said Friday. That’s intended to extend broadband service and provide ongoing support in certain areas without increasing the overall USF $8 billion cap, the agency officials told reporters. The proposed change is an attempt to transition from supporting voice telephone services to using funds to deliver broadband networks, said Omnibus Broadband Initiative Executive Director Blair Levin.