June 2011

The Senate Commerce Committee approved the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act (S 911) by a vote of 21-4.

The bill would help build a nationwide communications network for first responders. The bill allocates the D block of spectrum, reclaimed from broadcasters in the digital television transition, to a public safety network rather than auctioning the spectrum for a public-private partnership. The bill allows broadcasters and other spectrum licensees to voluntarily remit back unused portions of the airwaves. The freed up spectrum would be re-auctioned for commercial wireless broadband use in exchange for a portion of the proceeds through “incentive auctions.” The costs to build the public safety network will be offset by the proceeds of incentive auctions, and the surplus revenue will go toward deficit reduction.

During the markup, detractors focused on what they see as the unnecessarily high costs of building the public safety network through the approach in the bill, which gives away spectrum to public safety agencies rather than auctioning it to commercial providers, who could then share their networks with emergency groups. Those who voted against the bill described it as a squandered opportunity to reduce the deficit through auction revenue.

Key Provisions of the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act:

• Establish a framework for the deployment of a nationwide, interoperable, wireless broadband network for public safety.
• Allocate 10 megahertz of spectrum, known as the “D-block,” to public safety.
• Direct the FCC to establish standards that allow public safety officials, when not using the network, to lease capacity on a secondary, but preemptible basis to non-public safety entities.
• Provide the FCC with incentive auction authority, which allows existing spectrum licensees to voluntarily relinquish their airwaves in exchange for a portion of the proceeds of the commercial auction of their spectrum. This provides new incentives for efficient use of spectrum. In addition, the funds from these incentive auctions, in conjunction with funds from the auction of other specified spectrum bands, and funds earned from leasing the public safety network on a secondary basis, will be used to fund the construction and maintenance of the nationwide, interoperable, wireless broadband public safety network.
• Direct the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to conduct cutting edge research into transformative wireless technologies.
• Surplus revenue from spectrum auctions, estimated to be more than $10 billion, will be directed to the U.S. Treasury for deficit reduction.

Senate Republicans continued mounting their opposition to Commerce Secretary nominee John Bryson.

Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, is circulating a memo which says the Commerce Department "needs an economic leader, not an environmental activist." "Mr. Bryson is not the right person for this job. America needs a Commerce Secretary who is more focused on free trade -- not cap and trade -- especially with our current economic challenges," said Sen Barrasso. The memo cited Bryson's founding of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and moderate support of cap-and-trade legislation pursued by Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) three years ago as reasons to oppose the nomination. "The president should nominate a pro-growth business leader who will help the department fulfill its mission of making American businesses more innovative at home and more competitive abroad."

By nominating Bryson, a former CEO with extensive ties to corporate America, President Barack Obama continued his aggressive courtship of the business community, which began almost immediately after Democrats lost their House majority last year. The fight over trade represents the first hurdle for Bryson’s nomination. The Administration supports free trade agreements with Korea, Colombia and Panama, but has refused to send them to Congress until Republicans agree to extend the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program, which provides healthcare and economic assistance to workers who lose their jobs because of increased trade. Business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, have called for the approval of the trade agreements as well as the assistance program and other trade preferences to be approved. Senate Republicans are saying they want the trade deals and TAA to be handled separately.

Sprint Nextel, the third- largest US wireless carrier, cut its voting stake in Clearwire to less than 50 percent to settle investor concerns that the partner may be considered a subsidiary.

The carrier told Clearwire on June 1 it pared its voting interest to 49.8 percent from 53.7 percent, according to a regulatory filing. The move is a bid to quell any concerns that Clearwire’s debt would become a liability to Sprint. The voting change doesn't affect Sprint’s equity stake in Clearwire or its relationship as a customer of the carrier. Sprint has pledged as much as $5 billion to upgrade its network over the next three to five years to combine several disparate bands of spectrum onto a single type of base station. Clearwire and Sprint have held talks about an arrangement to share network equipment.

Effective June 10th, 2011 the Federal Communications Commission's Technical Advisory Council (TAC) will be reestablished for a period of two years. The Council, comprised of a diverse array of leading technical experts, helps to provide the technical expertise the Commission needs to identify important areas of innovation and develop informed technology policies supporting America’s competitiveness in the global economy. The TAC is helping the Commission to continue the momentum of ideas and recommendations in the National Broadband Plan, such as how broadband communications can be part of the solution for the delivery and cost containment of health care, for energy and environmental conservation, for education innovation and in the creation of jobs.

On April 25th, 2011, the TAC publicly released a set of eight near term recommendations to the Commission focused on opportunities to promote innovation and further broadband deployment. These recommendations included among others; identifying cities exemplifying “best practices” in broadband deployment, facilitating the use of federal lands for broadband infrastructure deployment, establishing quality measures for broadband deployment, and facilitating coordination of access to buried infrastructure. In addition, other ideas were targeted for further development on subjects including broadband deployment, the transition to IPv6, infrastructure sharing opportunities and critical technology transitions.

Tom Wheeler, Managing Director, Core Capital Partners, serves as Chairman of the Council. Walter Johnston, Chief of the Electromagnetic Compatibility Division, serves as the Designated Federal Officer. Julius Knapp, Chief of the Office of Engineering and Technology is the Alternate Designated Federal Officer.