press release

The House Communications Subcommittee, chaired by Rep Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), held a hearing examining barriers to broadband deployment throughout the country. In addition to receiving testimony from two panels of witnesses, the subcommittee looked at two discussion drafts aimed at alleviating the burden and eliminating the red tape when it comes to deploying broadband throughout the country.

1) Discussion Draft to facilitate the deployment of communications infrastructure, would: Create an inventory of federal assets that can be used to attach or install broadband infrastructure; Require all landholding agencies to use common templates when leasing space for wireless broadband attachments, and; Streamline processes for communications facilities locations applications at the Department Interior and Forest Service.
2) Discussion Draft Broadband Conduit Deployment Act of 2017, would: Mandate the inclusion of broadband conduit during the construction of certain highway projects that receive federal funding.

Joanne S. Hovis, President of CTC Technology and Energy, spoke to the importance of public-private partnerships when deploying broadband, stating, “By working cooperatively with state and local governments, the private sector stands to benefit in multiple ways – as partners, as users of the networks to market their goods and services in the rapidly emerging information-based global economy, and as contributors to the next generation of innovations.”

“We are all tired of hearing stories about parents driving their children to the local McDonald’s for Internet access in order to finish their homework assignments. We owe them better, period. The 5G revolution is upon us and we should modernize our laws to address issues such as tower siting and federal rights of ways, which are tying the hands of the private sector,” concluded Chairman Blackburn. “Unleashing broadband will create economic, educational and healthcare opportunities for millions of hardworking taxpayers.”

The House Commerce Subcommittee on Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection, chaired by Rep Bob Latta (R-OH), held a hearing to examine the ways that communities across the country are tapping into new technology and collaborating with private sector companies to deliver new initiatives that will improve safety, increase efficiency and create opportunity. The opportunities provided to citizens living within smart communities are endless. As Chairman Latta pointed out, “There are opportunities to improve education, traffic and health. We can drastically increase mobility and access to jobs. From safety to sanitation to the environment, communities that wisely invest in technologies can make a real difference in American’s lives.”

Full committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OH) expressed some of the challenges that local governments face when adopting and promoting new technologies. “These ideas may face difficulties with both funding and adoption. There are also important data sharing, cybersecurity, and privacy issues that need to be addressed when government entities are engaging with private companies to provide transportation, energy, or other community services.”

The Federal Communications Commission will hold an Open Meeting on the subjects listed below on Thursday, March 23, 2017.
Advanced Methods to Target and Eliminate Unlawful Robocalls – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Notice of Inquiry that would enable voice service providers to better protect subscribers from illegal and fraudulent robocalls. (CG Docket No. 17-59)
Promoting Technological Solutions to Combat Contraband Wireless Device Use in Correctional Facilities – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would adopt rules to facilitate the deployment of technologies used to combat contraband wireless devices in correctional facilities, while seeking comment on additional proposals and solutions. (GN Docket No. 13-111)
Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Video Relay Service – The Commission will consider a Report and Order, Notice of Inquiry, Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, and Order that would enhance service quality and propose a new provider compensation plan for video relay services. (CG Docket Nos. 10-51 and 03-123)
Cellular Service Reform – The Commission will consider a Second Report and Order, Report and Order, and Second Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would facilitate mobile broadband deployment, including LTE, promote greater spectrum efficiency, and reduce regulatory burdens and costs. (WT Docket Nos. 12-40, 10-112, 16-138)
Part 43 Reporting Requirements for U.S. Providers of International Services – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to (1) eliminate the Traffic and Revenue Reports and (2) streamline the Circuit Capacity Reports. (IB Docket Nos. 17-55 and 16-131)
Channel Sharing by Stations Outside the Broadcast Television Spectrum Incentive Auction Context – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that would authorize channel sharing outside the context of the incentive auction and thus permit stations with auction-related channel sharing agreements to continue to operate if their auction-related agreements expire or otherwise terminate. (GN Docket No. 12-268; MB Docket No. 03-185; MB Docket No. 15-137).
Presentation: : The Commission will receive an update from the Public Safety & Homeland Security Bureau on the status of its continuing inquiry into the AT&T Mobility 911 outage that occurred on March 8, 2017.

TPRC (the Research Conference on Communications, Information and Internet Policy) and the Benton Foundation are pleased to announce the Charles Benton Junior Scholar Award to recognize a scholarship in the area of digital inclusion and broadband adoption. This special honor will be awarded at the TPRC Conference for the next three years beginning in 2017. Junior scholars (those currently enrolled in a degree program or no more than three years from receipt of most recent degree) are invited to submit. The Charles Benton Junior Scholar Award recipient will be presented with a $1,500 cash prize at the TPRC conference.

Applicants are invited to submit any/all of the following for consideration: (1) an original empirically-based research paper pertaining to the area of digital inclusion and/or broadband adoption, (2) a policy proposal for digital inclusion and broadband adoption with a discussion of the justification, and/or (3) an essay on a topic dealing with digital inclusion and/or broadband adoption. The deadline for application is May 30, with notifications being made July 1.

Knight Foundation, Democracy Fund, and the Rita Allen Foundation believe informed communities are indispensable to a healthy American democracy. We are launching an open call for ideas to address concerns about the spread of misinformation and build trust in quality journalism. Knight Foundation will run the call through the Knight Prototype Fund, which specializes in quickly developing and testing early-stage ideas.

We recognize that no single solution will fit all contexts and communities, and by prototyping we hope to quickly learn which ideas have the most potential to improve our news and media ecosystem. We’re looking for technologists, journalists, designers, teachers, researchers, and others who are eager to develop ideas to help ensure all people have access to accurate information. We understand issues of trust and misinformation are nuanced and complicated, and we are looking for ideas and collaborations that can help bring new voices and vision to these debates. We expect to award up to $1 million and for the average grant size to be $50,000. The deadline to submit your idea is 5 pm ET on April 3, 2017. Winners will be announced in June.

Sens Orrin Hatch (R-UT),Steve Daines (R-MT), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) introduced the Highway Rights-of-Way Permitting Efficiency Act of 2017 (S 604), a bill that will streamline broadband permitting in existing highway rights-of-way for broadband infrastructure projects. Bill details:
State Permitting Authority: In pulling from the successful FHWA “NEPA Delegation Program,” which delegates federal environmental compliance to a state, this bill allows a state to opt-in to an agreement to take on the responsibility of environmental review—on behalf of the relevant federal agency.
Categorical Exclusion: Provides a categorical exclusion for any broadband project within an existing operational ROW.
Federal Broadband Permit Coordination; Designates a lead agency in the federal permitting process, regardless of whether a state opts-in to the “State Permitting Authority” agreement; This will consolidate efforts from the executive branch and create a single POC for a given broadband deployment project, intending to drive efficiencies into the permitting process.

Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee pressed Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to answer pointed questions about his views on the news media and ability to be an independent regulator over the industry. The letter, led by ranking member Bill Nelson (D-FL) and signed by the panel’s 13 Democrats, comes in the wake of Pai’s refusal to answer questions from Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) during the panel’s FCC oversight hearing. Pai’s recent renomination to another 5-year term by the president is now pending before the Commerce Committee. The senators wrote:

We ask you to respond directly, fully, and individually to the questions below, which will inform our ongoing consideration of your renomination for an additional five-year term on the FCC.

1. Do you believe the media is the “enemy” of the American people?
2. Can you assure us that you will exercise your authority as chairman of the FCC to regulate the media in an impartial manner?
3. Will you commit to us that the FCC will not act in a manner that violates the First Amendment and stifles or penalizes free speech by electronic media, directly or indirectly, even if requested by the administration?
4. Did you commit to the administration, as a condition for your elevation or renomination as chairman of the FCC, to take any action against a specific media entity or generally against broadcast entities, cable network owners or other media outlets?
5. Will you commit to us that you will exercise your authority as chairman of the FCC in a manner that fully respects the absolute independence of the agency from the executive branch?
6. Finally, will you commit to inform us and the public of any attempt by the White House or by any executive branch official to influence your decision-making or direct you to take or not take any action with respect to media interests within your jurisdiction, including the license renewal applications for broadcasters (whether or not such contacts fall under the ex parte rules or other legal or ethical rules applicable to the FCC)?

Please provide your responses no later than 5 p.m. on Friday, March 17, 2017.

On March 8, 2017, MIT announced that R. David Edelman, former White House Special Assistant to the President for Technology & Economic Policy, will join the Institute, effective immediately. At MIT, Dr. Edelman will direct the new Project on Technology, the Economy, and National Security, holding a joint appointment with the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Department of Political Science’s Center for International Studies (CIS). An international relations Ph.D. whose scholarship has focused on cybersecurity and law, Dr. Edelman comes to MIT following six years at the White House — where he was the only policymaker to serve on President Obama’s National Economic Council, the National Security Council, and in the Office of Science and Technology Policy. He was most recently responsible for government-wide policy development and coordination on all matters of the digital economy, and in previous roles at the NSC, United Nations, and State Department, was a lead author of the U.S. government’s Internet and cyber foreign policy doctrine.

On March 6, 2017, the Coalition for Local Internet Choice and 14 prominent public and private-sector companies and organizations announced strong support for two Tennessee bills, HB970 (SB1058) and HB1410 (SB1045) that will authorize municipal electric utilities and cooperatives to finally serve many currently unserved or underserved rural businesses and citizens.

According to the CLIC letters of support, these bills will not only remove barriers, but will also incentivize public-private network deployments. In separate letters to the House and Senate committees, CLIC and fellow co-signers note how municipalities and cooperatives in Tennessee have been subject to legislatively imposed barriers for too long. These barriers have harmed both the public and private sectors by retarding or delaying economic growth, preventing the creation or retention of jobs around the State, particularly in rural areas, hampering workforce development, and diminishing the quality of life in Tennessee.

Mozilla is announcing the National Science Foundation-sponsored Wireless Innovation for a Networked Society (WINS) Challenges: two US-based competitions with $1 million in prize money each. The goal: support creative, open-source ideas for making the Internet more accessible, decentralized and resilient. The challenges seek prototypes and designs that either a) provide connectivity during disasters or b) connect the unconnected. The program will begin accepting submissions in June 2017 through our soon-to-launch website, and will culminate in fall 2018. These challenges are open to a range of participants: individuals, teams, nonprofits and for-profits. Applicants might be academics researching wireless networking; technology activists catalyzing local infrastructure projects; entrepreneurs and innovators developing practical solutions for people who need (better) access; makers aiming to have an impact locally; or students and educators exploring networks and community activism.