Chairman Pai's Response to Members of Congress Regarding 5G

On Aug 7, 2019, House Commerce Committee members Billy Long (R-MO), Fred Upton (R-MI), John Shimkus (R-IL), Brett Guthrie (R-KY), and Jeff Duncan (R-SC) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to commend the FCC on its progress of the Facilitate American's Superiority in 5G Technology (the 5G FAST Plan). They particularly supported efforts to make mid-band spectrum available for 5G connectivity. They encouraged the FCC to deploy a greenfield buildout of 5G services in the L-band in the very near term, and urged advancement of the L-band proceeding to a final resolution before Labor Day. 

On Dec 4, 2019, Chairman Pai responded by saying he directed FCC staff to submit a draft order addressing this band to the Interdepartment Radio Advisory Committee, an interagency group headed by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). "In the normal course, federal agencies with equities in this band are supposed to submit feedback to the NTIA, which is then supposed to coordinate the official position of the Executive Branch on the band to the FCC. The FCC then makes a decision on whether and how to proceed on the draft order, as appropriate. We are currently awaiting feedback from the NTIA on the Executive Branch’s position."