House Commerce Committee passes spectrum inventory bill by voice vote

On Wed (March 10), the House Commerce Committee approved, by voice vote, the Radio Spectrum Inventory Act (HR 3125), the Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act of 2009 (HR3019), and the Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 (HR 1258).

The Radio Spectrum Inventory Act requires the FCC and the National Telecommunications & Information Administration to conduct an inventory of how spectrum is being used, by whom and how efficiently. The bill was also amended to give the National Security Council a consultative role on determining what inventory information should not be made public due to national security, and to recognize the importance of spectrum for military uses. The latter is consistent with predictions that it could be tough to reclaim spectrum from the military. That came after a letter from the Obama administration to the committee this week with concerns about protecting sensitive information.

The Spectrum Relocation Improvement Act, as amended by the Committee, gives the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications & Information Administration four years to make recommendations to Congress about spectrum reallocation or sharing. As amended, it also puts more emphasis on looking beyond the broadcast band to other spectrum. The bill requires the NTIA to come up with a transition plan for future spectrum band-clearing auctions. That follows problems with government users failing to clear out in a timely fashion after the government had collected billions from private users for the spectrum.