Agenda

Senate Commerce Committee leaders aren’t happy that the Senate Appropriations Committee stuck some controversial 5G directives in their Federal Communication Commission funding bill report. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and John Thune (R-SD) said they’re concerned the report, particularly its wireless airwaves recommendations, treads on their turf. The plea evidently had no effect, however; the measure advanced with the 5G language in question.

Thought things are tough for the tech industry in Washington now? Building Democratic frustration with the industry could bring a bigger crackdown if the 2020 election puts the party back in control of the White House. Look no further than the Federal Trade Commission — and its two Democrats — to see those dynamics at play. In a series of unusually blunt dissents in recent cases involving Facebook and Google, FTC Commissioners Rohit Chopra and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter argued for much tougher financial penalties for companies that break their promises and abuse their users’ privacy.

The Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Committee has awarded Burcu Baykurt the 2019 TPRC Charles Benton Early Career Scholar Award Winner and Jacob Manlove the runner up. Burcu Baykurt wrote (Dis)connecting the Digital City which examines how the connectivity infrastructures of the digital city are laid over uneven terrains and the ways residents react to those changes. Assessing the Need for a Measure of Broadband Adoption Inequality, written by Jacob Manlove, proposes the use of the absolute value index which distinguishes between no mobile use, mobile only, fixed only,

With Congress inching toward reopening its long-shuttered Office of Technology Assessment, a bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to fix what critics say were the office’s flaws back before it was defunded by Newt Gingrich-led Republicans in the 1990s.

The House Commerce Committee's telecom subcommittee will soon move to mark up legislation to improve the government’s mapping of broadband data, which lawmakers have long complained is riddled with errors. And the panel will likely use the Broadband DATA Act, H.R. 4229, from Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), as the base. “I think the Loebsack bill will be the vehicle it runs through,” Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) said. “But I think we’re going to be taking bits and pieces of the other bills, too.”

Senior Program Manager Cat Blake presented on Fiber and the Future of Mountain Communities, an informational panel hosted by the town of Breckenridge (CO). Panelists discussed the importance of investing in broadband infrastructure and the future of connectivity in the region. The discussion began with a question on the value of internet access in a community like Breckenridge, with panelists noting potential job growth and new educational resources.

The Senate Antitrust Subcommittee pressed top antitrust regulators to aggressively investigate the power of the country’s biggest tech companies, with some lawmakers questioning whether the officials had the will or resources to take on Silicon Valley’s richest businesses. The lawmakers pushed for assurances that the agencies would provide vigorous oversight of the companies. But the regulators — Joe Simons, the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, and Makan Delrahim, the top antitrust official at the Justice Department — offered few details about their inquiries into the industry.

What if you held a Congressional hearing and consensus broke out? As strange as that proposition may appear to be in Washington these days, there does seem to be general consensus that the Federal Communications Commission isn't doing a good enough job collecting data on where broadband internet access service is available -- and where it ain't.