Agenda

[Commentary] Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai is planning to make some major overhauls at the FCC. Eight months into his term, Pai is preparing to “modernize [the FCC’s] rules to match the realities of today’s marketplace.” At 2017’s National Broadcast Association’s Radio Show, Pai announced he would present to his fellow FCC Commissioners at least one Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) every month, starting in September. These monthly NPRMs are intended to address concerns that Chairman Pai has assessed are part of those "outdated or unnecessary media regulations that should be eliminated or modified.”

Pai’s statements at NAB focused on broadcasting, while his statements via a blog post go into more detail on what’s ahead outside of the broadcast industry. With the tentative agenda for the Commission’s upcoming September meeting posted, it’s shaping up to be a busy time at the FCC for the foreseeable future

Since becoming Chairman, I have consistently emphasized the need for the Commission’s regulations to match realities of the current marketplace. Our rules must reflect today’s technological and economic conditions, not those of yesterday. And at this month’s open meeting, we will advance this objective by focusing on whether to update or scrap outdated rules. That’s why we’re dubbing September .

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the September Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 26, 2017:

Amendment of Parts 74, 76 and 78 of the Commission’s Rules Regarding Maintenance of Copies of FCC Rules – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to eliminate rules requiring certain broadcast and cable entities to maintain paper copies of FCC rules. (MB Docket Nos. 17-105; 17-231)

Cable Television Technical and Operational Standards – The Commission will consider a Report and Order that modernizes its cable television technical rules to reflect the cable industry’s use of digital transmission systems. (MB Docket No. 12-217)

Revitalization of the AM Radio Service – The Commission will consider a Third Report and Order that will relax or eliminate certain rules pertaining to AM broadcasters employing and maintaining directional antenna arrays. (MB Docket No. 13-249)

Updating Rules for Non-Geostationary Satellites in the Fixed-Satellite Service – The Commission will consider a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that recommends updating and streamlining the Commission’s rules to facilitate the licensing of the next generation of non-geostationary, fixed-satellite service systems. (IB Docket No. 16-408)

Revisions to Reporting Requirements Governing Hearing Aid-Compatible Mobile Handsets – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that seeks comment on revisions to the wireless hearing aid compatibility annual reporting requirement to provide relief to non-nationwide service providers. (WT Docket No. 17-228)

Toll Free Assignment Modernization – The Commission will consider a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to amend the Commission’s rules to allow for use of auctions to assign certain toll free numbers and considers other means by which to modernize the administration and assignment of toll free numbers. (WC Docket No. 17-192; CC Docket No 95-155)

911 Access, Routing, and Location in Enterprise Communications Systems – The Commission will consider a Notice of Inquiry that seeks comment on the provision of 911 by enterprise communications systems that serve businesses, hotels, educational institutions, and government entities. The NOI seeks comment on the capabilities of these systems to support direct calling to 911, routing to the appropriate 911 call center, and transmission of the caller’s location information, as well as to ensure that the 911 capabilities of these systems keep pace with technological developments and public expectations. (PS Docket No. 17-239)

20th Mobile Wireless Competition Report – The Commission will consider a Report analyzing the state of competition in the mobile wireless industry. (WT Docket No. 17-69)

House Republicans emerged from a month of network neutrality negotiations with no new draft bill text, said Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). Before August, he set his sights on a hearing scheduled for Sept 7 on net neutrality legislation featuring testimony from top tech and telecom CEOs — but there’s no such hearing and, as a GOP committee aide confirms, no new draft bill. “Obviously there are some difficult issues yet to resolve with language,” Chairman Walden said. On the hearing, he cited “scheduling issues with the principals” and said a new draft “would be the topic of that hearing when it does happen, or if it does happen.” Republicans are still in discussions to “see if we can legislate,” said Chairman Walden, who has sought to codify open internet rules since 2015 without any real negotiation with Democrats. “Everybody’s operating in good faith, and we have other matters we can address in the meantime,” he said.

Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) said of the cancelled hearing: "We're still working through that issue, and I think we're in pretty good shape." But she said she didn't know if the hearing would be re-scheduled, despite "great conversations" taking place. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), ranking Democrat on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, said he's heard of a draft net neutrality bill floating around, but said if that's the case, he and other Democrats hadn't seen it. "I'm sure at some point in time, in the distant future, there may come a time when it makes sense to put this into legislation, but I don't think we're at that time yet.” Democrats favor keeping the FCC's net neutrality rules.

Senate Republicans are trying to lock down a time for a roll call vote for Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai’s reconfirmation.

“I want to get it done as soon as we can,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD). “I don’t want to push this to the end of the year. I think the [Senate Majority] leader shares that view.” He didn’t rule out a September vote, saying it depends on “how quickly we’re able to dispose of some of the things we have to deal with that are immediate to see if there’s a window there to do it.” Without a vote, Chairman Pai would have to leave the commission at the end of 2017. Chairman Pai likely has all the GOP votes he needs, but Democrats “are going to make it difficult,” Chairman Thune predicted. “They wanted to drag this out or they would have let him go [by voice vote] before the August break when we approved the other package of [nominees]. They intend, I think at least, to use some time to talk about it.”

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a frequent Pai critic, said he welcomes the chance: “It’s definitely an opportunity to talk about those issues, and I intend to pursue them.”

One priority for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD) is reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission, which hasn’t happened since 1990.

His bipartisan bill to do so stalled on the Senate floor last Congress, and while he’s said he wants to revive the effort, don’t expect action for months. “That probably doesn’t happen this year,” said Chairman Thune citing plenty of other priorities to tackle first. What could go into the eventual package? Chairman Thune mentioned that “transparency and accountability” provisions and some pieces of his FCC Process Reform Act might make it in, although he said some parts are “too controversial and wouldn’t be included” this time around. He’s also in no rush to craft legislation overhauling the FCC’s Lifeline program, but “if there’s an FCC reauthorization, that might be the window to do that.”

The House Commerce Committee had mentioned FCC reauthorization as a priority for September. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA), ranking Democrat on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, said he hadn't heard anything on that front. "We've got a lot to do and not much time," he said.

Federal agencies, especially the Department of Defense (DoD), don’t face normal marketplace pressures to economize their use of spectrum. While the potential societal gains of reallocating federal spectrum for commercial use are likely in the hundreds of billions of dollars, attempts at addressing this problem have met many roadblocks. Today, I’m offering another idea for consideration: the option of allowing agencies to free up some of their spectrum holdings in exchange for budgetary relief. While I still believe the imposition of Agency Spectrum Fees is the best course of action, this new proposal represents a compromise between differing carrot and stick approaches. And it is particularly timely today, as many of these federal agencies face increasing budgetary pressure. I suggest that federal agencies be permitted to use their spectrum holdings to offset the annual budgetary caps and sub caps. This would mean that, in achieving its respective budget limits, a federal agency could substitute the market value – as determined by an average of Congressional Budget Office and Office of Management and Budget estimates – of their surrendered spectrum to offset other cuts or even expand its spending options. It amounts to a spectrum-for-cash swap.

Public policy has probably never been more important for the US wireless industry as it will be over the next several years. And the schedule for Mobile World Congress Americas underscores that. Legislative and regulatory issues will play a major role at the trade show, starting with the first keynote Sept 12 featuring Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai and CTIA CEO Margaret Attwell Baker. Other discussions include a panel analyzing the FCC’s incentive auction of 600 MHz spectrum, a look at unmanned aerial services hosted by CTIA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Jackie McCarthy and a round table examining how the coming transition to 5G is spurring new efforts to streamline siting processes. And that’s just day one.

By this Order, the Wireline Competition Bureau and Wireless Telecommunications Bureau extend the deadline for filing initial and reply comments in response to the Thirteenth Section 706 Report Notice of Inquiry until September 21, 2017 and October 6, 2017, respectively.

As we begin to assess Harvey’s horrible toll on human life and property, we will need to take stock of what worked, what didn’t, and how we can improve when it comes to our communications infrastructure. As we have done in disasters in the past, the Commission will need to study this hurricane and issue a report. That report must include a full plan for fixing the vulnerabilities that we are finding–from overloading 911 systems to out-of-service cell sites. It should also include a framework for rebuilding so that the communities that have been impacted are not permanently relegated to the wrong side of the digital divide. Above all, we need to get started. We don’t have time to waste–because we know that weather emergencies can occur anywhere at any time–and learning from what happened with Harvey can help strengthen our communications networks and save lives.