Policymakers

On January 11, the U.S. Senate voted 60-31 to confirm the nomination of Alan Davidson to be the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. Once sworn in, Davidson will lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), which is President Joe Biden's principal adviser on telecommunications and information policy.

The Biden administration is getting closer to launching its proposed Alliance for the Future of the Internet. Administration officials originally hoped to launch this effort of “like-minded countries” in early December 2021 in tandem with the president’s Summit for Democracy.

The Senate has confirmed Alan Davidson as the new National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) administrator, and Davidson will need to hit the ground running as NTIA is responsible for the lion’s share of the $65 billion allotted for broadband in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The broadband deployment programs for which NTIA is responsible include the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, the Tribal program and the Middle-Mile program. The BEAD has a budget of $42.5 billion and the other programs add $6 billion to that.

The Senate confirmed Alan Davidson as the new head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, installing a new leader for the agency as it begins the process of distributing billions in federal funding for broadband. Davidson was approved by a vote of 60-31, making him the agency’s first permanent chief since David Redl left the post in May 2019.

President Biden has renominated Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to be a commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). With Alan Davidson confirmed to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), it is critical that we have a fully functioning FCC to implement much of the work Congress has directed the two agencies to do.

Comcast has added a lobbyist with deep ties to Arizona, a state whose senior senator may hold the key to confirming Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] for the open seat at the Federal Communications Commission. The cable, broadband and broadcasting giant hired Kirk Adams of Consilium Consulting to lobby on FCC nominations.

Privacy advocacy groups Free Press Action and Fight for the Future are urging Senate Democrats to quickly confirm Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to the Federal Communications Commission and Alvaro Bedoya to the Federal Trade Commission. President Joe Biden renominated both nominees on January 4 after the Senate failed to confirm them in December 2021. Both the FCC and the FTC currently have 2-2 partisan splits, making it difficult for their Democratic chairs to advance controversial items.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel responded to Rep Brian Higgins (D-NY)'s letter asking for a progress update on the agency's broadband data collection process. Rosenworcel's response noted the formation of the Broadband Data Task Force, progress on the new Broadband Data Collection systems and processes, work on the Broadband Serviceable Location Fabric, and the FCC's efforts to encourage people to use its Speed Test app as part of the agency's Measuring Broadband America program.

Three former Federal Communications Commission public safety chiefs endorsed Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] for the open Democratic commissioner slot. In a pair of letters to the Senate Commerce Committee on January 3, Jamie Barnett, David Simpson and David Turetsky — who all worked at the FCC during the Obama administration — said Sohn has strongly supported law enforcement and first responders.

Democrats are gearing up for another attempt at confirming President Joe Biden’s nominees for top posts at the Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration after GOP objections stalled them in 2021. The three nominations — Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] for the open FCC seat, Alvaro Bedoya for the open FTC seat and Alan Davidson to head NTIA — technically expired when the December 2021 session ended.