Wireless Telecommunications

The House Communications Subcommittee held a hearing continuing its oversight role of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). Chairman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) spoke to the need to maintain America’s status as a global leader in wireless technologies. In his opening remarks, full Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR) stressed the importance of accurate broadband mapping in efforts to expand broadband internet access. David Redl, Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, NTIA, U.S.

The "Repack Airwaves Yielding Better Access for Users of Modern Services Act of 2018" (RAY BAUM Act) (HR 4986) has been unanimously approved by the House. The bill was named in honor of the late Energy & Commerce staff director, who died in February. It is expected to pass the Senate as well.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai proposed to direct approximately $954 million toward restoring and expanding communications networks in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands—networks that were damaged and destroyed during the 2017 hurricane season. Specifically, he proposed to create a $750 million Uniendo a Puerto Rico Fund (Bringing Puerto Rico Together Fund) and a $204 million Connect USVI Fund.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai can usually count on support from broadband industry lobbyists and conservative think tanks each time he announces a new policy. But Chairman Pai's proposal to limit broadband choices for poor people who rely on a telecommunication subsidy program is coming under fire from all directions. Chairman Pai wants a major overhaul of Lifeline, a federal program that lets poor people use a $9.25 monthly household subsidy to buy Internet and/or phone service.

Is AT&T carving out lanes on the internet and offering the speediest service to the highest bidder, while leaving all other internet traffic relegated to "slow lanes"? Not exactly. AT&T hasn't introduced a new service that explicitly prioritizes one type of traffic over another. But that doesn't mean that it isn't offering other services that might run afoul of the strict network neutrality restrictions that are set to expire soon. 

[Commentary] The Lifeline program is one of the Federal Communications Commission’s most important, most noble ventures. It is also one of the most problematic, suffering repeated criticism from the Government Accountability Office and others for waste, fraud, and abuse. In an effort to reform the program, the FCC has suggested limiting Lifeline participation to facilities-based telecommunications providers.

Many local officials, engineers and wireless consultants contend that changes Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai advocates to limit local regulation of small-cell permitting, design, fees and other charges used to access cities’ public rights of way won’t do anything to close the digital divide.

Many people are worked up over so-called small cells, the next generation of wireless technology that telecommunications firms and cell-tower builders want to place on streetlights and utility poles throughout neighborhoods nationwide. The small cells come with a host of equipment, including antennas, power supplies, electric meters, switches, cabling and boxes often strapped to the sides of poles. Some may have refrigerator-sized containers on the ground. And they will be placed about every 500 or so feet along residential streets and throughout business districts.

House Commerce Committee Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR), Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune (R-SD), and Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL) announced a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on legislation reauthorizing the Federal Communications Commission and spurring the deployment of next-generation wireless services. The legislation, RAY BAUM’S Act (H.R. 4986), will be voted on in the House of Representatives on Tuesday, March 6, 2018. The legislation would: