Senate Commerce Eyes Possible Early July Hearing on Government Spectrum Reallocation
The Senate Commerce Committee may hold or have wanted to hold a hearing the week of July 6 on reallocation of government spectrum, officials familiar with the issue told us Monday. The potential focus would likely be on such reallocation…
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and spectrum efficiency, they said of the ongoing discussions for possible scheduling. Two officials pointed to July 8 as one likely date if the hearing goes forward, although one industry lobbyist told us late Monday that the hearing was postponed. No hearing has been announced, and a committee spokesman declined comment. David Quinalty, GOP telecom policy director for the committee, recently said Commerce will tackle spectrum policy issues in earnest in the second half of this year (see 1506180043). Several Commerce Committee Republicans recently backed the Wireless Innovation Act (S-1618) introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., on Thursday (see 1506180045), which was lauded by several wireless industry interests. The bill would require NTIA to reallocate 200 MHz of spectrum below 5 GHz. “This important bill reflects the undeniable reality that we’re living in the middle of a mobile revolution,” said Verizon Senior Vice President Peter Davidson in a blog post Monday. “The Wireless Innovation Act is a good start to many of the necessary reforms to ensure that enough spectrum will be cleared and repurposed to meet soaring consumers’ ... demand for wireless services.”