Shimkus Wants To Rebuild FCC From Ground Up; Gardner Plugs Thune-Nelson Effort
The FCC should be completely redesigned, starting from scratch, said Rep. John Shimkus, R-Ill, at the NTCA conference Tuesday. Both the Telecom Act and FCC's regulatory "silos" are “outdated,” as “technology is moving faster than regulators can regulate and legislators…
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can legislate,” he said, suggesting some parties are starting to "game" net neutrality rules. “FCC reform is a big job that needs to be done,” said Shimkus, a senior member of the Commerce Committee and its Communications Subcommittee. He said if he gained power, he would start with a blank slate and ask stakeholders what the FCC should look like so that it becomes “agile and nimble” and “doesn’t get in the way.” Shimkus said USF subsidy support is key and called on the FCC to fix rural call completion problems, saying he's constantly getting “busted” by some local officials on the issue. Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., told the audience the FCC’s Title II broadband reclassification was “misguided,” subjecting industry to 1930s utility regulation. He credited Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., and ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., with trying to find “common ground” and promote "common sense" through bipartisan legislation, but he offered no sense of the prospects. He urged the FCC to remedy the “stand-alone broadband problem” that prevents rural carriers from receiving USF support for broadband customers who get voice service from another provider. Noting a broadband stimulus project that he said overbuilt an existing fiber line of a Colorado rural telco, Gardner said policymakers must “protect against duplication, overlap and unfair competition.” He also backed streamlining permit processes and making an additional 200 MHz available for commercial use. “We have to have access to more and more spectrum,” he said. NTCA members were heading to Capitol Hill to lobby members on USF, rural calling, video obstacles, spectrum issues and repeal of an Affordable Care Act 40 percent excise tax on "high-cost" insurance plans to take effect in 2018.