Questions Raised on Trump Letter as WRC Gets Down to Business

The 2019 World Radiocommunication Conference almost immediately got down to business this week, with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai there. But officials at the WRC, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, said a letter that President Donald Trump sent Monday (see 1910280054) likely raised question. This is considered potentially the most important WRC because of its focus on 5G and harmonizing bands.

The correspondence from a U.S. president was unprecedented. Attendees said questions arose among delegates because the letter never mentions Grace Koh, WRC-19 U.S. ambassador. It appeared to commit the delegation to seeking consensus, potentially undermining the U.S. negotiating position. Officials at the conference were surprised the missive wasn’t mentioned in delegation briefings. The delegation and White House didn't comment Thursday.

With much to do and 5G starting, delegates almost immediately started work, attendees said: Much of the early discussions centered on who would be in charge of preparing the agenda of the next WRC. The ITU and the U.S. delegation held the only two major receptions, both apparently well attended. Attendees said security has been tight with checkpoints outside and inside the building.

“Every conference is unique, but there are certain commonalities,” said David Gross of Wiley Rein. “At this stage, people are trying to figure out what the main issues are and what the rhythm of the conference will be.” Gross oversaw U.S. work at two WRCs under President George W. Bush. Things seem to be progressing “in the normal fashion,” Gross told us, and most signs are positive. “It looks like we’re going to make a lot of progress on a lot of these issues at this conference and we’ll have a very robust agenda for WRC-23.”

The FCC failed to get global agreement on its approach to the UHF band, prior to the TV incentive auction, during the last WRC four years ago, despite lobbying from then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler and other U.S. officials (see 1511050041). U.S. carriers led by T-Mobile are plowing forward to deploy in that band. Agreement helps promote harmonization, but the WRC doesn’t “necessarily determine what happens domestically,” Gross said. “ITU is not the international FCC.”

The Trump letter “shows to the diplomats at WRC-19 that the U.S. delegation has the attention of the U.S. government at the highest levels,” said Cooley’s Robert McDowell. “That kind of very clear, strong and public support gives Ambassador Grace Koh added cache among her fellow diplomats,” said the ex-FCC member: “They are now on notice that she has unified support behind her and has all of the attributes and benefits that brings to the table."

Alex Roytblat, Wi-Fi Alliance senior director-regulatory affairs, said his top focus is protecting the 6 GHz band for Wi-Fi. Some want ITU to evaluate the band for international mobile telecom use (see 1910280045). “The pressure on the existing, internationally harmonized spectrum that supports Wi-Fi continuous to grow, but despite the wide recognition of this need, there has been disproportionately little associated action to create additional spectrum capacity,” Roytblat told us. “That is why regulators in the U.S. and Europe are working on opening the 6 GHz band for unlicensed access. Doing so will help relieve the stress on existing Wi-Fi spectrum, maintain advances in wireless broadband technologies which lead to global harmonization.” Including the 6 GHz band in a four-year ITU study “would only counter these benefits and disrupt global spectrum harmonization.”

R Street Institute Resident Fellow Jeffrey Westling doesn't fear the presidential communication. “The letter clearly identifies the delegation, even though not specifically by name, as highly dedicated experts who will exercise leadership,” he said: “This sounds like they will still have significant flexibility in terms of what the negotiations may end up looking like.”

The letter was likely “well intentioned, but unfortunately may have done more harm than good to the delegation,” said Doug Brake, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy: Koh “deserves the full support of the administration, but it sounds like this letter may have been poorly worded or unaware of intricacies faced by the delegation.”

The communication makes clear the U.S.’s security stance, Westling said. “With the denial of China Mobile's international telecommunications service application and the current proceeding looking at ripping-and-replacing Huawei and ZTE equipment, the federal approach to these companies has been quite clear,” he said: “The letter serves the purpose of simply laying out our free-market approach to 5G and galvanize support from other nations to limit the use of Chinese equipment and services that could pose a threat."