House Democrats’ upcoming infrastructure bill package is expected to use composite broadband legislative language drawn from existing measures, communications lobbyists told us last week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California announced earlier this month Democrats would unveil the legislative package this week (see 2001160063). Lawmakers and industry observers question the extent to which Congress will be able to make substantial headway on infrastructure legislation this year given expectations of gridlock before the November presidential election.
There's much attention to an FCC Rural Digital Opportunity Fund vote Jan. 30 (see 2001230005). Speakers at a Next Century Cities conference Thursday urged policymakers not to neglect low-income urban and minority communities to address the digital divide. The event was closed to the media in-person, so we heard the webcast.
Likely marquee items for the 2023 World Radiocommunication Conference will include space-to-space satellite links, and big mobile and satellite industry focus on the 6 GHz band, U.S. WRC delegates said at an FCBA event Thursday. Boeing Global Spectrum Management Vice President Audrey Allison said as spectrum use increases, such issues are becoming more contentious.
Local governments are bracing to oppose another attempt to pass a New York wireless infrastructure proposal, supported by industry, through the budget process (see 1912190063). A 2020-2021 budget bill floated Wednesday in each chamber (AB-9508, S-7458) includes sections on net neutrality and attempts to streamline small-cells deployment by pre-empting local governments in the right of way. Small cells appeared in a New York budget proposal two years ago, but the section was removed amid local government opposition. “Expect similar efforts here,” local government attorney Ken Fellman emailed Thursday.
ISPs, states and others looking for changes to a draft Rural Digital Opportunity Fund order up for a vote Thursday make their last requests to FCC officials this week. Sunshine rules govern industry ex parte on matters before the commission a week before the Jan. 30 meeting. Commissioners and aides said the RDOF item is dominating their time on the agency's top, eighth floor. They said it has been a big focus this week.
Commissioner Mike O’Rielly assured the Washington Auto Show Thursday the FCC doesn’t plan to pick winners and losers in the 5.9 GHz band and will let the market decide. O’Rielly predicted the agency could make a decision on its NPRM this summer. The proposal would allow for both cellular vehicle-to-everything and dedicated short-range communications technologies, he said. “We’re going to see what takes off.”
Artificial intelligence is among top tech priorities for the new European Commission and EU presidency. One key policy area for new EC President Ursula von der Leyen, a "Europe fit for the digital age," calls for legislation within her first 100 days in office on a coordinated European approach to "the human and ethical implications" of AI. The Croatian presidency, which took office Jan.1, is focused on 5G and looking toward AI and other emerging technologies. The EC approach backs a more collaborative, cross-topic approach to policymaking, those we spoke with said.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and some executives urged the Senate Commerce Committee Wednesday to advance the Telecom Opportunities for Workers Engaging in Real (Tower) Infrastructure Deployment Act (S-2363) and other measures to address perceived shortcomings in industry’s ability to recruit and retain workers to deploy 5G infrastructure. The committee's Wednesday hearing focused on workforce issues, with some talk about how to address regulatory barriers to 5G deployment. The Senate Commerce hearing drew light committee member attendance, amid the second day of the chamber’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
An expected FCC appeal to the Supreme Court of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Prometheus IV would likely have to be approved by the Office of the Solicitor General and could face an uphill battle to obtaining certiorari, said attorneys and legal professors in interviews. “The Court gets about 8000 petitions a year last I checked, and grants about 80,” emailed University of Virginia law professor Douglas Laycock. “But the FCC has the great advantage that it is part of the federal government.”
Julius Knapp's recent retirement as Office of Engineering and Technology chief could add a new wrinkle to a complicated spectrum landscape at the FCC, officials said. Knapp had led OET since 2006, under four chairmen. He was widely respected within and outside the agency. Officials told us the FCC has faced wide pushback from other federal agencies on recent spectrum initiatives, but Knapp added stability that’s now missing. Another FCC veteran, Deputy Chief Ron Repasi, replaced him on an acting basis (see 1912120045).