Wireless Stakeholders to Laud House Draft Broadband Bills, Push for More Action

Wireless industry officials plan to laud draft bills on siting and dig once policies that lawmakers circulated last week (see 1703170065), during a Tuesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing. Congress must do even more, they will say, citing inaccurate broadband mapping data and deployment challenges. Witnesses will point to the need for addressing broadband as part of a bigger infrastructure package. The two draft bills involve the many siting provisions the subcommittee put together in 2015, collected in one text, and the dig once policies of the Broadband Conduit Deployment Act offered by Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif. These ideas typically enjoyed bipartisan support.

Communications Subcommittee Chairman Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., plans to discuss the importance of small cells, 5G and cutting red tape. "President [Donald] Trump has signaled that broadband will be a significant part of his Administration’s planned infrastructure package," she will say in her opening statement, citing that as an impetus for considering the two drafts. "In addition to reducing barriers to deployment, we must accurately collect and aggregate data to update the National Broadband Map. ... It is imperative that we fix the map, but doing so is a fool’s errand without precise data. This will ensure that private and federal investments are targeted at unserved areas."

Commerce Committee Democrats "were ready to get back to work" on such drafts, ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., plans to say in his opening statement. "But without prior consultation, Republicans unilaterally revised this bipartisan bill. At this point we are still reviewing the new draft, but I would have hoped that the Republican Majority would have consulted with us prior to revising the legislation and announcing this legislative hearing. At the same time, the proposals in this bill will only get us so far. More critically, we must include broadband in our efforts to overhaul the nation’s infrastructure. Congress needs to invest in a connected future. I have seen some suggest that tax incentives will somehow increase broadband in rural and tribal areas. But tax cuts alone won’t get it done -- especially in areas where there is not a strong business case like tribal lands."

The Competitive Carriers Association “continues to support these efforts, and encourages the Committee to advance the discussion draft bills,” President Steve Berry will testify. U.S. Cellular supports "proposals set forth in the discussion draft that will streamline these processes and lead to consistent and predictable outcomes,” Chairman LeRoy Carlson will say, noting the siting challenges. Wireless Infrastructure Association Chairman Thomas Murray will urge the subcommittee to advance “the legislation you recently released in draft form that will streamline the process for siting infrastructure on Federal Lands, with a few adjustments,” calling its provisions helpful for deployment. “Particularly useful are the sections on streamlining and expediting the Byzantine process of siting wireless broadband infrastructure on Federal lands,” Murray will say. “Although your draft does not include Department of Defense land, commercial wireless service can help augment mission critical DoD operations and enhance quality of life for service men and women.” He also will laud the dig once draft bill.

These measures are only some of what witnesses plan to recommend the House take up to help broadband deployment.

“Longer term” moves from Congress should involve “ensuring robust access to backhaul services, particularly as carriers densify networks while dealing with growing capacity demands,” Berry will say. “Congress should consider updates to Section 224 of the Communications Act to support cost-effective wireless attachments on poles and in Rights-Of-Ways.”

Make sure the FCC has the money, U.S. Cellular's Carlson will warn, arguing the agency’s budget “comes up far short” of meeting the urban-rural divide. “Perhaps the FCC’s budgetary constraint flows from the intractable problem of fixing the way consumers contribute to the universal service mechanism,” he will testify: It's time for Congress to make a bigger commitment to mobile broadband. Invest in a big broadband infrastructure bill, “either through a direct program or by increasing funding for the federal universal service mechanism,” he will recommend, also urging use of tax credits and depreciation allowances. Exclude universal service money from taxable income, he will urge.

Pallone will criticize the administration's FY 2018 budget outline. The document, released last week, "would brutally cut off agencies like the U.S. Economic Development Administration and the Appalachian Regional Commission," agencies "critical to support deployment in the parts of the country that could use the jobs that come with more broadband," he will say. "This Congress must reject the President’s budget. And we must pass a real infrastructure bill that includes at least the $40 billion to make sure 98 percent of country gets broadband."

Murray will recommend lawmakers revisit FCC consultation processes with tribes and eye future 5G infrastructure deployment barriers. Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Sub-Chief Michael Conners will testify that Congress should offer “set-asides for tribal and rural infrastructure projects” and back the Tribal Digital Access Act (HR-1581) introduced last week. Build upon existing infrastructure and back partnerships, he will say.

The mapping data is a key problem, witnesses will agree, eyeing the use of Form 477 data collection from ISPs. “Beyond the constant questions of data accuracy, there is a need for more granular broadband coverage and infrastructure information to help improve our decisions,” CostQuest Associates President James Stegeman will testify. “On the infrastructure side, there is no public FCC source for the location of all poles, conduits, fiber routes, cell locations and other important broadband network components.”

“We can do better,” wireless network performance measurement firm Mosaik Solutions CEO Bryan Darr will say. “To assist policymakers in how they make broadband funding decisions, we should overlay traditional datasets with wireless infrastructure information, including tower assets and fiber optic availability, as well as on-the-ground network coverage and performance testing.”

Congress must “continue to encourage the FCC to improve the 477 data collection process before committing $4.5 billion in universal service funding,” Carlson will say, lamenting the FCC “data problem.” He will praise two recent bills on the topic, the Measuring Economic Impact of Broadband Act and the Rural Wireless Act.

CTC Technology & Energy President Joanne Hovis, a former NATOA president, will also testify. Her written testimony wasn’t available Monday. The hearing will be 10 a.m. in 2322 Rayburn.