FCC Members Past and Present, Other Stakeholders Seek TV White Spaces Action

FCC members past and present want action on further using TV white spaces. Commissioners Mike O'Rielly and Jessica Rosenworcel plus ex-member Mignon Clyburn spoke at a webinar. "It can happen this year," O'Rielly said of an FCC TVWS vote. He said the issue has the support of his colleagues but with all the other items on the agenda, it's a matter of priority. Having a statutory deadline helps, said Rosenworcel. O'Rielly preferred to defer to Congress, saying such guidance could be an impetus. Commissioners 5-0 approved an NPRM in February seeking comment on proposals to allow devices to operate with higher power in less-congested areas. The FCC declined to comment now. Morgan Reed, president of Tuesday's webinar host ACT|The App Association, said Congress should give the FCC the resources it needs. "We need every type of broadband infrastructure at our disposal" to ensure the U.S. can be connected affordably, Clyburn said. "Whatever's decided is not going to be perfect." The FCC must be mindful of harmful interference and do what it can to promote flexibility, she said: Regulatory certainty could help encourage equipment manufacturers to "do what they promised." There aren't "funding mechanisms for some of these investments" in precision agriculture or telehealth, said Nicol Turner Lee, Brookings Institution Center for Technology Innovation senior fellow. "Maybe we should move past some of these patchworks to fund these smaller projects."