House Communications Sets March 16 5G, Spectrum Hearing

The House Communications Subcommittee plans a March 16 hearing on 5G and spectrum management issues, as expected (see 2203040073), the Commerce Committee said Wednesday. The panel will examine “facilitating the advancement of next-generation wireless technologies, including 5G, to ensure the United States uses wireless technology to serve consumers and remains a global leader in this important economic sector,” the committee said. The hearing is expected in part to focus on reauthorizing the FCC’s spectrum auction authority, which is to expire at the end of FY 2022 Sept. 30.

“We look forward to hearing about how the American public will be better served by the deployment of 5G, next-generation Wi-Fi, and future wireless technologies to all corners of the United States, and how improved coordination will lead to better management of our nation’s airwaves” House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., and Communications Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa., said in a statement. The partly virtual hearing will begin at 10:30 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.

Doyle and Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, on Tuesday noted plans to “examine where changes need to be made” in the federal spectrum management process following the recent public kerfuffle over C-band aviation safety issues that preceded delays earlier this year in AT&T and Verizon rolling out commercial 5G use on the frequency (see 2201180065). Doyle last month noted a narrow window this year for addressing the spectrum management process before campaigning for the November midterm elections ramps up during Congress’ expected August recess (see 2202070066).

“As our airwaves become more crowded, the government’s process for managing the use of airwaves is being strained,” Doyle and Latta wrote in The Hill. The lawmakers “cannot remember a time in the past when a spectrum management dispute has been the topic of national news and dinner table conversation throughout” the U.S. like the C-band fracas. Any process revamp must ensure NTIA continues “to be recognized throughout the federal government as the entity authorized to balance the needs and concerns of federal spectrum users, and to communicate those interests to its governmental counterparts and the public,” the lawmakers said. “The establishment of clear rules and expectations for federal and other spectrum users will lead to better spectrum outcomes.”

Doyle and Latta believe “everyone should agree that the government process for managing these critical spectrum resources must rely on science and engineering to promote the goals of both the federal government and the American economy, not the institutional interests of a single federal agency.” A revamp discussion should also ensure the federal government speaks “with one clear unified voice when it makes spectrum management decisions,” the lawmakers said. “Disagreements outside of the proper channels will only delay progress and make the spectrum allocation process more difficult.”