Lack of WH Communications Policy Point Person Raising Concerns

More than 14 months into the Biden administration, the White House hasn't designated anyone in the administration’s inner circle to oversee 5G or other telecom issues. Experts worry that not having anyone assigned to spectrum issues, at either the Office of Science and Technology Policy or National Economic Council, will complicate efforts to target further bands for 5G, and eventually 6G.

The Senate, meanwhile, is believed unlikely to vote this week to discharge FCC nominee Gigi Sohn from the Commerce Committee’s jurisdiction but may move to hold an initial vote on FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya, Senate aides and lobbyists told us. Senate leaders eyed holding initial votes on Bedoya and Sohn last week (see 2203220058) but scuttled that plan once it was clear all 50 chamber Democrats wouldn’t be present to ensure their advancement. A discharge vote on Sohn is likelier to happen next week, lobbyists said.

Biden's lack of a White House official with communications oversight is a departure from previous administrations. Even the Trump administration, plagued by personnel issues throughout its four years, assigned staff to oversee communications policy, experts said. It remains unclear if anyone in the White House, at either OSTP or NEC, is focused on driving broadband and spectrum policy forward, they said. President Donald Trump didn’t have a permanent administrator at NTIA for most of his term. The White House didn’t comment.

During the Barack Obama years, "the FCC and administration would not have made such big leaps forward in broadband and spectrum policy without hands-on White House leadership,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. “Throughout the administration, there was a senior position in both the NEC and OSTP dedicated to these issues,” he said: “During the second term in particular, I believe the leadership provided by Tom Power at OSTP and David Edelman at NEC were pivotal to a very progressive outcome on a range of issues, including strong net neutrality rules and a sea change in spectrum policy to promote unlicensed and dynamic sharing.”

Developing and implementing policy is “a team sport,” said New Street’s Blair Levin. “Maybe a spectrum person at the White House is not the pitcher or catcher, but it's at least as bad as a baseball team without a player at second base and right field,” he said: “A lot of easy outs get missed and turn into doubles and triples. Here, a lot of low-hanging fruit gets overlooked, and it is much harder to make progress on the big, important and tough issues.”

“It’s critical that there be strong leadership within the administration -- and this means identifiable and credible individuals at the highest levels rather than buried in OSTP or NTIA -- on wireless matters, given the massive benefits to the economy, consumers and commerce,” emailed former FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. “The FAA/altimeter experience earlier this year highlighted a serious lack of personnel knowledgeable about the wireless sector, and it still seems, at least to me, to still be in need of correction if this administration believes the U.S. should lead on 5G and eventually 6G.”

The White House got involved in the dispute between carriers and the airline industry over a move by Verizon to start turning on the spectrum it bought in the record-setting C-band auction. The FCC and FAA oversaw negotiations and an agreement was reached in early January. President Joe Biden personally weighed in then (see 2201040070) in an unusual presidential statement on a spectrum dispute.

Telecom lawyer Marc Martin of Perkins Coie questioned why anyone should be concerned at this point about Biden. Martin noted there were recurring fights among the White House, NTIA and FCC throughout the Trump term. “The Biden administration successfully harnessed the stakeholders and resolved the dispute involving the FAA, FCC, aviation industry and wireless industry dispute over 5G network installations’ proximity to airports,” he said.

Not having clear leadership on spectrum at the White House is "very concerning,” countered Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer. “A lack of White House leadership could be a serious barrier to the FCC opening up more bands,” he said: “The White House is going to have to really step up and take 5G seriously, or we will continue to see further delays in deployment.”

NTIA and the FCC are working on a way to better collaborate, “particularly in light of the FAA/C-band debacle,” said Kristian Stout, International Center for Law & Economics director-innovation policy. Having a White House official “tasked with watching that process would undoubtedly be helpful,” he said.

OSTP’s role has been “ambiguous,” shifting from one administration to the next, said Joe Kane, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy. “There's a need for more executive branch leadership, especially on spectrum, to keep agencies from going off on their own in disputes with the FCC,” he said: “The president's attention on spectrum issues would certainly help with that, with the goal of getting more general buy-in from the executive branch as a whole.”

Kane said collaboration between FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson is a “reason for optimism” on cooperation ahead. “If that continues, then the White House publicly supporting Davidson could help keep the rest of the executive-branch agencies in line,” he said.