Lawmakers Uncertain on Rip and Replace, NG-911 Funding Prospects in Year-End Package

Congressional telecom policy leaders and other observers are hopeful but not certain that additional funding for the FCC’s Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program and next-generation 911 tech upgrades will remain top priorities in FY 2023 appropriations talks, amid the apparent lack of consensus so far on allocating future spectrum auction proceeds for that purpose. Lawmakers agreed last month to temporarily extend the FCC’s auction authority through Dec. 16 via a continuing resolution to buy additional time for talks on a broader spectrum legislative package that allocates sales proceeds to telecom projects (see 2209300058).

“If we get [a final spectrum package] right, there’s a lot of opportunity” to use auction revenue to fund a range of things “that are part of this unfolding of the information age,” particularly for telecom issues like the rip-and-replace program, said Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., in an interview last month just before the congressional recess. She and other Senate Democrats haven’t signed on to the approach the House took in its passed version of the Spectrum Innovation Act (HR-7624), which would allocate up to $10 billion in future sales revenue for NG-911 and up to $3.08 billion for the rip-and-replace program (see 2207280052).

Cantwell acknowledged she’s eyeing whether some spectrum revenue could be directed to fund her Grant to Rapidly Invest and Deploy Broadband Act (S-4763), which aims to incentivize building a nationwide middle-mile broadband backbone along the existing U.S. electricity grid (see 2208100062). “It’s a possibility,” but other resources are “already dedicated to it” in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which included $1 billion for middle-mile grants for FY 2022-26 (see 2108020061), Cantwell told us. Other Democrats are also examining whether to allocate portions of potential revenue for additional projects, though whether this happens will depend on the scope of any final measure, lobbyists said.

Top Senate Commerce Republicans are paying attention to how spending talks unfold, citing interest in echoing language from HR-7624 that would give priority to setting aside a portion of spectrum sales proceeds to pay down national debt before allocations for other projects. “It’s a conversation we’ll have to have” as negotiations continue during the recess, said Senate Commerce ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Republicans are, for instance, “a hard no” on Cantwell’s push to use the package for S-4763 funding, a telecom lobbyist said.

Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., told us he’s “paying a lot of attention to the rip-and-replace funding issue because we have a lot of carriers in South Dakota that have some of those components in their networks, so we’ve got to get those out.” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, filed his Protecting Communications Networks from Chinese Communist Party Espionage Act (S-4820) last month, which would allocate up to $3.7 billion in auction income for additional rip-and-replace funding but omits money for NG-911.

“There’ll be lots of people wanting to use” potential spectrum revenue from newly authorized auctions “as their pay-for” for a range of telecom and non-telecom priorities, said HR-7624 lead sponsor House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa. “That’s true any time there’s a new pay-for” available. “I think it’s important we get” money for rip and replace and NG-911 before considering any other funding requests, he told us: “We’re going to be back after the election and that will create its own dynamic depending on how all of that turns out.”

“We seem to do a very good job around here of figuring out how we’re going to spend” all the potential spectrum proceeds “before we’ve even gotten the auction structured,” said House Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio. He noted HR-7624 contemplates funding rip and replace and NG-911 via a proposed 3.1-3.45 GHz auction, so any additional funding priorities would likely require authorizing sales of additional bands. “You’ve got to have the buyers out there to get the money in” and “we’ve got to make sure we have an auction that’s going to make enough dollars” before deciding how to spend those proceeds, Latta said.

Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., will push for NG-911 funding to remain a priority for FY 2023 appropriations either as part of a spectrum package or via another funding source. “There’s a real solid commitment” already to allocate the proposed $10 billion via HR-7624, she told us: “This is a must. This isn’t something that can be left by the wayside” because lawmakers are seeking to fund additional projects. “For years, it hasn’t received the kind of support that it should,” Eshoo said. “But I think this time, I have high hopes that we’ll get it done.”

911 Upgrades

The legislative outlook for both rip-and-replace and NG-911 funding remains unclear before the Nov. 8 election and amid the prospect of a busy lame-duck session, industry experts said.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of work in Congress during the lame-duck session … and I hold out hope that since the House” already cleared NG-911 funding via HR-7624, the Senate will likewise “realize the value of moving our nation forward” by funding needed tech upgrades, National Emergency Number Association CEO Brian Fontes said in an interview. “It’s not going to be an easy journey” since the proposal is “going to have to compete for attention” with a range of other priorities. He cited NG-911 Caucus co-Chair Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., as the leading Senate-side advocate for the funding given her role as lead sponsor of S-2754 to allocate $10 billion for the technology (see 2109170023).

“It’s going to take a lot of work,” but “moving our nation to 21st Century 911 technology, which benefits” everyone will draw lawmakers’ interest, Fontes said. “It’s a little bit too early to tell” whether a lame-duck deal is possible or if lawmakers will push work on the issue into the next Congress. NENA may have to recalibrate how it presents its argument depending on which party wins the midterm election in each chamber, he said: If there’s a delay “we’re prepared to work with the new Congress and try to advance this yet again.”

“I’m not out here to belittle” or “push aside” other projects that lawmakers feel should also get a revenue slice, “but I do hope that members of Congress recognize that an individual’s safety and security … as well as communities’ safety and security are at stake,” Fontes said: “It’s time” for Congress to fund NG-911 since they’ve already repeatedly delayed action. The 2012 spectrum law allocated $115 million to NG-911 (see 1202220081), but NENA and other public safety communications groups are advocating for up to $15 billion in federal funding to complete the upgrades.

Equipment Reimbursements

Lawmakers' interest in rip and replace could increase in the weeks ahead because the FCC is set to approve a ban on sales of all yet-to-be authorized equipment from Huawei, ZTE and other companies that the commission deems a threat to national security (see 2210130076), industry officials said. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel circulated the draft order last week, which the FCC at the time described as an update of its rules for its “covered list” of equipment suppliers deemed to present security concerns (see 2210070083).

Fixing rip and replace has “wide bipartisan appeal,” but “the volatile politics post the election, including inevitable internal leadership battles, suggest difficulty and volatility in getting any substantive legislation through,” New Street’s Blair Levin told us: “There are certain funding vehicles to which this could be attached that are likely to pass.” Lawyers who represent small carriers said the best shot for increasing rip and replace funding is likely via FY23 appropriations (see 2208010030). Industry officials warn that U.S. struggles to close the digital divide could drive some small carriers out of business (see 2207220052).

The Competitive Carriers Association is “optimistic that Congress will address this national security emergency issue” by appropriating more money for rip and replace, emailed Senior Vice President-Legislative Affairs Tim Donovan. He believes swift movement to a deal is essential because the new Dec. 16 expiration date for the FCC’s auction authority “is almost halfway into” the one-year timeline “for applicants to begin submitting” rip and replace reimbursement requests. “It’s a high priority for many CCA members, and we’re actively communicating the importance for Congress,” Donovan said: The “good news is that there is strong, bipartisan, bicameral support.

"We've got quite a few providers who are really struggling to stay afloat while removing and replacing compromised equipment in their networks, and Congress likely knows the importance of funding these replacements,” said American Action Forum Technology and Innovation Policy Director Jeffrey Westling. But “getting anything done this year will prove very challenging.”

Westling sees tying rip-and-replace money to any extension of FCC auction authority past Dec. 16 as the “best bet” for action, but “if Congress can't get a pipeline bill together in the next few months, we may have some more tricky” negotiations. “Hopefully, Congress can get something done soon, but if the current disagreements persist, we may find this issue dragging into the new year and beyond,” he said.

“The best path to more money for rip and replace will be as part of the spectrum auction extension,” emailed TechFreedom General Counsel Jim Dunstan. Some experts worry an additional authority renewal could “trigger a Christmas Tree effect with so much spending piled on that it will get more scrutiny than it probably deserves,” he said: “Rip and replace may fall out and not get funded” if that happens.