House Science's Johnson Eyeing Interagency Spectrum Process Tweaks

House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, told us she’s still deciding whether to pursue spectrum legislation, after a Tuesday committee hearing in which lawmakers and witnesses offered a mixed assessment about whether Congress needs to intervene now. The panel, as expected, focused on the interagency spectrum policy fracas among the FCC, NTIA and other entities, and specifically the disagreement over possible 24 GHz band interference risks to weather data collected by federal satellites in the adjacent 23.8 GHz band (see 2107190067).

“We’re going to talk” further on whether and how to pursue legislation, Johnson said. “I’m just not sure” yet if “we can draft it and keep it” within House Science’s jurisdiction given the House Commerce Committee’s role in handling FCC and spectrum matters. She intends to talk with House Commerce Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., about how to move forward “now that we’ve had this hearing and I can more intelligently” talk about the issues where the committees overlap. Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and other panel GOP leaders filed the Improving Spectrum Coordination Act (S-1472) earlier this year to address the situation (see 2104290078).

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed, D-R.I., and ranking member Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., kept mum Monday about whether they intend to attach language from their recently filed Recognizing and Ensuring Taxpayer Access to Infrastructure Necessary (Retain) for GPS and Satellite Communications Act (S-2166) to the FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act the panel is currently marking up. S-2166 would require Ligado to pay costs of any GPS user whose operations on the L-band are hurt (see 2106230050).

“I’m going to refrain from talking about any amendments” to NDAA while the legislation remains in closed markup this week, Inhofe told us. Some lobbyists believe Reed and Inhofe are likely to pursue attaching S-2166 to the NDAA given the FY 2021 version of the law included language aimed at hindering Ligado’s plans (see 2012040043). Ligado didn’t comment.

Process Flaws

House Science was “very aware long before we had this hearing that we were already dealing with” interagency disputes on spectrum matters, Johnson told us. The U.S. “has what it takes to fix this,” she said during the hearing. “If we can establish a more coordinated, whole-of-government approach to spectrum management, we can enable U.S. telecommunications leadership and protect important earth and space science observations.” House Science will ask for “accountability from both federal science agencies and the FCC as we all learn to live in a more crowded spectrum neighborhood,” Johnson said.

A GAO report released Monday “makes it clear that the existing process is flawed and highlights a number of instances in which coordination fell apart,” said House Science ranking member Frank Lucas, R-Okla. “We can’t afford to have this happen again.” The committee should work with other panels “to ensure” the FCC, NTIA and NOAA “address” the GAO’s recommendations, which include the FCC and NTIA updating their memorandum of understanding, he said. Agencies’ 2019 dispute over the 24 GHz band wasn’t “the first time spectrum allocations have been the source of controversy, and will certainly not be the last time,” so the federal government needs to “modernize existing processes.”

The FCC “is now laser focused on forging strong relationships with its federal partners and revitalizing the interagency coordination process so that it once again is able to produce results for American consumers and the economy,” a spokesperson emailed. “Better coordination between these agencies ultimately means more spectrum and more innovation to help restore American wireless leadership.”

House Science members cited other spectrum controversies, some of which predate the extended period of dysfunction during the Trump administration. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., said she’s “concerned” about the FCC’s 2020 order splitting 5.9 GHz between Wi-Fi and auto safety (see 2011180043). GAO Director-Physical Infrastructure Andrew Von Ah said the office intends to issue a report on 5.8 GHz issues “early next year.”

Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, noted a “lack of transparency” at NTIA as far back as 2011, when the committee had to press for agencies’ assessments of potential interference by Ligado predecessor LightSquared amid resistance from the Commerce Department (see 1109090083). He believes it might be “beneficial” for federal agencies to “directly communicate” their assessments of proposed spectrum reallocations to the FCC since “we’ve seen in the past this process can be used to muzzle” those views.

Statutory Changes?

Other House Science lawmakers also appeared interested in making statutory changes to improve the federal government’s spectrum policy coordination. Space Subcommittee Chairman Don Beyer, D-Va., said he believes Congress should “merge” the FCC and NTIA. The House Budget Committee explored that possibility in 2017 (see 1707180045). Rep. Ed Perlmutter, D-Colo., believes Congress should do more to direct specific spectrum reallocations.

Congress should enact a policy “that balances” out the federal government’s airwaves priorities because “I don’t think pure economics is the right approach” as exhibited in recent FCC decisions made solely with an eye to freeing up more frequencies for commercial use, said Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., suggested the federal government mitigate interference on the 24 GHz band by enacting “quiet periods” to allow space and weather observation incumbents to use the airwaves.

EchoStar Senior Vice President Jennifer Manner noted two Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council recommendations called for creating a new agency with unified spectrum management authority or giving either NTIA or the FCC “broader” authority. She favors CSMAC’s call for an updated MOU, which would include “increased meetings of both the principals of the agencies and the staff to increase communications and planning and requiring definitive notice periods for coordinating on items. Increased communications will enable the ability to have increased opportunities to discuss contentious issues and definitive time periods for review.”

National Center for Atmospheric Research Associate Director William Mahoney urged increased federal funding for “collaborative studies involving science agencies” and nonfederal stakeholders “to assess the impact of terrestrial interference in the atmospheric absorption bands and their cascading effects on numerical weather prediction skill and Earth system science.” He also wants an expansion of the National Science Foundation’s Spectrum Innovation Initiative.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Space Science and Engineering Center honorary fellow Jordan Gerth urged lawmakers to consider whether “oversight or involvement from” the Office of Science and Technology Policy, federal advisory committees, or other mechanisms” to “conduct and make publicly available all relevant scientific studies prior to a rulemaking decision” might “facilitate a process with more integrity for all stakeholders.”