Davidson Commits to 'Evidence-Based' Spectrum Evaluations, Improved FCC Talks

NTIA’s new spectrum coordination agreement with the FCC shows the two agencies are committed to building up an “evidence-based” approach to evaluating the potential that future wireless industry use of spectrum bands will cause harmful interference to users of adjacent frequencies, said Administrator Alan Davidson during a Wednesday House Communications Subcommittee hearing. Many subcommittee members focused on whether the FCC-NTIA agreement announced Tuesday will effectively quell the interagency spectrum infighting that plagued the Trump administration and extended into the Biden administration’s first year in office (see 2202150001). Lawmakers also questioned Davidson’s vision for NTIA implementing programs to distribute $48 billion in broadband money included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

NTIA, the FCC and other federal agencies are “going to coordinate on the science” for evaluating potential spectrum interference in a bid to prevent any repeats of the FAA-led fracas over C-band aviation safety that led Verizon and AT&T to delay their launch of 5G in the C band (see 2201180065), Davidson told House Communications members. The agreement will hopefully “show people that we are committed to working in lockstep to make sure that these issues don’t come up” again. “We’ve seen” in the C-band dispute the costs “of not being well coordinated” on spectrum policy matters, he said.

Davidson said the agencies’ agreement is a result of “constant communication” between him and FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel during the month since the NTIA administrator took office. The “hard work of coordination” on spectrum is “not always glamorous” but is essential to forestalling future infighting, he said: The C-band dispute “wasn’t fair” to any of the involved parties and was “not good for the American public” because it sowed doubt about commercial aviation safety.

NTIA and the FCC are “working expeditiously” toward revising their 2003 spectrum memorandum of understanding, which lawmakers pressed for amid the infighting, Davidson said. “I would be very surprised if we couldn’t” have a revised MOU in place “certainly before the end of the year." He plans to do monthly meetings with Rosenworcel on spectrum and cited a push to write a national spectrum strategy, which has been repeatedly delayed in recent years (see 2111010061). Davidson cited a Colorado-based NTIA lab’s ongoing coordination with DOD to test U.S. “military helicopters and equipment” on “what the interference looks like with 5G” on frequencies adjacent to department-controlled bands.

“I am hopeful that with new leadership at NTIA, we will move past these public spectrum disputes” and instead “rely on the work of the expert agencies, in coordination with their federal partners, to reach decisions that serve the public’s interests,” said House Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J. “I was pleased to see” news of the FCC-NTIA agreement and “believe that rolling out a national spectrum strategy will better position NTIA to ensure that federal government is coordinated with respect to our airwaves.”

“These costly interagency battles threaten our ability to lead the world in next-gen communication, and NTIA must assert its authority in the spectrum management process to prevent them from happening,” said House Commerce ranking member Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “If NTIA needs congressional support to execute its duties, we stand ready to ensure it has the resources and authorities necessary to do so.” NTIA stakeholders said they would watch the hearing for signs of lawmakers’ interest in an agency revamp (see 2202150075), which top Senate Commerce Committee Republicans proposed via the NTIA Reauthorization and Reform Act (S-3288).

House Communications ranking member Bob Latta, R-Ohio, and others also cited interest in advancing legislation to bolster NTIA’s authority. “We continue to see federal agencies circumvent NTIA in the spectrum management process or ignore changes in the spectrum landscape,” Latta said. It’s House Commerce’s “responsibility” to “provide necessary direction when challenges arise.” Pallone and Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., cited the committee’s November advancement of the Spectrum Coordination Act (HR-2501) to mandate periodic MOU updates (see 2111170052).

Davidson outlined plans for NTIA to staff up for a “muscular outreach mechanism” to improve coordination with state governments as the agency sets rules for doling out IIJA money, including the $45.2 billion broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. “There's going to be a person here for each state” to closely coordinate with those governments not only on BEAD but also other IIJA broadband programs under NTIA’s control, he told Pallone. It’s important that the agency bring in “teams of people who come from these communities” to ensure the best use of the IIJA money.

NTIA intends to “faithfully follow” IIJA’s broadband language, including adhering to a requirement that some of the money remain unavailable until the FCC releases revised broadband coverage data maps, Davidson told Latta. “Congress was very clear” that it wants funding disbursed based on “better maps than we’ve had before.” Latta emphasized the maps “have to be accurate” and said he’s “concerned that we are seeing” the Biden administration “move the goalpost by redefining what it means to be considered served” or unserved given IIJA’s requirement that 100% unserved areas get priority for broadband money.

NTIA places significant importance on using the IIJA money on broadband affordability where possible to supplement the FCC’s $14.2 billion affordable connectivity program, Davidson said. He cited interest in enforcing IIJA’s requirement that BEAD participants offer a low-cost service option but acknowledged the agency is still developing metrics for determining what will constitute low-cost service in each state.

Several House Communications Democrats, including Reps. Jerry McNerney of California and Marc Veasey of Texas, highlighted the importance of IIJA’s $2.75 billion in digital equity funding as a catalyst for improving affordability. NTIA is thinking “holistically” about how to address digital equity, including by convening a Digital Equity Leaders Network and engaging with communities to ensure the most “effective” use of the money, Davidson said. He emphasized that “digital redlining is something we can’t tolerate” in those programs.