U.S. legislators examined key aspects of the FCC’s national broadband plan Thursday during testimony given by all five commissioners before the House Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet. The urgency to move forward was emphasized the previous day by a wireless industry executive, who warned that continued investment and innovation in broadband will depend on the adoption of a clearer regulatory system.
“In my view, the current statute is badly out of date” and “now is the time to focus on updating the law affecting the Internet,” said Verizon Executive Vice President Tom Tauke. “To fulfill broadband’s potential, it’s time for Congress to take a fresh look at our nation’s communications policy framework.”
A Five-Year Mandate
Rep. Rick Boucher, chairman of the subcommittee, said he believes that the House of Representatives will soon pass a bipartisan bill that will direct the FCC and the NTIA “to conduct a comprehensive spectrum inventory” as the next logical step. During Thursday’s hearing, Boucher also said he was “pleased” with their recommendation to transition the commission’s Universal Service Fund (USF) from supporting basic voice telephone service exclusively to supporting broadband deployments.
Boucher expects that the pending bipartisan bill would require carriers receiving USF dollars to provide broadband throughout their service territories within five years of the bill becoming law. “The carriers could no longer receive USF monies if they fail to meet this broadband build-out mandate,” he noted.
What’s more, the Virginia congressman expressed a favorable view of the FCC’s goal of working with the nation’s television broadcasters on a voluntary basis to identify spectrum broadcasters now hold that could be repurposed for commercial wireless use. “Broadcasters who surrender spectrum would receive compensation in exchange for a voluntary spectrum transfer,” Boucher said. “That is the right approach.”
However, Rep. John Dingell, a democrat from Michigan, expressed concern…