WASHINGTON-The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission says he is bullish on third-generation wireless services but believes not only is new spectrum needed, but carriers must also make efficient use of the spectrum they currently have.
“I am one who is bullish about the prospects of 3G. … I like to emphasize that there are two dimensions to this problem. The one that gets the most attention understandably is more spectrum-the ability to have a bigger highway as the highway [gets] congested. But as we know with highways, that is not the only dimension to the problem. One is the efficient use of spectrum. The commission has tried to emphasize the importance of continuing to [encourage] the development of technology and handset solutions and network solutions to get more out of what exists. Spectrum will always have a certain scarce dimension to it just as any economic good does, and there always should be two efforts: one to provide more but also to provide greater efficiency of what we do have. I think that will have to be part of the realistic solution to 3G,” said Michael K. Powell.
Powell also said the FCC is constrained by dates in current law that require that encumbered spectrum be auctioned.
“This is an area where I have to confess the commission finds itself between a rock and a hard place between [spectrum management and its] mandate. Through the budget process, we have been commanded to auction spectrum that nonetheless remains encumbered through its auction. From my perspective, I don’t take a congressional position about whether that is good congressional policy but it is the one we are commanded to follow. We have tried to facilitate, as greatly as possible, incentives that would cause people to yield spectrum that is otherwise encumbered. … But ultimately, we have a legal obligation to auction the spectrum upon dates that were specified in statute. … It is a problem, it will [impact] the value of spectrum at auction. It will [impact] its effective deployment in the future. I just think it is a messy thing we will have to work through,” said Powell.
Rep. Chip Pickering (R-Miss.) differed a bit with this assessment believing that it is actually “Congress that is between a rock and a hard place in giving a policy direction, but your technical counsel and advice would be helpful,” he told Powell during last Thursday’s hearing on FCC reform.
Third-generation wireless was a topic on the minds of many members of the House telecom subcommittee, but while Powell alluded to the wireless Internet in his written statement, he made no mention of 3G in his opening statement.
The purpose of the hearing was to hear Powell’s vision for the FCC. He restated many of the same things he has said before. For example, he wants to make internal changes to the agency that allow decisions to be made in Internet time. He said he hopes the bulk of the work is finished by the end of the year.
Notwithstanding the lack of a specific reform plan, subcommittee members seemed pleased with his testimony.
“All of us up here have listened to a lot of testimony. This has been an absolutely virtuoso performance. … If you carry out your goals with the clarity that you have expounded upon, we are in for a new era of telecommunications regulation,” said Rep. Tom Sawyer (D-Ohio).
The tenor of the hearing was previewed when Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), chairman of the House Commerce Committee, said in a prepared statement that Powell’s prior service on the commission would help him in his chairmanship.
Powell “spent more than three years as a commissioner watching how not to run the FCC. Under [former FCC Chairman William] Kennard and Kennard’s predecessor Reed Hundt, communications policy languished in a politicized morass,” said Tauzin.
Rep. Lee Terry (R-Neb.) asked for specifics about what legislation either needs to be changed or enacted to help in Powell’s reform efforts. Powell said enforcement penalties need to be increased so that they are not just the cost of doing business. He said the penalties were established in 1934 and mean nothing today to multimillion-dollar companies.
Whatever steps Powell takes toward internal reform will also cost money, which is the purview of Congress. “All of it takes money, which only comes from Congress,” he said.
Powell will have another chance to ask for the money to carry out his reforms when he goes before the House Appropriations commerce, justice, state and the judiciary subcommittee on Thursday.
Rep. Paul E. Gillmor (R-Ohio), a leader of FCC reform efforts in the last Congress, said he doubted specific legislation could be enacted because most reform efforts, even those advocated by Powell, could amount to a generally unwanted rewrite of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.
“I am under no illusion about the difficulty of enacting legislation to reform the FCC, particularly if telecommunications policy issues are rolled into a larger bill,” said Gillmor.
In addition to 3G, other spectrum management issues received some play at the hearing. For example, Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Commerce Committee, said he would be sending a letter to Powell about spectrum exclusivity. Dingell does not believe the FCC should be looking for or creating spectrum exclusivity.
While spectrum management, specifically of 3G spectrum, was the foremost wireless issue discussed at the hearing, there were a host of other wireless-related issues that received some attention. These included the prospects of allowing technology-specific overlay area codes to alleviate the telephone number crunch and the deployment of enhanced 911 Phase II.
The TSO issue was teed up by Rep. Jane Harmon (D-Calif.) who noted that California last year passed a law calling for TSO but that the new law cannot be implemented without FCC approval. Harmon pressed Powell to allow TSOs.
“What it will mean is that the new technologies … including possibly pagers and cell phones, move to new area codes so that businesses and homeowners wouldn’t have to change theirs. It seems to me to be a logical idea. It sure would help neighbor-to-neighbor relations in the Los Angeles area and all of California and possibly other states,” said Harmon.
Powell replied that the FCC’s current rules prohibiting TSOs “evolved from the fear that once-upon-a-time the incumbent [local exchange carrier] would deny” access to phone numbers. Since this has not happened, the FCC is considering whether to allow TSOs.
On the E911 front, Powell said there is beginning to be concern that plans by some carriers to switch technologies might impact the deployment of Phase II, which calls for more precise emergency location capabilities.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has indicated its intention to overlay its TDMA network with a GSM network to help with its migration to 3G. It has said it will ask for a waiver, similar to the one received by VoiceStream Wireless Corp., so it can deploy the enhanced observed time difference location technology as it deploys its GSM architecture. Cingular Wireless Inc. also has hinted it may need a waiver for its GSM markets and many analysts believe Cingular soon will announce plans to switch all of its network to GSM, perhaps causing even further delays in the E911 Phase II deployment.
Finally, many members asked questions about universal service ranging from rural issues to the E-rate, which funds Internet access for schools and libraries.
