Telecom Act Called ‘Example of Greatness' -- but Challenges Remain

Markey cited his 2021 agenda during an Incompas event, in what some lobbyists said appeared to be a trial balloon before his expected selection as Senate Communications Subcommittee chairman (see 2101290049). He previewed some of his proposals last week (see 2102020063). Policymakers must “look forward” to how to build on the Telecom Act’s success, including by working for more broadband funding, Markey said now.

“I will work tirelessly” to include more E-rate money in the next COVID-19 package and to push the FCC to reinterpret statute to allow program funding to be used for remote learning (see 2102040047), Markey said. He’s “very confident” Congress will pass an infrastructure bill this year that includes broadband money, because “there's a real recognition that there is a broadband gap in our country.” Broadband money is one of the elements of an infrastructure measure that both parties can agree on because connectivity “affects red and blue states,” Markey said. A generation of students would have been left behind if not for FCC E-rate, said ex-Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Despite significant progress in getting students and libraries online, “we still have a lot of work to do,” Clyburn said. The Telecom Act, just as a home that’s 25 years old, needs some refurbishing, said telecom consultant Larry Irving. “We’ve got to make sure the regulations reflect the current reality.”

Markey touted his refiling of the National Broadband Plan for the Future Act Monday in conjunction with the 1996 law’s anniversary. The measure, first filed last year (see 2005070065), would require the FCC to update the 2010 NBP within one year. It would also require examining COVID-19's telecom impact. He cited his interest in continuing to pursue his Save the Internet Act to bring back the FCC’s 2015 net neutrality rules and reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service (see 2102080073).

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Roger Wicker , R-Miss., “looks forward to working with his colleagues to modernize aspects of” the Telecom Act “to accelerate broadband deployment to unserved areas and promote continued investment and innovation in the communications sector,” committee Republicans tweeted.

The Telecom Act was “visionary, bipartisan and market-opening,” said CEO Chip Pickering during Monday's virtual Incompas policy summit. The law created the “competition constitution” for networks and was the “single greatest engine” for economic growth: “From E-Rate provisions to freedom-defining Section 230, the Telecom Act of 1996 is an example of greatness achieved through unity,” Pickering said in a statement.

Fiber deployment challenges like permitting, right-of-way and make-ready issues are a top priority, said FirstLight Fiber CEO Kurt Van Wagenen. “The current regulatory framework for these critical deployment activities, for the most part, remains a somewhat outdated patchwork of processes and fee structures by jurisdiction and provider that make it very difficult to deploy fiber in an efficient and cost-effective manner.”

Connectivity is “an acute need that needs solving” and “a goal at the highest level of our company,” said Darren Achord, Amazon’s head-public policy for Project Kuiper. U.S. operators can take a “leading position” in competitiveness and space leadership, he said. Amazon anticipates delivering high-speed, low-latency broadband globally with 3,236 satellites. Three orbital shells will operate at 590, 610 and 630 kilometers, and the constellation will be deployed in five phases, Achord said. It will cover the entire U.S. and Southern Hemisphere, he said. Project Kuiper will use Ka-band spectrum and dynamic antennas. Inventing a new Ka-band phased array antenna architecture in December that’s "three times smaller and proportionally lighter” than existing designs was also a “big breakthrough,” Achord said, with the prototype delivering up to 400 Mbps.

Reconciling disagreements on Section 230 remains a tough question for industry experts. Conservatives view it as a form of online censorship, while progressives say companies aren’t moderating content enough to parse out hate speech and other discriminatory content. The section sets “clear rules” for enforcing content moderation and how companies set their policies, said Braden Cox, Pinterest head-U.S. public policy and social impact. “We recognize that not all content is inspiring, and so Section 230 enables us to enforce our policies and restrict and remove content in ways that our users expect.” Tech:NYC Executive Director Julie Samuels suggested the bipartisan criticism may be a sign that Section 230 is working as intended. Finding common ground on how to move forward is going to be “incredibly hard” given the current climate on Capitol Hill, Samuels said.