Congressional Hearings
DISCUSSION DRAFT: NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION ADMINISTRATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018
Congressional Hearings
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| AUTHORITYID | CHAMBER | TYPE | COMMITTEENAME |
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| hsif00 | H | S | Committee on Energy and Commerce |
[House Hearing, 115 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
DISCUSSION DRAFT: NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
ADMINISTRATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JUNE 26, 2018
__________
Serial No. 115-146
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce
energycommerce.house.gov
_________
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COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE
GREG WALDEN, Oregon
Chairman
JOE BARTON, Texas FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey
Vice Chairman Ranking Member
FRED UPTON, Michigan BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois
JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois ANNA G. ESHOO, California
MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee GENE GREEN, Texas
STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana DIANA DeGETTE, Colorado
ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania
CATHY McMORRIS RODGERS, Washington JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois
GREGG HARPER, Mississippi G.K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina
LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey DORIS O. MATSUI, California
BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky KATHY CASTOR, Florida
PETE OLSON, Texas JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland
DAVID B. McKINLEY, West Virginia JERRY McNERNEY, California
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois PETER WELCH, Vermont
H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia BEN RAY LUJAN, New Mexico
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida PAUL TONKO, New York
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York
BILLY LONG, Missouri DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa
LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana KURT SCHRADER, Oregon
BILL FLORES, Texas JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, III,
SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana Massachusetts
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma TONY CARDENAS, California
RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina RAUL RUIZ, California
CHRIS COLLINS, New York SCOTT H. PETERS, California
KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan
TIM WALBERG, Michigan
MIMI WALTERS, California
RYAN A. COSTELLO, Pennsylvania
EARL L. ``BUDDY'' CARTER, Georgia
JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee
Chairman
LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania
Vice Chairman Ranking Member
JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois PETER WELCH, Vermont
STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York
ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa
BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky RAUL RUIZ, California
PETE OLSON, Texas DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan
ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois
GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida ANNA G. ESHOO, California
BILL JOHNSON, Ohio ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York
BILLY LONG, Missouri G.K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina
BILL FLORES, Texas DORIS O. MATSUI, California
SUSAN W. BROOKS, Tennessee JERRY McNERNEY, California
CHRIS COLLINS, New York FRANK PALLONE, Jr., New Jersey (ex
KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota officio)
MIMI WALTERS, California
RYAN A. COSTELLO, Pennsylvania
GREG WALDEN, Oregon (ex officio)
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hon. Marsha Blackburn, a Representative in Congress from the
State of Tennessee, opening statement.......................... 1
Prepared statement........................................... 3
Hon. Michael F. Doyle, a Representative in Congress from the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, opening statement................ 3
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Hon. Leonard Lance, a Representative in Congress from the State
of New Jersey, opening statement............................... 6
Prepared statement........................................... 7
Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr., a Representative in Congress from the
State of New Jersey, opening statement......................... 41
Prepared statement........................................... 42
Witnesses
Michael D. Gallagher, CEO, Entertainment Software Association.... 8
Prepared statement........................................... 10
Answers to submitted questions............................... 94
John Kneuer, President, JKC Consulting........................... 20
Prepared statement........................................... 23
Answers to submitted questions............................... 97
Joanne S. Hovis, President, CTC Technology and Energy............ 29
Prepared statement........................................... 31
Answers to submitted questions............................... 99
Submitted Material
Statement of the Computer & Communications Industry Association.. 64
The Entertainment Software Association's Motion for Leave to
Intervene in Support of Petitioners............................ 66
Statement of the Coalition for a Secure and Transparent Internet. 73
Statement of the Telecommunications Industry Association......... 74
Article entitled, ''Wired to Fail,'' Politico, June 28, 2015..... 80
Statement of Organizations fighting against human trafficking.... 91
Letter of May 11, 2018, from Messrs. Shimkus and Ruiz to
Alphabet, Inc.................................................. 92
Statement of the Telecommunications Industry Association......... 74
DISCUSSION DRAFT: NATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION
ADMINISTRATION REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018
----------
TUESDAY, JUNE 26, 2018
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology,
Committee on Energy and Commerce,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 1:15 p.m., in
room 2322 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Marsha Blackburn
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Members present: Representatives Blackburn, Lance, Shimkus,
Latta, Guthrie, Bilirakis, Johnson, Flores, Brooks, Collins,
Walters, Costello, Doyle, Welch, Loebsack, Ruiz, Eshoo,
Butterfield, Matsui, McNerney, and Pallone (ex officio).
Staff present: Jon Adame, Policy Coordinator,
Communications and Technology; Robin Colwell, Chief Counsel,
Communications and Technology; Kristine Fargotstein, Detailee,
Communications and Technology; Sean Farrell, Professional Staff
Member, Communications and Technology; Adam Fromm, Director of
Outreach and Coalitions; Elena Hernandez, Press Secretary; Paul
Jackson, Professional Staff, Digital Commerce and Consumer
Protection; Tim Kurth, Deputy Chief Counsel, Communications and
Technology; Lauren McCarty, Counsel, Communications and
Technology; Austin Stonebraker, Press Assistant; Evan Viau,
Legislative Clerk, Communications and Technology; Jeff Carroll,
Minority Staff Director; Jennifer Epperson, Minority FCC
Detailee; Alex Hoehn-Saric, Chief Counsel, Communications and
Technology, Jerry Leverich, Minority Counsel; Dan Miller,
Minority Policy Analyst; Jon Monger, Minority Counsel; Andrew
Souvall, Minority Director of Communications, Outreach and
Member Services; C.J. Young, Minority Press Secretary.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE
Mrs. Blackburn. The Subcommittee on Communications and
Technology will now come to order. The chair now recognizes
herself for 5 minutes for an opening statement.
And I want to welcome you to our hearing on reauthorizing
the NTIA. This should be a very familiar topic to everyone in
the room as NTIA reauthorization was also my very first hearing
as chair of this subcommittee on February 2nd of 2017. Since
then, we have held nine hearings related to the work of the
NTIA, including an oversight hearing this spring with the new
NTIA administrator.
I'd like to thank our witnesses for being here. Ms. Hovis
has been particularly generous with her time, as this is her
third appearance before the subcommittee this Congress on NTIA-
related topics. We welcome Mr. Kneuer back to the subcommittee
as well, and are pleased to welcome Mr. Gallagher as the fourth
former NTIA administrator that we have heard from. We
appreciate your perspectives on the agency and also what music
you might have been listening to when the NTIA was last
reauthorized. Of course, as somebody coming from middle
Tennessee, I'll give you a little hint.
Mr. Doyle was dancing the line dance in Pittsburgh to the
music of Billy Ray Cyrus and ``Achy Breaky Heart.`` I know it.
Mr. Doyle. I kind of doubt that but----
[Laughter.]
Mrs. Blackburn. I think I am probably right, and it's
also--1992 is the year that Miley Cyrus was born. This shows
you how long it has been.
Make no mistake, the bill before us today is a rural
broadband bill, and a very important one at that. Many of us
hear over and over again about the desperate need to connect
unserved Americans, and we are willing to invest toward that
goal. But we must ensure good stewardship of those dollars. We
know that without Federal involvement, rural areas will
continue to be left behind. So the best thing that we can do to
promote rural broadband is to help the Federal Government get
its act together.
Mr. Tonko and Mr. Lance's ACCESS BROADBAND Act would
establish a new office within NTIA to do just that. As we saw
at our last markup, this bill has strong bipartisan support.
There is just one problem: without giving NTIA the resources it
needs to start up and follow through on this new function, our
subcommittee's vision will never be realized.
And the same can be said of our bipartisan consensus that
NTIA should be pulling in the latest information across the
government to develop an accurate nationwide map of broadband
service to guide deployment efforts. We first gave NTIA this
task in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and
we reaffirmed the priority in RAY BAUM'S Act. Our vision was
then enacted in the omnibus, but with funding to get the job
started, more will need to be done.
That's why we have targeted our discussion draft so
squarely at giving NTIA both the authority and resources to get
to work on these two bipartisan, urgently needed initiatives.
Our discussion draft also asserts our leadership and
priorities on other important areas in NTIA's purview,
including internet governance, supply chain vulnerabilities,
and getting our first responders the very best, most accurate
location information when someone calls 911.
And here is the alternative. For 26 years, we have funded
NTIA without an authorization from this committee, and every
time we fail here, we fail the jurisdiction of this committee.
But with the level of consensus we have on our vision of NTIA's
leadership on rural broadband, that would be a real shame, and
I don't intend for us to let that happen.
So at this time, I yield back the balance of my time and I
yield to Mr. Doyle 5 minutes for an opening statement.
[The prepared statement of Mrs. Blackburn follows:]
Prepared statement of Hon. Marsha Blackburn
Good afternoon and welcome to our hearing on reauthorizing
the NTIA. This should be a familiar topic to everyone in the
room as NTIA reauthorization was also my first hearing as chair
of this subcommittee on February 2nd of 2017. Since then, we
have held nine hearings related to the work of NTIA, including
an oversight hearing this spring with the NTIA Administrator.
I'd like to thank our witnesses for being here. Ms. Hovis
has been particularly generous with her time, as this is her
third appearance before the subcommittee this Congress on NTIA-
related topics. We welcome Mr. Kneuer back to the subcommittee
as well, and are pleased to welcome Mr. Gallagher as the fourth
former NTIA Administrator we have heard from. We appreciate
your perspectives on the agency, and also what music you might
have been listening to when the NTIA was last reauthorized.
I'll give you a little hint, it was the year that Miley Cyrus
was born.
Make no mistake, the bill before us today is a rural
broadband bill, and a very important one at that. Many of us
hear over and over again about the desperate need to connect
unserved Americans, and we are willing to invest toward that
goal, but we must ensure good stewardship of those dollars. We
know that without Federal involvement, rural areas will
continue to be left behind. So the best thing we can do to
promote rural broadband is to help the Federal Government get
its act together.
Mr. Tonko and Mr. Lance's ACCESS BROADBAND Act would
establish a new office within NTIA to do exactly that. As we
saw at our last markup, it has our strong bipartisan support.
There's just one problem: without giving NTIA the resources it
needs to start up and follow through on this new function, our
subcommittee's vision will never be realized.
And the same can be said of our bipartisan consensus that
NTIA should be pulling in the latest information across the
government to develop an accurate, nationwide map of broadband
service to guide deployment efforts. We first gave NTIA this
task in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and
we reaffirmed the priority in RAY BAUM'S Act. Our vision was
then enacted in the omnibus, but with funding to get the job
started, but more will be needed.
That's why we have targeted our discussion draft so
squarely at giving NTIA both the authority and the resources to
get to work on these two bipartisan, urgently needed
initiatives. And I hope we will be able to move it forward on a
bipartisan basis.
Our discussion draft also asserts our leadership and our
priorities on other important areas in NTIA's purview,
including internet governance, supply chain vulnerabilities,
and getting our first responders the very best, most accurate
location information when someone calls 911.
Here is the alternative. For 26 years we have funded NTIA
without an authorization from this Committee. And every time we
fail here, we fail the jurisdiction of this Committee. But with
the level of consensus we have here on our vision of NTIA's
leadership on rural broadband, that would be a real shame, and
I don't intend for it to happen.
At this time, I will yield to the ranking member of the
subcommittee, Mr. Doyle, for 5 minutes for an opening
statement.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
Mr. Doyle. Thank you, Madam Chair, for holding this hearing
and thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us today.
The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration plays a critical role of advising the President
on telecommunications and information policy issues.
NTIA also manages federal spectrum usage and has been a key
partner in freeing up more spectrum for commercial use. In
doing so, they have generated tens of billions in revenue for
the Federal Government--a mission that I strongly believe we
can do more to help them accomplish.
The AIRWAVES Act, a bipartisan bicameral bill that I've
sponsored with Mr. Lance, along with Senators Gardner and
Hassan, furthers this mission by freeing up additional federal
spectrum for commercial use and paves the way for our nation's
5G future. AIRWAVES frees up a combination of licensed and
unlicensed spectrum to meet our nation's diverse spectrum
needs.
The bill also sets up a new mechanism to help deploy
broadband in rural and underserved communities by directing a
portion of the spectrum auction revenue to wireless broadband
deployment.
Madam Chair, this legislation is supported by a number of
our colleagues on this committee on both sides of the aisle and
I think it merits consideration by this subcommittee.
I think this legislation could go a long way to
accomplishing many of our shared goals. Going back to NTIA, the
agency also administers grant programs to deploy broadband and
other advance technologies, including the very successful $4
billion BTOP broadband program.
The lessons learned from this program led to the creation
of Broadband USA, a one-stop shop that helps state, local
governments, industry, and nonprofits obtain the tools they
need to expand broadband deployment and promote digital
inclusion.
I am happy to see that the reauthorization draft before us
includes Mr. Tonko's bipartisan ACCESS BROADBAND Act, which we
voice voted out of this subcommittee 2 weeks ago.
This legislation puts into statute many of the things that
NTIA is already doing through the Broadband USA program. I am
also happy to be a cosponsor of this legislation.
This is a good start, but if we are going to help our rural
and underserved communities address their broadband needs, we
need to put our money where our mouth is and dedicate more
dollars to solving this problem, particularly if we ever want
to get people connected in rural and tribal communities as well
as in Puerto Rico and other areas suffering from storm-related
damage and outages.
Ranking Member Pallone's LIFT America Act sets out $40
billion in funds to help address our nation's broadband
shortfalls. This is the kind of commitment we need if we want
to address these problems, because if we continue to just sit
here, these problems aren't going to solve themselves.
The draft reauthorization also directs NTIA to continue
working on the national broadband map, another Recovery Act
program that, like BTOP, has run out of money. I agree with the
majority that having accurate broadband maps is important both
for the government and for consumers and communities. We can't
solve a problem that we don't know the scale of. Looking at the
mapping debacle in the FCC's Mobility Fund II's proceedings
demonstrates the need for better data.
The agency also represents and advocates on behalf of the
United States internationally on matters of internet governance
and telecommunications policy.
In this time of fractured alliances and tumultuous trade
policy, a globally unified free and open internet is more
important than ever. NTIA, as our representatives to a number
of these global internet governance organizations, needs to
advance that message through what seems to be a great deal of
noise from our government.
NTIA also does critical spectrum research at the lab in
Colorado, which we need to do more to support. They've also
been a critical partner in housing and launching FirstNet, our
nation's public safety broadband network, which I am happy to
note every state has opted into.
They have also done good work developing policies on a
range of complex technical subjects including privacy,
cybersecurity, and the digital economy.
Madam Chair, I support this agency and I support giving
this agency more resources to accomplish its many missions. I
look forward to hearing from the witnesses and working with you
on this legislation, and I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Doyle follows:]
Prepared statement of Hon. Michael F. Doyle
Thank you, Madam Chairman for holding this hearing, and
thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us today.
I just want to start by saying that I'm concerned we don't
have someone from the agency we are planning to reauthorize
here to testify. While I appreciate the time and effort the
witnesses have taken out of their schedules to appear before us
today, I'm deeply concerned that without participation from
representatives of the agency itself we will not be fully able
to understand the needs of the agency and how best this
subcommittee can help them in accomplishing their mission.
That issue aside, the National Telecommunications and
Information Administration plays the critical role of advising
the President on telecommunications and information policy
issues.
NTIA also manages Federal spectrum usage and has been a key
partner in freeing up more spectrum for commercial use, in
doing so they have generated tens of billions in revenue for
the Federal Government--a mission that I strongly believe we
can do more to help them accomplish.
The Airwaves Act, a bipartisan-bicameral bill that I have
sponsored with Mr. Lance, along with Senator's Gardner and
Hassan, furthers this mission by freeing up additional federal
spectrum for commercial use and paves the way for our nation's
5-G future. The Airwaves Act frees up a combination of licensed
and unlicensed spectrum to meet our nation's diverse spectrum
needs.
The bill also sets up a new mechanism to help deploy
broadband in rural and underserved communities, by directing a
portion of the spectrum auction revenue to wireless broadband
deployment.
Madam Chairman, this legislation is supported by a number
of our colleagues on this committee on both sides of the aisle,
and I think it merits consideration by this subcommittee. I
think this legislation could go a long way to accomplishing
many of our shared goals.
Going back to NTIA, the agency also administers grant
programs to deploy broadband and other advanced technologies,
including the very successful $4 billion B-TOP broadband
program.
The lessons learned from this program led to the creation
of Broadband-USA, a one-stop shop that helps states, local
governments, industry, and non-profits obtain the tools they
need to expand broadband deployment and promote digital
inclusion.
I'm happy to see that the reauthorization draft before us
includes Mr. Tonko's bipartisan Access Broadband Act, which we
voice voted out of this subcommittee 2 weeks ago. This
legislation puts into statute many of the things that NTIA is
already doing through the Broadband USA program. I'm also happy
to be a cosponsor of this legislation
It's a good start, but if we are going to help our rural
and underserved communities address their broadband needs, we
need to put our money where our mouth is and dedicate more
dollars to solving this problem, particularly if we ever want
to get people connected in rural and tribal communities as well
as in Puerto Rico and other areas suffering from storm related
damage and outages.
Ranking Member Pallone's Lift America Act sets out 40
billion dollars in funds to help address our nation's broadband
shortfalls. This is the kind of commitment we need if we want
to address these problems. If we continue to just sit here,
these problems aren't going to solve themselves.
The draft reauthorization also directs NTIA to continue
working on the National Broadband Map, another Recovery Act
program that, like B-TOP, has run out of money. I agree with
the majority that having accurate broadband maps is important
both for the government and for consumers and communities. We
can't solve a problem that we don't know the scale of. Looking
at the mapping debacle in the FCC's Mobility Fund 2 proceeding
demonstrates the need for better data.
The NTIA also represents and advocates on behalf of the
United States internationally on matters of internet governance
and telecommunications policy.
In this time of fractured alliances and tumultuous trade
policy, a globally unified free and open internet is more
important than ever. NTIA, as our representative to a number of
these global internet governance organizations, needs to
advance that message, through what seems to be a great deal of
noise from our government.
NTIA also does critical spectrum research at the lab in
Colorado, which we need to do more to support. They have also
been a critical partner in housing and launching First-NET, our
nation's public safety broadband network, which, I'm happy to
note, every state has opted into.
They also have done good work developing policies on a
range of complex technical subjects including: privacy,
cybersecurity, and the digital economy.
Madam Chairman, I support this agency, and I support giving
this agency more resources to accomplish its many missions. I
look forward to hearing from the witnesses and working with you
on this legislation.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back.
Mr. Lance, you are recognized on Chairman Walden's.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. LEONARD LANCE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN
CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Mr. Lance. Thank you very much, Chairman Blackburn, and our
thanks to the distinguished panel for appearing before us
today.
Following the landmark bipartisan passage of RAY BAUM'S Act
earlier this year, which reauthorized the FCC for the first
time since 1990, we are now looking to reauthorize the NTIA for
the first time since 1992. I commend the chairman for
fulfilling the subcommittee's authorizing duties.
I am pleased that the draft legislation also includes the
ACCESS BROADBAND Act, which I introduced last year with
Congressman Tonko and that we recently reported unanimously out
of this subcommittee. The bill would create a new office within
NTIA tasked with tracking all Federal broadband support
programs across several agencies, and ensuring Federal
broadband funds are used efficiently. It is important to
recognize that Federal funds for broadband deployment are
finite and must be focused on the areas of the country that
need them the most. This new office will help make sure that
agencies are not duplicating each other's efforts by
overbuilding broadband infrastructure.
While the standalone bill continues through the committee
process, I believe it still makes sense also to include it with
the reauthorization language before us today. During my
conversations with the NTIA before and after introduction of
ACCESS BROADBAND, the agency emphasized the need for additional
resources to implement this new office properly. By
reauthorizing NTIA for the first time in 26 years, we provide
it with those additional resources.
I thank the panel for being with us and look forward to
discussing these and other important issues facing the NTIA. I
ask unanimous consent from the chairman to enter a letter of
support from the Computer and Communications Industry
Association into the record.
Mrs. Blackburn. Without objection.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mr. Lance. Thank you, Chairman, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Lance follows:]
Prepared statement of Hon. Leonard Lance
Thank you Chairman Blackburn and thank you to our
distinguished panel for appearing before us today.
Following the landmark, bipartisan passage of RAY BAUMS Act
earlier this year, which reauthorized the FCC for the first
time since 1990, we are now looking to reauthorize the NTIA for
the first time since 1992. I commend the Chairman for
fulfilling the Subcommittee's authorizing duties.
I am pleased that the draft legislation also includes the
ACCESS BROADBAND Act, which I introduced last year with
Congressman Tonko and that we recently reported unanimously out
of this subcommittee. The bill would create a new office in
within NTIA tasked with tracking all Federal broadband support
programs across several agencies, and ensuring Federal
broadband funds are used efficiently. It is important to
recognize that Federal funds for broadband deployment are
finite and must be focused on the areas of the country that
need it the most. This new office will help make sure that
agencies are not duplicating each other's efforts by
overbuilding broadband infrastructure.
While the standalone bill continues through the Committee
process, I believe it still makes sense to include it with the
reauthorization language before us today. During my
conversations with NTIA before and after introduction of ACCESS
BROADBAND, they have emphasized the need for additional
resources to implement this new office properly. By
reauthorizing NTIA for the first time in 26 years, we provide
them with those additional resources.
I thank the panel for being with us and look forward to
discussing these and other important issues facing the NTIA.
Mrs. Blackburn. Anyone seeking the balance of the time the
gentleman yields back?
And Mr. Pallone has not arrived. Is there anyone seeking
Mr. Pallone's time? No one seeking Mr. Pallone----
That concludes the member opening statements. The chair
would like to remind members that pursuant to the committee
rules, all members' opening statements will be made a part of
the record.
We want to thank all of our witnesses for being here today
and taking time to testify before the subcommittee. Today's
witnesses will have the opportunity to give opening statements,
followed by a round of questions from members.
Our panel for today's hearing will include the Honorable
Michael Gallagher, former NTIA administrator and the current
CEO of the Entertainment Software Association; the Honorable
John Kneuer, former NTIA administrator and the current
President of JKC Consulting; and Ms. Joanne Hovis, the
President of CTC Technology and Energy.
We appreciate each of you being here today and preparing
your testimony for the committee. We will begin today with you,
Mr. Gallagher.
You are recognized for 5 minutes for an opening statement.
STATEMENTS OF THE HONORABLE MICHAEL D. GALLAGHER, CEO,
ENTERTAINMENT SOFTWARE ASSOCIATION; THE HONORABLE JOHN KNEUER,
PRESIDENT, JKC CONSULTING; JOANNE S. HOVIS, PRESIDENT, CTC
TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGY
STATEMENT OF MICHAEL GALLAGHER
Mr. Gallagher. Good afternoon, Chairman Blackburn and
Ranking Member Doyle. My name is Mike Gallagher and I am the
CEO of the Entertainment Software Association.
Today, however, I am here in my capacity as the former NTIA
administrator. I served as both Deputy Assistant Secretary and
Assistant Secretary from the years 2001 to 2006.
I am also delighted to be here at the side of my good
friend and colleague, John Kneuer. He and I overlapped 3 years
together. So, many of the accomplishments that the
administration achieved in our space we did together and he was
terrific as a team member when we were together and he was even
better as an assistant secretary.
Our country and NTIA are also richly well served by having
David Redl as its new administrator. He has both the energy and
the experience to drive the agency where we need to be in a
very complex world in front of us.
And before addressing substantive issues, I'd like to begin
by saying I strongly endorse the committee's efforts to
reauthorize NTIA and to focus the agency on the policy
objectives that are core to the agency's competencies and
expertise.
NTIA is a low-cost high-impact agency that plays a vital
role in expanding broadband access for all Americans and in
protecting the missions of both the military and other
government agencies as well as promoting the growth of the
private sector through its spectrum management efforts. It also
has a great tradition of doing so in a bipartisan manner, which
is reflective of the draft that we are here to speak about
today.
My written testimony specifically points to several issues
of very significant importance for NTIA leadership and that
enjoy this committee's support.
The first is the imperative rural broadband growth. It is
important, but as a country, the benefits of broadband
technology extend absolutely as far as possible to everyone and
that includes taking continued efforts and redoubling efforts
to make sure that that remains a key focus.
Alongside of that and along with a great track record are
the spectrum policy enhancements. Specifically, I point to
three areas where NTIA has a history of accomplishing important
work and leading the country and the world on how to deploy
spectrum policy and, first, is in dynamic spectrum access.
Ten years ago, in the 5 GHz band, we were able to double
the amount of spectrum for wi-fi by using dynamic spectrum
access technologies.
That same approach could bear significant fruit in the
years ahead for the country, and that's both for government and
for private sector uses.
It's also important that we identify additional unlicensed
spectrum. We enjoy the fruits of unlicensed spectrum with all
the devices that we carry with us. The continued growth of that
is a top priority for NTIA and that's important for us to have
it remain center of target.
And then, finally, it's also important to maintain the
focus on achieving exclusive private sector spectrum and having
more of that come from the federal government to the private
sector through auction because of new technologies that make
that possible.
I also fully endorse the committee's efforts too on the
WHOIS database. It's critical important that the WHOIS database
maintain a very high profile in all of our international
engagements and that it is a top priority for law enforcement,
it's a priority for copyright holders like the industry that I
represent, and for other issues relative to cyber-crime.
The national broadband map and the creation of the Office
of Internet Connectivity and Growth are also tremendous steps
forward. I fully support those.
Having a central clearinghouse where these programs can be
administered in a very efficient way, it makes great sense and
it's of even higher importance.
As forecasted by dozens of witnesses over the last 25 years
before this committee, the world is increasingly connected.
Broadband has gone from a vision of George Gilder to the
reality that's in the hands of each of us and over 4 billion
people around the world.
That connected world presents tremendous opportunities and
risks, and it's imperative that NTIA be focused and resourced
to drive success for all of us in the years ahead.
I commend the committee for its draft reauthorization
legislation and I look forward to answering any questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Gallagher follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back.
Mr. Kneuer, you are recognized for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF JOHN KNEUER
Mr. Kneuer. Good afternoon, Chairman Blackburn, Ranking
Member Doyle, Ranking Member Pallone, members of the
subcommittee.
It's an honor to be back here before you. My name is John
Kneuer. From 2003 to 2007, it was my privilege to serve first
as the Deputy Assistant Secretary and then as the Assistant
Secretary at NTIA.
Since leaving government in 2007, I've worked in the
private sector as a board member, consultant, advisor to
companies and institutions with an interest in domestic and
international telecommunications.
But I am appearing before you today in my personal capacity
and my testimony and comments are my own.
I would like to start by commending you, Chairman
Blackburn, and the committee for undertaking the hard work of
the reauthorization.
In my experience, even though NTIA is explicitly an
executive branch agency and the assistant secretary serves at
the pleasure of the president, the exercise of government
authority in the service of the citizenry is most effective and
accountable when there is an established clarity of mission
agreed upon by both the administration and the sources of its
funding in the Congress.
Regular reauthorization of executive branch agencies can
provide that clarity and, following up on Mike's comments about
David Redl, a proud alumni of this committee, I think that
experience and his judgement--he's someone who's particularly
well suited to navigate both the executive branch equities
while responding to the appropriate oversight of Congress.
This is my second opportunity to testify before this
committee on the subject of the NTIA reauthorization. At last
year's hearing, the focus of my testimony was on the dual
responsibilities of NTIA as both the principal advisor of the
president on telecommunications policy as well as the
management of the Federal radio government spectrum.
Because of the demands of this dual responsibility, NTIA
has developed a specialized technical competency that provides
expertise to policymakers across the government with interest
in technical matters in everything from spectrum to internet
governance to the broadband economy.
But in addition to this technical expertise, NTIA has
developed a valuable expertise in coordinating interagency
equities in the service of broader government priorities. I
believe it is this interagency policy coordination function
that is most relevant to the draft legislation under
consideration.
While the legislation being considered covers a broad range
of issues before NTIA--and I will endeavor to answer any
questions on any of these subjects--for purposes of time I will
focus my testimony on those sections of the legislation where I
believe my experience is the most relevant.
So from time to time, NTIA has been granted authority to
administer large-scale infrastructure grant programs intended
to advance access to communications networks for underserved
communities. Sometimes these are targeted and limited in scope,
like the public safety grant programs, and sometimes more
widespread, as in the Broadband Technology Opportunities
Program.
However, in each instance, NTIA was required to coordinate
with institutions across the government for either execution or
measurement of the effectiveness of this program.
This experience should enable NTIA to effectively
coordinate the broadband map as well as the Office of Internet
Connectivity and Growth.
One of the challenges in effectively distributing broadband
infrastructure funds is accuracy in measuring the extent to
which broadband networks are already being deployed by market
participants.
Scarce resources should be deployed where there are actual
gaps in coverage rather than in competition with private
capital. But because different government agencies gather
information in different formats from different sources, it
makes sense to have a single repository for all this
information that can be synthesized into a format that can be
consistently applied and relied upon by various grant and loan-
issuing agencies across the government. I believe NTIA has the
experience and the personnel to perform these functions.
With regard to the sense of the Congress on cybersecurity
and supply chain vulnerabilities, NTIA is particularly well
suited to engage in these important matters that cut cross
commercial interests as well as important government equities.
By providing the perspective of industry into the
interagency process, NTIA can help bridge the gap between the
executive branch interests with national and homeland security
responsibilities and keep private sector interest so that they
all support our collective cyber defenses.
Similarly, NTIA can serve as a conduit from government
agencies with cyber responsibilities to the private sector to
ensure that information flows in both directions to maximum
effect.
In addition, from its position within the Department of
Commerce, NTIA has access to the broad resources of the
International Trade Administration and the Bureau of Industry
and Security on supply chain matters that implicate either our
trade agreements or the intersection of national security and
high technology.
Finally, with regard to the collection and availability of
WHOIS data, WHOIS data has been a foundational feature of the
domain name system.
As far back as 1982, before there was an internet, ARPANET
had WHOIS requirements so people could understand who was
supporting the network. WHOIS requirements were included in
every memorandum of understanding between NTIA and ICANN from
1998 to 2016.
With the transition of the IANA contract, timely,
unrestricted, and accurate WHOIS remains a feature of ICANN's
process. The sense of the Congress underscores this important
role.
Historically, NTIA has been the U.S. government entity in
charge of protecting WHOIS obligations and I believe NTIA
remains the proper repository for this policy coordination and
advocacy before ICANN.
Again, I appreciate the opportunity to testify. I will
remain available to the committee throughout this process as
you consider the authorization and I will look forward to your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Kneuer follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back.
Ms. Hovis, you are recognized.
STATEMENT OF JOANNE HOVIS
Ms. Hovis. Thank you, Chairman Blackburn, Ranking Member
Doyle, members of the subcommittee.
I am Joanne Hovis and I am President of CTC Technology and
Energy. I am also CEO of the Coalition for Local Internet
Choice, a nonprofit entity that brings together public and
private entities that believe solving our nation's broadband
challenges requires a full range of options including locally-
driven efforts to deploy networks and create public-private
partnerships.
My work focuses on assisting state, local, and tribal
government to build broadband strategy and plans and on helping
them to develop public-private collaborations that improve
broadband infrastructure and services, address affordability
challenges, and provide digital education to enable members of
the community to maximize the benefits of the broadband
internet in their lives.
I've encountered NTIA in my state and local level broadband
work throughout the country for over a decade. My comments
today focus on the important and successful role NTIA has
played in broadband policy and expanding broadband service and
device availability and in expanding digital literacy.
As you consider this reauthorization, I encourage you to
think expansively about NTIA's important role in building
broadband capabilities in infrastructure, going forward.
NTIA has this important role to fill in improving the
broadband environment nationally but it also has unique
expertise and experience within the Federal Government to do so
and this role is essential because our work of expanding
broadband access is far from done.
Large areas of rural America as well as significant
sections of our urban communities lack adequate affordable
broadband. Addressing these gaps in access and opportunity
requires expansive thinking about funding new infrastructure
and capabilities, enabling new educational and inclusion
programs, and supporting access to computers and other
broadband-enabled devices.
For that reason, I commend you on the current
reauthorization efforts as well as on the ACCESS BROADBAND Act,
the LIFT America Act, and other pending legislation focused on
access, urban deserts, and rural broadband funding.
There is a critical role for Federal, state, and local
entities in solving these problems and filling these gaps as
well as for private sector companies and other stakeholders,
and NTIA is uniquely experienced at creating bridges among all
these entities.
As is discussed in greater detail in my written comments,
NTIA has really done a terrific job over many years in grant
making, in convening stakeholders, in stimulating public-
private collaboration and partnerships, and in providing
technical assistance through the Broadband USA program.
I refer to my written testimony, which goes into detail on
many of those topics, but let me share with you, based on my
personal experience, some of why I think NTIA's track record in
building funding programs to support expansion of broadband,
particularly in rural areas, the track record is very sound.
In particular, through the BTOP program, which was
referenced by my fellow panellists here, there was an
impressive, laudable, and frankly, less recognized--in
Washington than it deserved--effort by NTIA.
In a short period of time after passage of the Recovery
Act, the team at NTIA built a robust and proven grant program
and then successfully administered it in subsequent years with
remarkably little controversy.
In fact, the program and NTIA's administration of it was
welcomed with enormous enthusiasm and appreciation in
communities impacted by it throughout the country.
This enthusiasm resulted in part from the extraordinary
hunger for better broadband in significant parts of our country
and in part from the way that NTIA had consulted with
communities, companies, first responders, educators, and other
stakeholders and built a program that was optimized to confer
the greatest possible benefit in unserved and underserved
areas.
At the same time, the program is also thoughtfully and
efficiently designed to focus the federal investment on middle
mile infrastructure to key anchor institutions such as
firehouses, police stations, and remote government facilities
while incenting private sector investment in the last mile to
reach homes and businesses.
The vision was successfully realized in significant parts
of the country. I visited or observed dozens of the projects
that NTIA funded in this way and let me share just a couple of
quick examples in my brief remaining time.
An example that may be of real interest is rural Garrett
County in far western Maryland, a remote Appalachian community
deeply impacted by the decline in the coal economy, which has
struggled to get broadband in a number of its remote
mountainous areas and, as a result, has also struggled to
attract and retain businesses and teleworkers.
The county's current success in attracting a private
partner to fund and deploy last-mile residential service in the
most remote and inaccessible mountain areas. It's testimony, in
part, to NTIA's efforts. NTIA granted funding to a state-led
middle-mile network that reached many of the most remote
schools, libraries, and public safety facilities in the state,
and county leaders then further invested in additional fiber
both to reach additional remote schools and to serve as a
platform for last-mile deployment.
In 2015, a private partner agreed to leverage some of that
fiber and local funding in order to build a fixed wireless
network that will provide the potential of service to up to
3,000 currently unserved homes and hundreds of homes are
already receiving service under this network.
I am grateful for your attention and I refer you to my
written testimony for more examples.
Thank you so much.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Hovis follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentlelady yields back, and before we
move to questions we will now recognize Mr. Pallone for his
opening.
OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR., A REPRESENTATIVE
IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY
Mr. Pallone. Thank you, Madam Chairman. The National
Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA,
plays a critical role in establishing and coordinating
communications policies for the administration both
domestically and internationally.
Given the importance of the agency, I am disappointed that
my Republican colleagues have circulated a discussion draft
that does little more than reintroduce Congressman Tonko's
ACCESS BROADBAND Act, which the subcommittee recently marked up
and has already reported to the full committee.
Mr. Tonko's bill establishes an office in NTIA to
streamline the management of Federal broadband resources and I
hope that this is not an effort to strip this bill away from
Mr. Tonko, who worked hard to advance this important
legislation.
Besides the contribution from Mr. Tonko, the majority's
bill fails to provide NTIA the authority and direction it needs
to address America's 21st century needs.
The administration acknowledges the need for broadband
infrastructure investment. But President Trump and the
Republican majority have failed to act.
We must think big in reauthorizing the NTIA. In May of last
year, committee Democrats introduced the LIFT America Act,
which provides $40 billion over 5 years to deploy secure and
resilient broadband to 98 percent of the country through a
program administered by the NTIA.
The LIFT America Act ensures that every state has access to
funds to help bridge the digital divide that remains in too
many parts of this country, both rural and urban.
As the Internet of Things continues to expand, we should
increase NTIA's efforts to address cybersecurity threats. We
must ensure that the Trump administration's alienation of our
international allies does not hamper our ability to protect an
open internet and the free flow of information from Russian and
Chinese efforts at the International Telecommunications Union
and other forums.
We must also ensure that the NTIA has the resources and
authority needed to improve public safety communications.
Democratic members have actively engaged on many of these
issues and we should consider them as part of any
reauthorization.
Now, while limited on substance, the discussion draft does
increase NTIA's authorization level to the last Obama
administration request. But this does not reflect the
additional tasks and duties we now seek, and unfortunately, the
most important witness for this hearing--Administrator Redl--is
not here to answer questions regarding whether the NTIA has the
authority and resources necessary to achieve its current
mission, much less the task it should be pursuing.
So before we move forward with the reauthorization, we need
the current administration's views on the draft legislation.
And finally, Madam Chairman, as a result of the Trump
administration's policies, thousands of children are still
separated from their parents and we still do not have any
sufficient answers about how they're going to reunite--reunify,
I should say, these families.
Parents have been left wondering where their children are,
whether they are being treated OK, and when they will see them
again. Efforts of parents seeking to call their children to
hear their voices and comfort them have been stymied because of
unconscionable rates charged at the detention centers, and I
visited one of these on Father's Day in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
And according to news reports, phone calls at one facility
cost $8 a minute, which I think is outrageous. I think it's bad
enough that the Trump administration separated more than 2,300
children from their parents, but now through these detention
facilities asylum seekers are being extorted. These outrageous
rates are one more insult as desperate parents try to weave
their way through the bureaucracy to find their children and
it's inexcusable.
So I would call on the Trump administration to provide
detained parents free phone calls to reach their children. It's
the least they can do for a policy that never should have been
instituted in the first place.
I would hope the administration would take this action on
its own but, failing that, I will be introducing a bill today
directing the FCC to reinstate the recent inmate calling order
which covers immigration detention facilities and to promulgate
rules to enable detained parents to call their children without
charge.
I would also like to reiterate the request that every
Democratic committee member made last week--they will hold a
hearing on how these children are going to be reunited with
their parents.
The Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight
responsibility must include holding a hearing on this
catastrophic policy and implementation failure, and I think
that Secretary Azar should testify before us.
I thank you, Madam Chairman, for letting me use this time
and I yield back.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Pallone follows:]
Prepared statement of Hon. Frank Pallone, Jr.
The National Telecommunications and Information
Administration (NTIA) plays a critical role in establishing and
coordinating communications policies for the Administration
both domestically and internationally.
Given the importance of the agency, I am disappointed that
my Republican colleagues have circulated a discussion draft
that does little more than reintroduce Congressman Tonko's
ACCESS BROADBAND Act, which the subcommittee recently marked up
and has already reported to the full committee. Mr. Tonko's
bill establishes an office in NTIA to streamline the management
of federal broadband resources. I hope that this is not an
effort to strip this bill away from Mr. Tonko who worked hard
to advance this important legislation.
Besides the contribution from Mr. Tonko, the majority's
bill fails to provide NTIA the authority and direction it needs
to address America's 21st Century needs.
The Administration acknowledges the need for broadband
infrastructure investment but President Trump and the
Republican Majority have failed to act. We must think big in
reauthorizing the NTIA.
In May of last year, Committee Democrats introduced the
LIFT America Act, which provides $40 billion over 5 years to
deploy secure and resilient broadband to 98 percent of the
country through a program administered by the NTIA. The LIFT
America Act ensures that every State has access to funds to
help bridge the digital divide that remains in too many parts
of this country--both rural and urban.
As the Internet-of-Things continues to expand, we should
increase NTIA's effort to address cybersecurity threats. We
must ensure that the Trump Administration's alienation of our
international allies does not hamper our ability to protect an
open Internet and the free flow of information from Russian and
Chinese efforts at the International Telecommunications Union
and other forums. We must also ensure that the NTIA has the
resources and authority needed to improve public safety
communications. Democratic Members have actively engaged on
many of these issues and we should consider them as part of any
reauthorization.
While limited on substance, the discussion draft does
increase NTIA's authorization level to the last Obama
Administration request, but this does not reflect the
additional tasks and duties we now seek. And, unfortunately,
the most important witness for this hearing, Administrator
Redl, is not here to answer questions regarding whether the
NTIA has the authority and resources necessary to achieve its
current mission much less the tasks it should be pursuing.
Before we move forward with a reauthorization, we need the
current Administrator's views on the draft legislation.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, as a result of the Trump
Administration's policies, thousands of children are still
separated from their parents, and we still do not have any
sufficient answers about how they are going to reunify these
families. Parents have been left wondering where their children
are, whether they are being treated OK, and when they will see
them again.
Efforts of parents seeking to call their children--to hear
their voices and comfort them--have been stymied because of
unconscionable rates charged at the detention centers.
According to news reports, phone calls at one facility cost $8
a minute--that's outrageous!
It's bad enough the Trump Administration separated more
than 2,300 children from their parents, but now, through these
detention facilities, asylum seekers are being extorted. These
outrageous rates are one more insult as desperate parents try
to weave their way through the bureaucracy to find their
children. It is inexcusable.
I call on the Administration to provide detained parents
free phone calls to reach their children. It is the least they
can do for a policy that never should have been instituted in
the first place. I would hope the Administration would take
this action on its own, but failing that, I will be introducing
a bill today directing the FCC to reinstate the recent inmate
calling Order--which covers immigration detention facilities--
and to promulgate rules to enable detained parents to call
their children without charge.
I would also like to reiterate the request that every
Democratic Committee member made last week that we hold a
hearing on how these children are going to be reunited with
their parents. It would be a complete abdication of this
Committee's oversight responsibility for Republicans to refuse
to hold a hearing on this catastrophic policy and
implementation failure. Secretary Azar must testify before this
Committee.
Thank you, I yield back.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back, and this
concludes our statements from our witnesses.
And at this point, we will move into the Q and A portion of
our hearing and I recognize myself for 5 minutes.
At our very first NTIA reauthorization hearing, I had
commented about my concern of the lack of coordination when it
came to Federal resources in different agencies that were
trying to implement components to address broadband
infrastructure or access adoption rates, research, things of
that nature.
And, of course, our draft legislation includes the Office
of Internet Connectivity. So what I would like to hear from
each of you is, how do you think this office can and should
work to coordinate all of these efforts?
And Mr. Gallagher, we'll start with you.
Mr. Gallagher. Thank you, Madam Chairman. So, for purposes
of bringing all of this under one roof or putting it in one
place, then having an inventory of the resources that are being
spent right now is vitally important.
NTIA has accomplished similar interagency missions in the
past. OSM, the spectrum agency, works that way. The way it
administers its duties for ICANN are also done in interagency
coordination basis.
There is a DNA component where their capabilities are prone
to be able to do this very well. It's also important as a
taxpayer that we see how much the dollars are, where they're
going, and then what's being achieved with them, and that can
only be done when there's one single view that's administered
from over the top.
The encouragement that I would add as this discussion
evolves is that there's a strong leadership role from the White
House and from OMB.
The Office of Management and Budget has significant
influence and impact on all of the agencies. So NTIA, during
the time when I was there, when we would have challenges, it
wasn't because of lack of will at the Department of Commerce or
a lack of competence of the team that was there.
It was because other agencies were reluctant to participate
because it wasn't in their mission to do so or in their
interests, and I think aligning those interests through
guidance to those agencies, having the White House role be
strong, having the role of inventory clarification value to the
taxpayer, moving that through as part of the prism that this
would be looked through, would be steps in the right direction.
Mrs. Blackburn. Thank you. Mr. Kneuer.
Mr. Kneuer. I agree with all of that. The challenge is that
the sources of funds reside in different departments sometimes.
So you have got the RUS in the Department of Agriculture.
We've got NTIA and others that issue grants. You've got--even
in Agriculture beyond RUS. Sometimes in DHS there are emergency
preparedness funds that wind up being devoted to broadband
services.
Again, I think this gets to the point of the importance of
reauthorization. Giving NTIA the responsibility and ability to
bring into one place all of the different ways that the
government measures all of the different ways the government is
spending money doesn't just help them more efficiently deploy
the money through the executive branch.
But it gives the Congress visibility into how the money is
being spent, is it getting to the part of the communities that
it needs to. So you can make future appropriations
authorization decisions based on affected information and data.
So, again, I think NTIA has the resources and experience of
doing that. Having it in NTIA is the most logical of any other
places that you could put it.
In terms of using that information inside the executive
branch to make the right decision, I agree with Mike--a lot of
that has to come from OMB riding above any of the individual
agencies.
But all of those decisions will be better targeted if you
have better information. And the way to do that, I think, is
this legislation.
Mrs. Blackburn. OK. Good. Ms. Hovis.
Ms. Hovis. Thank you, Chairman Blackburn. I'm very much in
agreement here with my fellow panelists about the incredible
importance of this set of functions and NTIA's ability to do so
and its ability to bring to bear experience in order to do so.
And I could say that we have all noted the same challenges
in this very large and complex entity that is the Federal
Government with multiple entities charged with different kinds
of responsibility for funding, mapping, engaging what is
happening with regard to broadband.
I think that better and more comprehensive and more
centralized collection of data and accurate data and granular
data would be a massive, massive contribution to building
important information and understanding of what is actually
happening with regard to broadband.
And if we are able to understand through a central entity,
such as NTIA, not only what all the existing funding programs
are and what they are funding and where, but also where there
has been verification and enforcement that that funding was
used as intended and that the capabilities that were intended
to be funded by the Federal Government were actually deployed
as well as accurate and granular mapping. It would be an
enormous contribution and enable development of very good
policy.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentlelady yields back. Mr. Doyle, you
are recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you, Madam Chair. Mr. Kneuer and Mr.
Gallagher, as former NTIA administrators, so I am just curious
how you think the NTIA will be navigating upcoming global
internet governance discussions such as the ITU's upcoming
conference in Dubai.
Given our administration's strained relationship with our
allies, its increasingly hostile relationship with China, and
our relationship with Russia, which I am really not sure how to
characterize, how do you think that's going to go?
Mr. Kneuer. Traditionally, the ITU and some of the telecom
issues really have been driven by the technical staff and, with
a few exceptions, the----
Mrs. Blackburn. Mr. Kneuer, can I get you to talk directly
into that mic? Thank you.
Mr. Kneuer. Yes. Sorry. The broader geopolitical issues
rarely, but not never, get involved. I think the ability of
NTIA to collect the technical expertise of various government
agencies, so whether it's been the Defense Department or the
intel communities or others who rely on spectrum and
telecommunications engage in sort of robust bilateral
discussions with our allies and with interested parties has
been sort of the way this has gone.
So even though the meetings themselves may take place in
Dubai, our diplomats and NTIA staff have been, typically, in
pretty constant contact with their counter parties in other
governments.
So it's not to say that the geopolitical challenges don't
enter into these multilateral negotiations. These are, after
all, very often U.N.-sponsored delegations.
But I think the technical matters typically speak for
themselves and historically and, hopefully, ideally the larger
geopolitical issues stay in the background.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you. Ms. Hovis, given the success of the
Obama administration's BTOP program, do you think that the type
of investments laid out in Ranking Member Pallone's LIFT
America Act or the share of the spectrum auction revenue set
aside for wireless broadband deployment by the AIRWAVES
legislation would significantly contribute to closing the
broadband divide in this country.
And at what point do you imagine we will close the
broadband divide in this country if we simply continue on our
current path?
Ms. Hovis. On our current path, we are not going to close
the divide and we may actually, in some areas, exacerbate it
because the realities of the economics of broadband are that
private investment funds will go where they will see the
greatest return.
That's how the private sector works. It's how we want it to
work and how we want our system to work, and that means that we
are likely to see increased investment in enhanced
capabilities--5G, more deeper fiber, et cetera--in certain
kinds of suburban and urban areas, in certain urban areas with
high income levels, average income levels, for example, but not
in rural areas, not in areas of low population, and not in
certain areas of low income.
And as a result, we may actually see a significant
exacerbation of the digital divide over time. So yes, I very
much agree that the LIFT America Act and certain kinds of
appropriation, the funding for rural broadband and for solving
urban deserts would be enormously helpful and I think, in fact,
it's critical.
And the track record has been very, very solid and I hope--
my example of the Appalachian community in western Maryland
that I talked about is one of hundreds of examples, I think, of
communities that have been enormously benefited by that
investment and by the way it was administered by NTIA and I
certainly personally hope we'll see a good deal more because I
spend a lot of my time on the road in rural America and I see
enormous, enormous gaps that we have a long way to go in
filling.
Mr. Doyle. Thank you very much. Mr. Gallagher, I know
you're here in your capacity as a former NTIA administrator,
but you're always the CEO of the Entertainment Software
Association, which represents the video game industry--an
industry that's now larger than the film and music industries
combined.
Video games these days outperform the biggest Hollywood
blockbusters and, increasingly, video games are downloaded
online, and online games are become spectator events and the
future of the industry seems to be shifting from consoles to
the cloud, all of which rely on a free and open network that is
fast, has low latency and high capacity.
I know ESA filed in federal court seeking to intervene in
the case against the FCC's repeal of net neutrality rules. That
filing said, ``absent these protections, ESA and its member
companies will have no effective legal recourse against
broadband provider conduct that impairs consumers' online video
game experiences.''
So my question is whether you and your association oppose
the repeal of the net neutrality rules as your association's
legal filing indicates and whether you support restoring those
rules, as your filing indicates, as I am trying to do with my
CRA resolution.
Mr. Gallagher. First, I really enjoyed the introduction to
the question.
[Laughter.]
Terrific. And then as to the specifics on net neutrality,
yes, we filed the motion to intervene in that litigation
because it's important for us, on behalf of our members, to
make sure that we do have an open and free and high capacity
and high quality internet available for gamers and game makers.
We've been clear about that for years.
And what we've also seen is that the pendulum swinging back
and forth between whoever controls the pen at the FCC causes
uncertainty for investors.
It causes uncertainty for those who are seeking to make the
economy of tomorrow happen in a digital way, and the world is
very much connected. These opportunities need to be present and
thriving here in the U.S.
What we've done is----
Mr. Doyle. Madam Chair, I see our time has expired. I would
like to ask unanimous consent to add ESA's court filing to the
record.
Mrs. Blackburn. Without objection.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mrs. Blackburn. Mr. Lance, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Lance. Thank you, Chairman. Mr. Gallagher and Mr.
Kneuer, you both mentioned in your testimony the importance of
giving the NTIA more resources. Could you please expand on
this, using your own experience leading the agency and in the
context of how its mission and duties have evolved since the
last time it was reauthorized?
I am also interested specifically in your perspective on
whether or not these additional resources are necessary to
implement the Office of Internet Connectivity and Growth as the
NTIA has indicated to me?
Mr. Kneuer.
Mr. Kneuer. So I think there is adequate staffing. As the
BTOP program winds down, those moneys are spent. The staff that
were administering that are the same staff that I think would
likely be involved in the new office contemplated by this
legislation.
I think the important thing in terms of the amount of
funding--and I do not have visibility into the current budgets
of NTIA and I wouldn't want to speak for precise dollar
figures--but the way to think about it is that all of the money
that we are putting into NTIA to drive broadband really needs
to be thought of as seed capital.
By having better information, we are going to more fully
leverage the amount of money that comes from whatever variety
of sources there are.
The economic growth and productivity gains that come from
broadband being deployed in communities that don't otherwise
have access to it, that has to be kept in mind and focused as
the objective for budgeting.
So while I don't have the great sense of what the precise
numbers are, I think the exercise that needs to be undertaken
is making sure that the money that we spend we can look at and
find a direct linkage to either--it's going to more than be
offset by savings in the efficient allocation of other
resources or it's going to generate economic growth far in
excess of the money that we devote to the project.
Mr. Lance. Thank you. Mr. Gallagher.
Mr. Gallagher. I would focus on three areas, and the
overarching focus is where do we need NTIA to take us over the
next 10 years, if that's the relevant time frame for the
committee, and then does it have the resources to accomplish
those key focuses.
The three that I would point to, one is international, two
is OSM, or the Office of Spectrum Management, and third is a
coordinator role across the Federal Government.
And the roles have changed. Now, many of these functions
remain the same. They have the same office names as when I was
there, as when John was there, but their challenges are quite
different.
Everything that happens now is global. Everything that our
industry is engaged in is worldwide in nature.
That's the thinking process, and when we were at the
Department of Commerce, one of the key talking points and
things that we'd repeat, 95 percent of the world's customers
live outside the United States.
So NTIA should be focused and be resourced to be very
effective in that environment. One thing I would add to this is
it's been brought to my attention that a level of the position
within the Department of Commerce oftentimes can be problematic
in dealing with foreign governments--that if there was a higher
level to the position like under secretary as opposed to
assistant secretary, that would create greater impact for
Secretary Redl as he goes about his duties.
Second is OSM. I believe the Office of Spectrum Management
is using the very same equipment that they used when I was
there 10 years ago.
The return we've gotten from sound spectrum policy is
enormous. More investment and then making sure they have the
resources to be even better at their job is money well spent.
And then the final point is on this coordination role. The
more we ask NTIA to do in that regard you need to make sure
that there's enough resources--primarily, people--to make sure
that that happens, and again, I look to Office of Management
and Budget and this committee to set where those levels are.
Mr. Lance. Thank you very much to the distinguished panel
and, Chairman, I yield back 46 seconds.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Loebsack,
you're recognized.
Mr. Loebsack. Thank you, Madam Chair. I really appreciate,
obviously, the testimony today. I am an Iowan. I've got 24
counties--a lot of rural areas. I don't know what the total
square miles is. It's something like 12,000 or so. It's a
pretty big area--and I get around every weekend, and I know for
a fact that our coverage in Iowa isn't anything like what the
FCC says it is officially.
So I've been very interested in making sure that we have
accurate data when it comes to where broadband is deployed
around the country.
And there is bipartisan and bicameral agreement that the
maps the FCC is relying on now are flawed and quite inaccurate,
and I did introduce the bill, the Rural Wireless Act, with my
good friend from Pennsylvania, Ryan Costello, to improve the
reliability and the validity of the data needed to create the
maps and I am really happy it was passed--included in the RAY
BAUM'S Act that the President signed into law earlier this
year.
So I am really hoping that better maps are on the horizon.
A lot of folks in Iowa, all across the country in rural areas,
are hoping that better maps are on the horizon.
Hope isn't enough. I am glad the discussion draft reaffirms
the NTIA's role in producing a national broadband map that's
accurate.
However, we may need to work together as the bill
progresses to ensure that we are doing all that we can to
ensure that the maps are as reliable as possible.
And, Mr. Gallagher, just a couple of quick questions for
you today. I do appreciate your comments and your testimony
about the need for more granular data, particularly in rural
areas where a census block isn't necessarily the right
geographic measurement to reflect the realities of broadband
availability.
So, Mr. Gallagher, I would just like to ask you first what
obstacles might NTIA face in collecting such granular data?
Mr. Gallagher. Well, the first obstacle is it may not exist
by doing it, like, household to household and so looking for
the sourcing on the data is really important.
One area that I would look to for all rural areas, not just
in Iowa but around the country, is you do have state Public
Utility Commissions that are in charge of wired communications
and increasingly have been involved in deployment of public
safety networks and other areas where their maps may be
supplemental and offer more granular data because it is their
role to fundamentally be local.
Mr. Loebsack. Do you have any other ideas--that was my
second question, actually--ideas about how to produce better
data?
Mr. Gallagher. I think that there are increasingly
applications and technologies that are developed that do
miraculous things for very low cost and those--a survey of
those mapping technologies, a survey of elements that follow
the development of broadbands so, like, derivative types of
activities, would be able to develop the contours of where
broadband exists if you know what people are doing.
Like, for example, if they're playing Pokemon Go they must
have access to the internet because their phones are
connected--those types of things might be where the data could
be more practically extracted at a lower cost.
Mr. Loebsack. OK. That's great.
Well, that's pretty much what I have as far as questions
and comments. This is something I've been beating sort of like
a dead horse for quite a while.
The chair knows that and--but we do have good bipartisan
support for this and I want to make sure that the FCC does the
right thing so that we know where the heck we have coverage and
where we don't.
And I don't want to create any false illusions out there,
or false expectations, if you will, on the part of folks in
Iowa and all around rural America.
When somebody says, oh, there's 96 percent coverage, we
know there's not, and so we have to make sure that we have some
truth in advertising when it comes to finding the ways to
measure this and get the accurate data really, really quickly.
So thank you very much. I yield back my time.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back, and I just got a
notice that votes will come sometime between 3:10 and 3:25 so
we will try to complete our hearing before then.
Mr. Johnson, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Johnson. Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you for
holding such an important hearing.
NTIA has not been reauthorized since 1992 and it's
essential that it has the funding and tools it needs to
accomplish its objectives. I am particularly pleased to see the
components relating to the broadband mapping and deployment
issue.
My legislation, the Mapping Now Act, which was included in
the omnibus, reasserts NTIA's authority on broadband mapping.
It is essential that we have an accurate map showing areas that
are unserved and underserved so that we know where available
resources should be focused.
This discussion draft tasks NTIA with facilitating more
accurate granular maps of broadband coverage with input from
the FCC and other federal resources in addition to states and
public-private partnerships.
NTIA is in a good position to compile data from multiple
sources, not just the FCC's Form 477 data, that would help
create a more accurate and complete picture of broadband
coverage.
I am hopeful that this legislation would provide NTIA with
necessary funds and authority to work with other agencies and
implement creative solutions for broadband mapping and to break
down the barriers to broadband deployment.
So to my questions--when NTIA was first charged with
creating the national broadband map under the 2009 American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the data on the map was not
always correct.
In many cases, that is because it was reported on a state-
by-state basis and each state had a different way in which it
collected the data.
This often led to the data being unreliable. For example,
at one point it showed that one state in the Northeast had full
satellite coverage but the next state that shared almost the
same latitude and longitude had no satellite coverage.
Now, I don't think it's the case that Vermont and New
Hampshire can be so completely different in terms of their
ability to be covered by satellite.
So my question is this, and we'll just go down the line
starting with you, Mr. Gallagher. How can NTIA ensure that the
mistakes from the past are not repeated with any new mapping
efforts?
Mr. Gallagher. The first place to start is to ask the
question, put out an NOI saying, all right, this was done in
the past--what are the mistakes--develop an inventory of those
and an understanding, and then go through and systematically
can be done and, of course, how much it costs in order to be
able to close those gaps.
That's the most important thing is just to ask the question
and understand where you came up short, be very honest about
it, and then just get back in there and do it again.
Also, in the span of time since the map was first developed
there may have been additional technologies that have been--
become available or applications or services that could be
done--where this could be done very cheaply.
Just one example is we developed a map of our own industry
in the U.S. We've had this need--it's called
areweinyourstate.org--and we found that there were over 3,000
companies in our industry.
Spread them out, and we organized them by congressional
district. Now, this was done with manual labor and a great
outside--a great intern on the inside and a great partner in an
outside vendor and done at very reasonable cost.
What's being done here is much more complex, but it just
shows that the push of service quality means there could be
ways to close those gaps.
Mr. Johnson. Mr. Kneuer.
Mr. Kneuer. Yes. I also think there are--different
institutions have different incentives to gather this
information for their own purposes, whether they are commercial
purposes, different government agencies have different access
to information, whether it is the--not just the existence of
service but are there network elements under the control of the
government that might be useful in providing additional
services, whether it is fiber links from the Energy Department
or towers controlled by public safety or natural resource
agencies.
So, with a lot of what we've been talking about this
afternoon, it's NTIA's ability to survey all of those different
sources of information, whether they are in disparate
government entities, government agencies, whether they are held
by the carriers, whether they are held by application providers
who, for their own commercial interests, have a real monetary
incentive to figure out where the coverage is and where the
gaps are, to gather all of that and synthesize that in very
much the same way.
It's going to be very much, and I think it is a perfect
complement to the Office if Internet Growth and Connectivity.
It is getting access to each of these different constituent
pieces--sources of funding, sources of information--and
synthesizing them together so that you don't have these--there
should be obvious failures if a satellite sees the Northeast of
the United States the same, right. So those sorts of things.
By having, collating, overlooking different sources of
information you can correct those areas.
Mr. Johnson. Thank you. Ms. Hovis, sorry I didn't get to
you. But Madam Chair, I will yield back.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back. Ms. Eshoo,
you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. Eshoo. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. I noted that when
you made your opening statement you spoke about this being a
bill for rural Americans and I think that we all hope that that
will really be the result.
But while this bill provides funding, I think it's
important to point out that it doesn't direct the agency enough
on either the authority or the direction on how to use the
funding to address the needs of Americans in the digital age.
So we've got our work cut out for us here. I want to thank
the three witnesses for being here today. I want to thank you
for your public service.
This is my 24th year on this subcommittee. It's kind of
extraordinary for me to use that number. It's hard to believe
24 years.
But I think this is the first time in terms of a
reauthorization act that we don't have the agency represented
here. I think it's wonderful that you're giving your opinion
about what you think the agency should do. But I find this to
be highly unusual.
Now, I know David Redl was here in March. But I still
think, Madam Chairwoman, that it's very important and it's
still really appropriate to be discussing the draft of a
reauthorization with someone--with a key official--I think
David Redl--an NTIA official on this.
So let me get to my questions. But I wanted to point that
out because it's the first time that I've ever experienced
this. So it is what it is.
But I think that we need to make sure that NTIA comes and
when we have a review with the key person from there.
So to Mr. Gallagher and Mr. Kneuer, do you know what steps
the assistant secretary is taking relative to overseeing
FirstNet and its contract with AT&T?
Mr. Gallagher. I do not.
Ms. Eshoo. Do you, Mr. Kneuer?
Mr. Kneuer. Not with specificity.
Ms. Eshoo. OK.
Mr. Kneuer. Just in terms of how the role of NTIA
overseeing FirstNet, which----
Ms. Eshoo. Well, we know that they oversee it. I want to
know--because I think you're here in some way, shape, or form
to speak for NTIA.
Do you know what the current NTIA plans are to address the
gaps between the maps? It says show coverage and the actual
coverage of high-speed broadband.
Mr. Kneuer. I do not.
Ms. Eshoo. Does anyone know?
Mr. Gallagher. No.
Ms. Eshoo. No one knows. OK.
If this authorization were to become the enacted budget for
NTIA, do you know what portion of the new resources would be
aimed at improving NTIA's oversight of FirstNet?
Mr. Gallagher. I do not.
Ms. Eshoo. Anyone know?
Mr. Kneuer. No.
Ms. Eshoo. Maybe to Ms. Hovis--do you know what the
specific challenges are that NTIA faces in mapping broadband
coverage accurately today and are they technological?
Are they methodological, and what do you think that they
should be doing to get an accurate study?
Ms. Hovis. My primary concern about the broadband mapping
is that some of the underlying data is at such a low level of
granularity that we don't really have anything like an accurate
picture. The big part----
Ms. Eshoo. Well, I know that, but I am asking what--do you
think it's beyond technological or methodological? How are we
going to get accurate information?
If we don't have a roadmap, then we don't know where we are
going and what we are doing.
Ms. Hovis. The data----
Ms. Eshoo. That's what a roadmap is. Or the map, in this
situation--so what do you think the main issue is that we
should be pursuing?
Ms. Hovis. From my perspective, the main issue is that the
data collected by the FCC through the 477 is not giving us
sufficient information. We are getting----
Ms. Eshoo. And the source of that lack of being able to get
it is what? What do you recommend?
Ms. Hovis. The information is self-reported by the
providers and it is frequently self-reported at the level of if
a single location within a census block is served, the entire
census block can be shown as served, which I sometimes think of
as allowing my high school daughter to----
Ms. Eshoo. Well, I remember years ago, in the Bush
administration, if it was in a zip code then everyone was
covered, which--this is like Pete and repeat.
So, well, I'm happy that you all came. Thank you again for
your service and, Madam Chairwoman, I think that we need the
assistant secretary to come in and speak about the
reauthorization. I think that's very important.
With that, I yield back.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentlelady yields back.
Mrs. Brooks, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mrs. Brooks. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. Thank you so much
to all of our witnesses for being here today.
Something that we heard about at a earlier NTIA hearing had
to do with the fact that we are fairly behind the race for 5G
of South Korea, Japan, and other countries.
I am curious, Mr. Kneuer, in your opinion, how are we doing
in the 5G race?
Mr. Kneuer. I think 5G is in its infancy where it's sort of
the beginning of the beginning, not even the end of the
beginning. But I think 5G is sort of the cross-cutting issue
that answers much of what we've been talking about here.
For the first time with 5G, wireless applications will give
the same kinds of speeds and comparable speeds as landline
applications at a much, much lower cost of deployment and much
more readily suited to serve hard-to-reach areas.
So the issues for NTIA around 5G are recognizing that but
very much it's spectrum to spectrum to spectrum. We need low-
band spectrum. We need mid-band spectrum. We need high-band
spectrum.
With all of that, I think the inherent incentives in the
U.S. economy and in the U.S. telecommunications marketplace
give us a key advantage over some of the countries that some
people may look at and say that they're ``leading.``
If you have got a single carrier or a couple of dominant
carriers, the U.S. market has been one that has been a massive
incentive for as much investment in as many carriers as
possible.
I think if we repeat those examples and provide the
spectrum that allows each of our main market participants to
continue to compete, we will have the most robust and the most
widespread 5G networks in the world.
Mrs. Brooks. Does our current discussion draft that we are
discussing address the issues that you're referring to? I am
curious that--of each of the panel members.
Mr. Kneuer. I think the establishment of the Internet
Connectivity Office will help in identifying where those issues
are.
The issues around spectrum in general, which may not be
specifically called out in this draft but are explicit in the
reauthorization of the agency and the things that NTIA does, I
think so.
Mrs. Brooks. Does anyone else have a different opinion or
further opinion on 5G?
Mr. Gallagher.
Mr. Gallagher. What I would say is I would echo John's
thoughts--that we are at the very beginning of this--it's way
too early to declare a winner--and that in the U.S. we have all
of the elements to be fantastically successful in the
deployment of 5G.
When you look at the demand for the services, like, what's
the extra speed going to mean, we'll be able to translate that
into economic value a lot faster than other economies around
the world and that will be the engine that pulls this in a very
commercial way to worldwide success.
Mrs. Brooks. Thank you. Ms. Hovis.
Ms. Hovis. Congresswoman, I think this is incredibly
important, and I actually just returned a matter of days ago
from South Korea where I spent a good amount of time looking at
infrastructure both in the cities and, even more importantly,
in rural areas.
And I don't think we are right at the beginning. We have
not lost anything, and we are well positioned to win the race
for 5G.
The one thing that I noted in South Korea that I thought
was so important is that their rural areas will get better
wireless and better 5G than our rural areas will because
there's existing infrastructure there, and that speaks to the
reauthorization bill and the need for more rural infrastructure
and fiber for our communities and that is what will enable 5G
because there will be no wireless without wires to support it.
Mrs. Brooks. OK. Thank you. Shifting gears a moment to--we
learned this in dealing with a bill to reauthorize the Poison
Control Center in our work on opioids out of this committee.
But I learned about problems relative to our 911 services
and it caused me to be concerned as to whether or not other
emergency lines like suicide hotlines, veteran crisis lines,
apparently, if someone were to call they aren't necessarily--
the centers aren't locating the calls.
They're taking what area code is showing up on the phone
rather than geolocating the actual phone.
I think most people don't assume that's what's happening.
So while I have a 317 area code here and I were to make a call,
I would be routed improperly, or it could be.
Are we going to be fixing issues like this and is NTIA--
what will their role be? If any of you have an opinion on that.
Mr. Gallagher. What I would offer is that so much of what
you just described those challenges--they lie in the province
of the states and how they deploy 9-1-1, and then the FCC and
its role in overseeing how that works.
And so it's not in the sweet spot of what NTIA does except
for ITS, which is the lab that's run by NTIA. They do research
on these types of things and how to improve accuracy and
performance.
Mrs. Brooks. OK. Thank you. I yield back.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentlelady yields back. Mr. McNerney,
you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. McNerney. I thank the chair. I thank the witnesses.
I apologize for missing your testimony but you did have
written statements, which we reviewed beforehand.
I am concerned about the security risk posed by the vast
number of devices coming to the market on IOT, and I have
introduced legislation to improve the security.
Mr. Gallagher, NTIA's recent botnets report outlines a
series of goals that are intended to give stakeholders guidance
on what steps they should be taking to secure their systems
networks.
What are specific resources the NTIA needs to ensure that
meaningful action is taken by its stakeholders?
Mr. Gallagher. I think, unfortunately, the resources are
going to be more necessary by those that need to implement the
recommendations than those that formulated them themselves.
The Federal Government has had many challenges when it
comes to implementing its own solutions on a technical basis.
This is going to require action in the marketplace and by
manufacturers and then, ultimately, by consumers to make sure
that their behavior reinforces the values in those reports.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you. Mr. Kneuer, the NTIA has held a
series of multi-stakeholder meetings on IOT security
upgradeability and patching. The most recent one was held last
November.
Are you aware of what progress the NTIA has made with this
multi-stakeholder process since November?
Mr. Kneuer. I am not familiar with the details of that
particular multi-stakeholder process. But it is indicative of
the contribution that NTIA can make as sort of standing as an
intersection between having lots of communication with the
market participants and the commercial entities and, at the
same time, having visibility through their contacts with the
national security intel Homeland Security agencies where they
can serve as a conduit of sort of identifying threats, passing
information back and forth, and serving that sort of a
function.
Mr. McNerney. OK. Mr. Gallagher, you're shaking your head
yes?
Mr. Gallagher. Well, I am just agreeing with John.
Mr. McNerney. OK. Well, as an engineer, I think it's
important that the agencies principally responsible for
advising the President on telecommunications and information
policy be equipped with the technical expertise needed to
develop policy.
Mr. Gallagher, how many engineers does the NTIA currently
employ?
Mr. Gallagher. I don't know the answer to that.
Mr. McNerney. Well, earlier this month before the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Administrator Redl said that, ``I
believe the greatest challenge for advancing IOT will be
cybersecurity.``
How many engineers does NTIA have on staff that would
specifically work on cybersecurity?
Mr. Gallagher. Again, that's specific information. I am
sure it's available from other sources but I don't have it.
Mr. McNerney. Mr. Kneuer, in reauthorizing the NTIA, it's
critical that we understand what resources the agency currently
allocates toward technical expertise and I am hoping that you
might be able to provide me with more specific answers for the
questions that I just asked Mr. Gallagher.
How many engineers specifically focus on IOT security?
Mr. Kneuer. So I don't have visibility into the number of
engineers assigned right now. When Mike and I were there, there
was something like 180 engineers in the agency.
But I think what is important is that NTIA's access to
technical expertise is not limited to its in-staff resources.
So there are vast resources that NIST, which is the flagship
government technical agency--there are resources within the
NSA. There are resources within the Defense Department that
they're able to access, as I've said, when they--and then share
that information with the commercial sector and also help
identify vulnerabilities and events that are taking place in
the commercial environment, and communicating that into the
broader government-wide effort, and I think it's going to have
to be a government-wide effort. This won't be an NTIA only
solution.
Mr. McNerney. Well, OK. I will grant you that.
Unfortunately, NTIA doesn't have anyone here today. So we
can't really get enough visibility to determine if they have
the resources that they need.
Ms. Hovis, could you discuss the importance of the public-
private partnerships in rural and underserved broadband
deployment? I have a lot of that in my district.
Ms. Hovis. Well, at its core, a public-private partnership
helps to change the economics of broadband in an area where the
economics simply don't work.
Ideally, there would be private sector investment
everywhere and there would be rationale and economic viability
for private sector investment.
But that's, unfortunately, not how infrastructure works of
any sort, particularly in rural areas, and there are simply
going to need to be places where the public sector has a
significant role.
The places where that's been most successful there has been
collaboration between public and private, and frequently,
efforts on the public sector side at the Federal, state, and
local levels to collaborate with the private sector to solve
these problems and to improve the economics of the build out.
Mr. McNerney. Thank you. I guess I better yield back.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Costello,
you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Kneuer. Sure, and with regards to the specific case
that was an enforcement action, not surprised that NTIA wasn't
specifically involved in that part of the negotiation.
But I think NTIA does sort of sit in the middle of the
intersection of national security and our communications
networks.
It would be a partner with other agencies within the
Department of Commerce, the Bureau of Industry and Security,
which has a specific mission to look after cross-border trade
and technology that involves our national security--the
International Trade Administration, which is responsible for
our international trade commitments, but most importantly and,
I think, most relevant, as the agency that has direct contact
with the carrier set that is relying on these network elements
that may be subject to vulnerabilities.
So its policy coordinating function through its natural
interface with the defense, intelligence, and homeland security
agencies with the national security inside the White House and
with its counterparts inside the Commerce Department. So----
Mr. Costello. So you, likewise, agree that having NTIA lead
an interagency effort to strategically share supply chain
threat information with the private sector should be one of its
core competencies?
Mr. Kneuer. Yes.
Mr. Costello. Mr. Gallagher, in your testimony you touched
upon the benefits of increased unlicensed spectrum use and
successful spectrum sharing in the 5 gigahertz band, starting
in 2003.
Can you expand on that example and talk about some of the
future benefits of unlicensed spectrum use in the context of 5G
deployment?
Also, in your opinion, what, if anything, should Congress
do to leverage NTIA's expertise and role in unlicensed spectrum
use?
Mr. Gallagher. So unlicensed spectrum has been one of the
gold mines of our tech economy over the last 15 years. If you
look at wi-fi and how pervasively we use it in our homes and
our businesses, it's been just a powerhouse of very, very
cheap, very efficient transmission of data.
Now, ultimately, all of that ties back to a fiber
architecture and gets transmitted over more robust networks.
But the promise of unlicensed has been proven to be very, very
true and very real.
So finding more of that it makes great sense because if you
have encountered the interference in your home from multiple
devices, as we all carry more and more of them, we access
richer and richer services, it does put a load on those and
there is a potential for interference.
So more of that type of spectrum will continue to feed the
growth in that area, lowers the burden on our license services.
I think the aspiration of unlicensed that we have yet to
achieve is I would call carrier class unlicensed spectrum use
where you would have, basically, the quality of a licensed
service done in an unlicensed way.
That remains something that's out of reach at the moment.
It hasn't really been delivered yet in the marketplace.
In the times when John and I were serving it looked like
that was going to happen, and it hasn't really come to
fruition. But that's an area of further explanation.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back.
Mr. Butterfield, you're recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman, and
thank you to the three witnesses for your testimony today.
We have votes around 3:15 and so I am going go cut mine
short and not go through the full 5 minutes, Madam Chairman.
But let me just ask the three witnesses, I am from a rural low
income community in eastern North Carolina and I think we can
all agree that we have a digital divide in this country.
It's no question that affluent developed communities have
broadband. Low income rural communities, many of them, do not.
Can you just tell me, each of you, in your own words in
plain English why we have this digital divide and what we can
do to bridge this divide and bring it to an end in my lifetime?
Ms. Hovis. Congressman, I think you articulated the problem
exactly right. The challenges that private investment goes--it
follows the money and where the opportunity is and we need to
build bridges in terms of investment and funding at the state,
local, and federal level to support private investment and to
add to it and to make it economically viable and interesting
for the private sector to support markets where they might not
otherwise go and to make it possible for other entities to
provide services in those markets where the private sector may
choose not to go and that, in my opinion, should include
counties and municipalities and nonprofit and public-private
partnerships and collaborations because we need to use every
tool in the toolbox if we are going to bridge those gaps.
Mr. Kneuer. I will just keep banging on the 5G drum for a
minute. There is the reality of the economic return, based on
the cost of the deployment of the networks. In the very high
cost for hard-to-serve areas, the economic incentive breaks
down on delivering service to those areas.
As 5G becomes a reality, that economic equation will change
dramatically and I think we have a promise of wireless networks
closing dramatically the gaps that would need to be filled by
the kinds of public and private partnerships and by government
support.
Mr. Gallagher. And I would just add my voice to the
solution will be wireless. It will be a lot lower cost per
person or per unit of data than what has been deployed in the
past.
The technology has come to this stage where now we carry
devices in our pockets that 5 years ago would have cost tens of
thousands of dollars.
Now, there are new versions coming out every year. Flat
screen TVs used to be ridiculously expensive. They're now
borderline disposable, and these types of end of the network
uses for broadband--they've brought down the cost in the home
for those that need the service in rural areas as well as in
the networks themselves.
So as we continue to get better and better at better
technologies, richer technologies, lower cost devices on the
other end, it'll help close that gap.
Mr. Butterfield. All three of you agree 5G is the future?
Ms. Hovis. If I may add, Congressman.
Mr. Butterfield. Yes.
Ms. Hovis. I very much agree with my colleagues here. We
are all extremely optimistic about the wireless future. But
there is no rural wireless without a wire to support that
wireless service and that means we can't just say, well, we
don't have to worry about wired infrastructure in rural areas
because wireless will take care of it.
That wireless component is only the very end of the network
and if we are going to give folks in rural communities the
kinds of services that we all expect every day in our urban
communities, we are going to have to make sure that wire is
there to support next-generation wireless deployment, and we've
got a long way to go on that.
Mr. Butterfield. Thank you.
Mr. Gallagher. I would just amend by saying wireless back
haul is in service now and is a step toward helping close that
gap that exists on the wired space.
Mr. Butterfield. OK. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Guthrie,
you're recognized.
Mr. Guthrie. Thank you. Thank you very much, and I will be
brief too because I know we have at least another question over
here.
So, many counties regionalised their dispatch centers, and
not only does it allow for pooled technical resources--9-1-1
services is what I am talking about--it also provides for the
redundancies in the system so that if one county dispatch
center shuts down, the other can cover for them because they
share the same equipment.
As we work for further deployment of NG 9-1-1, how can NTIA
work to support the ongoing and future initiatives of these
regional dispatch centers.
I will just open it to anyone. Does any----
Mr. Gallagher. The first thing I would say is convening,
and that's a very strong power of NTIA historically is bring
people together to share best practices so that as the public
safety law enforcement network responsible leaders, when they
get together they're able to see that there's a cheaper and
better way of doing something, they learn that from one
another.
The other, again I would point to is ITS as NTIA does do
research on the telecommunications services themselves and
potentially could assist in formulating lower cost ways or more
robust ways of providing the same service.
Mr. Guthrie. OK. And I know there's been discussion in
elevating the NTIA administrator to an under secretary, and
somebody else may ask more about that.
So but I want to focus on if the elevation of the title
adds to what we may call gravitas, internationally, what would
it do interagency for the deployment of Federal spectrum and
auctioning Federal spectrum?
Mr. Kneuer. I think it's directionally helpful. As a
practical matter, NTIA functions inside the department as an
under secretary already. There's no layer in between NTIA and
the secretary.
Typically, an assistant secretary might report to an
undersecretary, who then reports to the secretary of commerce.
NTIA actually has one step elevated stature in that it also
reports dotted line directly to the President.
So in terms of the governance, it's functioning as an under
secretary already. But in terms of protocol and interagency
negotiations, if you're synced up with an assistant secretary
at the Defense Department who then is talking to an under
secretary before they get to the secretary, it's just one more
layer in between.
So I think there is, it would be directionally helpful
inside managing the interagency process and it would more
accurately reflect where the agency sits within the department
by making an under secretary.
Mr. Guthrie. So thanks.
And then really quick also, mapping. I know we've talked
about mapping and it's been addressed. But I would like to
share my support for more granular mapping that's been talked
about and better data and better verification as well.
Do you have suggestions for improving verification
strategies? I know you have talked a little bit earlier. I know
I was in and out with another meeting, Ms. Hovis, if you----
Ms. Hovis. I don't know how this happens, but I think
that--wherever I travel I speak to stakeholders and officials
in rural communities who say to me, why is the map showing us
as served when we know we are not served, and there needs to be
some kind of formal mechanism for feedback and opportunity to
challenge the map where it's not accurate and resources for the
map then to be corrected because I understand it's expensive
and difficult for providers to provide certain kinds of data.
But the rural communities, the rural businesses that are
suffering from the fact that the map has not got accurate data
and therefore they're not eligible for certain kinds of
programs or certain kinds of support at the state and Federal
level. Very, very frustrating for them, and it is the Federal
Government that is putting this data together.
Mr. Guthrie. Well, that's important, too, because my area
it has rural areas you just look at and say you know there's
issues that need to be addressed. My home town is Bowling
Green, which is kind of tied in with our chairwoman's
community--boom town of Nashville. We are a boom town as well.
And you hear from people who are developing and trying to
accommodate the growth and stuff moving forward is that a lot
of people won't want to move into certain neighborhoods or they
can't develop areas because there's no profit. If you're going
to build a nice home you're moving in you want access to
broadband.
So that's limiting what can happen. But if you look at a
map, you would say that Warren County, that has gone from
70,000 to 125,000 in the last 20 years, would be served.
But it depends on where you live, and so that's what's
important. And I was going to not use all my time but I almost
did.
I yield back.
[Laughter.]
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back. Mr. Shimkus,
you're recognized.
Mr. Shimkus. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Great hearing. It's
good to see you all again.
I am going to start really following up on my colleague,
Mr. Guthrie's question on the under secretary debate and is--
because you talked--Mr. Kneuer, you talked internally.
Let's talk externally. We've been involved in the NATO
parliamentary assembly. I do some stuff in the Baltic regions.
Titles matter internationally.
Anyone want to comment on a title change just for the
international aspects of what NTIA has to do?
Mr. Kneuer. Yes. I think it's more relevant in the
international context than in the interagency domestically. We
can sort of manage that here.
In my experience traveling, they were very confused by the
NTIA role and the title, are you the minister of
communications, which in foreign countries could be one of the
leaders of the cabinet, right.
So some clarity with an under secretary helps them
understand it. It gives commonality with our counterparts in
the State Department who travel internationally. There's more
of a clarity of what the role is.
So I think the elevation of the title actually probably
carries a little bit more currency in international
negotiations than it does--you can manage it here. You just
have to----
Mr. Shimkus. Right. Mr. Gallagher, you seem to be shaking
your head. Do you agree with that analysis?
Mr. Gallagher. Yes. I think 90 percent of the benefit of
this is coming in the international arena and it comes from
respect from the foreign delegations.
It's very important for us to keep in mind that they don't
have the turnover we do. Our political system--we move through
political appointees. There, they tend to be there for very
long periods of time.
The title helps cut through that gap and experience.
Mr. Shimkus. Great. Thank you. And I want to focus on a
part of the discussion draft, which is WHOIS database, and I--
many of you follow me. I was involved with the IANA on
transition and ICANN debate, and there was kind of a commitment
during that discussion that the WHOIS database would continue.
Now, throw in the uncertainty with the European Union and
the general data protection regulation.
Can you talk to me about the importance of keeping the
WHOIS database and this European concern and how we crunch
through this?
Mr. Gallagher.
Mr. Gallagher. It's absolutely vital that the WHOIS
database is taken very seriously and continues to have the
emphasis that it has had for a very long period of time.
In virtually every bilateral meeting that I had or any
other international meeting, the Department of Justice,
Department of Homeland Security, the intelligence community,
the White House all the way through made sure it was always on
our agenda at NTIA to underscore the importance of WHOIS.
That's paramount that that continue, even with any conflict
with the GDPR. The conflict is something that is misplaced if
that's the way it's perceived.
The mission of WHOIS to intellectual property holders, law
enforcement, is paramount to whatever those concerns might be
about individual privacy.
Mr. Shimkus. Anyone else want to chime in on that?
Mr. Kneuer. I think there is no separation anywhere in the
USG and, I even think, at ICANN with regards to the importance
of WHOIS and the commitment to collect reliable publicly
accessible WHOIS data.
This conflict of laws with the GDPR, I think WHOIS is going
to be sort of the pointy end of the spear on that. There are
lots and lots of different places where the GDPR is running
into conflicts of law.
So I think this is going to be an exercise we are going to
have to undertake. I think NTIA remains well suited to be the
U.S. point in working with ICANN, protecting that, and if it
turns out that there needs to be a U.S. legal solution to
clarify and supersede the GDPR, that's something that they can
consider as well.
Mr. Shimkus. Thank you, and I want to submit for the record
the Coalition for a Secure and Transparent Internet to the
record.
Mrs. Blackburn. Without objection.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mr. Shimkus. And I will just end on I sent a letter along
with Congressman Ruiz to GoDaddy highlighting and fleshing this
out either.
So it's very important and I appreciate your answers and
look forward to having that part of the language.
And I yield back.
Mrs. Blackburn. The gentleman yields back.
And Mr. Welch has no questions or comments. We are
delighted that he's here. We should ask him where he was in
1992, the last time Congress did this.
Well, seeing that there are no further members wishing to
ask questions for the panel, I want to thank each of you for
being here today and for helping us.
As you can see, there is broad bipartisan agreement on
moving forward with the rural broadband and with NTIA--their
participation, and so we thank you for your insight.
Before we conclude, I ask unanimous consent to enter the
following documents into the record: a letter from NTIA, a
Politico article, ``Wired to Fail,`` a letter to me from
organizations fighting human trafficking, a letter from CCIA--
that is offered by Mr. Lance--a letter from CSTI, offered by
Mr. Shimkus, ESA's court filing, offered by Mr. Doyle, the
Shimkus-Ruiz letter regarding WHOIS and the database.
Without objection, so ordered.
[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.]
Mrs. Blackburn. Pursuant to committee rules, all members
are reminded that they have 10 business days in which to submit
additional questions, and we would ask each of you--our
witnesses--to respond within 10 business days.
Seeing there is no further business to come before the
committee, the subcommittee is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:23 p.m., the committee was adjourned.]
[Material submitted for inclusion in the record follows:]
[GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
[all]
| MEMBERNAME | BIOGUIDEID | GPOID | CHAMBER | PARTY | ROLE | STATE | CONGRESS | AUTHORITYID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rush, Bobby L. | R000515 | 7921 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | IL | 115 | 1003 |
| Upton, Fred | U000031 | 7991 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | MI | 115 | 1177 |
| DeGette, Diana | D000197 | 7859 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | CO | 115 | 1479 |
| Shimkus, John | S000364 | 7939 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | IL | 115 | 1527 |
| Schakowsky, Janice D. | S001145 | 7929 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | IL | 115 | 1588 |
| Walden, Greg | W000791 | 8115 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | OR | 115 | 1596 |
| Blackburn, Marsha | B001243 | 8154 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | TN | 115 | 1748 |
| Burgess, Michael C. | B001248 | 8182 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | TX | 115 | 1751 |
| Rodgers, Cathy McMorris | M001159 | 8209 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | WA | 115 | 1809 |
| Matsui, Doris O. | M001163 | 7810 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | CA | 115 | 1814 |
| McNerney, Jerry | M001166 | 7816 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | CA | 115 | 1832 |
| Bilirakis, Gus M. | B001257 | 7881 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | FL | 115 | 1838 |
| Castor, Kathy | C001066 | 7883 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | FL | 115 | 1839 |
| Loebsack, David | L000565 | 7915 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | IA | 115 | 1846 |
| Sarbanes, John P. | S001168 | 7978 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | MD | 115 | 1854 |
| Walberg, Tim | W000798 | 7992 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | MI | 115 | 1855 |
| Clarke, Yvette D. | C001067 | 8072 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | NY | 115 | 1864 |
| Welch, Peter | W000800 | 8204 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | VT | 115 | 1879 |
| Latta, Robert E. | L000566 | 8095 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | OH | 115 | 1885 |
| Scalise, Steve | S001176 | 7959 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | LA | 115 | 1892 |
| Guthrie, Brett | G000558 | 7954 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | KY | 115 | 1922 |
| Harper, Gregg | H001045 | 8021 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | MS | 115 | 1933 |
| Lance, Leonard | L000567 | 8049 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | NJ | 115 | 1936 |
| Lujan, Ben Ray | L000570 | 8058 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | NM | 115 | 1939 |
| Tonko, Paul | T000469 | 8082 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | NY | 115 | 1942 |
| Schrader, Kurt | S001180 | 8118 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | OR | 115 | 1950 |
| Olson, Pete | O000168 | 8178 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | TX | 115 | 1955 |
| Kinzinger, Adam | K000378 | 7931 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | IL | 115 | 2014 |
| Bucshon, Larry | B001275 | 7947 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | IN | 115 | 2018 |
| Long, Billy | L000576 | 8015 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | MO | 115 | 2033 |
| Johnson, Bill | J000292 | 8096 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | OH | 115 | 2046 |
| Duncan, Jeff | D000615 | 8143 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | SC | 115 | 2057 |
| Flores, Bill | F000461 | 8173 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | TX | 115 | 2065 |
| McKinley, David B. | M001180 | 8222 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | WV | 115 | 2074 |
| Cardenas, Tony | C001097 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | CA | 115 | 2107 | |
| Ruiz, Raul | R000599 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | CA | 115 | 2109 | |
| Peters, Scott H. | P000608 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | CA | 115 | 2113 | |
| Brooks, Susan W. | B001284 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | IN | 115 | 2129 | |
| Hudson, Richard | H001067 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | NC | 115 | 2140 | |
| Cramer, Kevin | C001096 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | ND | 115 | 2144 | |
| Collins, Chris | C001092 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | NY | 115 | 2151 | |
| Mullin, Markwayne | M001190 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | OK | 115 | 2156 | |
| Walters, Mimi | W000820 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | CA | 115 | 2232 | |
| Dingell, Debbie | D000624 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | MI | 115 | 2251 | |
| Costello, Ryan A. | C001106 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | PA | 115 | 2266 | |
| Doyle, Michael F. | D000482 | 8132 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | PA | 115 | 316 |
| Engel, Eliot L. | E000179 | 8078 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | NY | 115 | 344 |
| Eshoo, Anna G. | E000215 | 7819 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | CA | 115 | 355 |
| Green, Gene | G000410 | 8185 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | TX | 115 | 462 |
| Barton, Joe | B000213 | 8162 | H | R | COMMMEMBER | TX | 115 | 62 |
| Pallone, Frank, Jr. | P000034 | 8048 | H | D | COMMMEMBER | NJ | 115 | 887 |
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