US House Communications and Technology Subcommittee Markup  

Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) announced that the Communications and Technology Subcommittee will hold a markup on Thursday, November 14, at 11:30 am, to consider over half a dozen pieces of legislation related to broadband mapping, spectrum sharing, promoting 5G networks and network security.  They will also consider a bill to reauthorize a media law to provide greater transparency and rights to consumers, including subscribers of Internet service providers and fixed and mobile telephone providers. 

Specifically the Communications and Technology Subcommittee will consider the following bills: 

• H.R. 4229, the "Broadband Deployment Accuracy and Technological Availability Act" or the “Broadband DATA Act,” which requires the FCC to issue new rules to require the collection and dissemination of granular broadband availability data and to establish a process to verify the accuracy of such data, and more.  

• H.R. 4227, the "Mapping Accuracy Promotion Services Act" or the “MAPS Act,” which makes it unlawful for a person to willfully, knowingly, or recklessly submit inaccurate broadband service data.  

• H.R. 5000, the "Studying How to Harness Airwave Resources Efficiently Act of 2019" or the “SHARE Act,” which  requires the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), in consultation with FCC, to establish a spectrum sharing prototyping program and test bed to explore new ways for Federal entities to share spectrum with other Federal entities, and more.  

• H.R. 4998, the "Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019," which instructs FCC to develop and maintain a list of communications equipment and services that pose an unacceptable risk to national security and prohibits the use of funds made available by FCC programs to purchase, rent, lease, or otherwise obtain such equipment and services. The bill also establishes the Secure and Trusted Communications Reimbursement Program to assist communications providers with the costs of removing prohibited equipment and services from their networks and replacing prohibited equipment with more secure communications equipment and services.  

• H.R. 4461, the "Network Security Information Sharing Act of 2019," which directs the Secretary of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, NTIA, and FCC, to establish a program to share supply chain security risks with advanced communications service providers and trusted suppliers of telecommunications equipment and services.  

• H.R. 2881, the "Secure 5G and Beyond Act of 2019," which directs the President to develop the "Secure Next Generation Mobile Communications Strategy” in consultation with the heads of FCC, NTIA, and Department of Homeland Security, as well as the DNI and Secretary of Defense.  

• H.R. 4500, the "Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act of 2019," which directs NTIA to encourage participation by trusted American companies and other stakeholders in standards-setting bodies, and to offer technical assistance to stakeholders that do elect to participate, in the course of developing standards for 5G networks and future generations of communications networks.  

• H. Res. 575, expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that all stakeholders in the deployment of 5G communications infrastructure should carefully consider and adhere to the recommendations adopted at the Prague 5G security conferences known as "the Prague Proposals."  The resolution also encourages the President and Federal agencies to promote trade and security policies on the international stage that are consistent with "The Prague Proposals."  

• H.R. 5035, the “Television Viewer Protection Act,” which extends for five years the “good faith” negotiation provisions and allows for the importation of distant signals to unserved households as authorized under the statutory license in Section 119 of the Copyright Act and allows smaller MVPDs to collectively negotiate for retransmission consent with large broadcasters.  Importantly, it also: (1) requires MVPDs, internet service providers, and telephone providers (both fixed and mobile) to include all charges in the prices they advertise and bill for services; and (2) contains specific requirements for the content of electronic billing, including provisions relating to advance notice of rate increases for increases to contracted services and consumer rights to cancel service without early termination fees or other penalty in the case of such increases.  

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The Regulatory Mix, Inteserra’s blog of telecom related regulatory activities, is a snapshot of PUC, FCC, legislative, and occasionally court issues that our regulatory monitoring team uncovers each day. Depending on their significance, some items may be the subject of an Inteserra Briefing.