House Republicans have fleshed out their framework for closing the digital divide with more than two dozen broadband bills, including ones speeding cable franchising decisions, zoning decisions, and making it easier to deploy infrastructure on federal lands. 

D.C. is putting on a full court press to get folks connected, including wireless deployment streamlining championed by FCC commissioner Brendan Carr. 

Related: FCC Clarifies Wireless Buildout Streaming Rules 

While it is unclear how long the pandemic will last given the time it takes to develop a vaccine and the spikes in cases have some states contemplating re-sheltering in place, what is clear is that broadband has been indispensable in keeping people working and getting healthcare and studying, a point the Republicans made in introducing the suite of new bills. 

"We must do all that we can to expand access to broadband, bridge the digital divide, and close the homework gap," said House Energy & Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden (R-Ore.) and Communications Subcommittee ranking member Bob Latta (R-Ohio). 

The bills are grouped under three headings, with a big focus on deregulation in order to speed deployment by clearing away "red tape." But as with other deregulatory moves by Republicans promoted as COVID-19 necessities--including by the chief Republican, President Donald Trump--Democrats are likely to look at many of them as opportunities to capitalize on the pandemic to drive further deregulation. 

Related: Court Vacates FCC Dereg of Cell Tower Site Reviews 

For example, one of the bills is The Communities Overregulating Networks Need Economic Competition Today (CONNECT) Act. Another has been christened The Barriers and Regulatory Obstacles Avoids Deployment of Broadband Access and Needs Deregulatory Leadership (BROADBAND Leadership). 

But one Republican's overregulation is another Democrat's protection of history or the environment--there is a bill in the package about that, too--and with Democrats controlling the House, the likelihood of many of the bills making it to the President's desk is slim. 

The bills are:  

Promote New Infrastructure Deployment 

1. "The Winning the International Race for Economic Leadership and Expanding Service to Support Leadership (WIRELESS Leadership) Act, led by Rep. Latta (R-Ohio), would streamline permitting processes for wireless providers by preserving State and local zoning authority subject to reasonable limitations, like shot clocks and cost-based fees, to ensure providers receive an answer on their applications in a reasonable amount of time; 

2. "The Barriers and Regulatory Obstacles Avoids Deployment of Broadband Access and Needs Deregulatory Leadership (BROADBAND Leadership) Act, led by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), streamlines permitting processes for telecommunications service providers by preserving State and local zoning authority subject to reasonable limitations, like shot clocks and cost-based fees, to ensure providers receive an answer on their application in a reasonable amount of time; 

3. "The Cable Access for Broadband and Local Economic Leadership (CABLE Leadership) Act, led by Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), would place shot clocks on a cable franchising authority to act on a request for a new franchise to speed up deployment; 

4. "The Communities Overregulating Networks Need Economic Competition Today (CONNECT) Act, also led by Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), would promote competition by limiting government-run broadband networks throughout the country; 

Incentivize Competition and Consumer Choice by Promoting Collocation and Modifications to Existing Infrastructure 

5. "The Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment of Broadband Infrastructure (SPEED) Act (H.R. 6488), led by Rep. John Shimkus (R-Ill.), would reduce federal red tape by exempting broadband facilities from environmental and historic preservation reviews on federal property where a communications facility has already been approved; 

6. "The Wireless Broadband Competition and Efficient Deployment Act, led by Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio), would remove the requirement to prepare an environmental or historic preservation review for collocations of wireless facilities; 

7. "The Wireless Resiliency and Flexible Investment Act, led by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), would expand eligible facilities requests to include facilities that would improve the resiliency of the communications network and provide a direct benefit to public safety, such as backup power, hardening the tower or structure, or providing more reliable connection capabilities; 

8. "The Consumer Access to Broadband for Local Economies and Competition Act (CABLE Competition Act), led by Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), would streamline the transfer of a franchise from a franchise authority to a cable operator; 

9. "The Cable Transparency Act, led by Rep. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), would clarify and make more transparent the terms for a cable franchise; 

10. "The Protecting Critical Infrastructure Act, led by Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-Ind.), would establish a penalty of a 2-year prison term for anyone who willfully or maliciously destroys a communications facility; 

Remove Unnecessary or Duplicative Barriers from Environmental and Historical Reviews 

11. "The Tribal Interest Maintained for Infrastructure Needing Greater Certainty Act (TIMING Certainty Act), led by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), would provide clarity and certainty for providers to comply with historical regulations and speed up the deployment of wireless infrastructure; 

12. "The Brownfields Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), would ensure the deployment of a broadband project entirely within a brownfields site is a category of activities to be excluded from the requirement to prepare an environmental or historic preservation review; 

13. "The Coastal Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), would accelerate the deployment of broadband projects entirely within a floodplain; 

14. "The Timely Replacement Under Secure and Trusted for Early and Dependable Broadband Networks Act (TRUSTED Broadband Networks Act), led by Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), would accelerate the replacement of projects subject to reimbursement under the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019; 

15. "The Proportional Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.), would speed up the deployment of eligible facilities requests, which modify an existing wireless tower or base station that do not substantially change the physical dimensions of the tower or base station that involves the collocation, removal, or replacement of transmission equipment; 

16. "The Wildfire Wireless Resiliency Act, led by Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), would speed up the deployment of projects to replace or improve communications facilities after a wildfire; 

Allow Broadband Deployment on Federal Lands 

17. "The Standard Fees to Expedite Evaluation and Streamlining Act (Standard FEES Act), led by Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-Mont.), would establish a common fee for processing applications to deploy communications facilities on Federal property; 

18. "The Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act, led by Rep. Susan Brooks (R-Ind.), would streamline the process to place or modify communications facilities on land under the control of the Department of Interior; 

19. "The Enhancing Administrative Reviews for Broadband Deployment Act, led by Rep. Bill Flores (R-Tex.), would create a study on barriers within the bureaucracy to reviewing communications use authorization requests to deploy on Federal land; 

20. "The Expediting Federal Broadband Deployment Reviews Act, led by Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), would direct NTIA to lead an interagency strike force to help prioritize reviews for communications use authorization requests to deploy on Federal land; 

21. 'The Federal Broadband Deployment in Unserved Areas Act, led by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), would allow the Department of Interior to view FCC broadband mapping data to show Federal real property that can support communications facilities in unserved areas; 

22. "The Deploying Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications (DIGITAL Applications) Act, led by Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), would establish an online portal to accept, process, and dispose of the common form application to deploy a communications facility on Federal real property; 

23. The Facilitating the Deployment of Infrastructure with Greater Internet Transactions And Legacy Applications (Facilitating DIGITAL Applications) Act, led by Rep. David McKinley (R-W.Va.), would require the NTIA to update Congress on whether the Departments of Interior and Agriculture have established an online portal for the acceptance, processing, and disposal of the common form application to deploy a communications facility on Federal real property; 

24. "The Federal Broadband Deployment Tracking Act, led by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), would require NTIA to submit a plan to Congress on tracking the acceptance, processing, and disposal of requests for communications use authorizations on Federal real property; 

25. "The Connecting Communities Post Disasters Act, led by Rep. Pete Olson (R-Tex.), would accelerate replacing and improving communications facilities in Presidentially-declared disaster areas; 

26. "The Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2019, led by Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah), would allow Federal departments to delegate Federal environmental compliance for broadband projects to States and Indian Tribes." 

Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, said Congress needs to get data privacy legislation passed ASAP.  

"We have to have a uniform standard out there so that people know what is going on," he said in an interview for C-SPAN's Communicators series. Lighting a fire under that effort, he suggested, is the fact that California's tough new privacy law goes into in less than six months. 

He pointed out that after Congress' traditional August recess, there are only about 40 "hard" working days to get legislation done. 

"We are up against that Dec. 31 date," he said. "If we don't get something done," and done right," not only will there be the California law, but other states will start doing the same thing in the absence of national legislation. 

He said that legislation was important for companies so they wouldn't face a patchwork of different standards, but also for consumers so they will know what their rights are. 

Latta was asked by asked by reporter Ashley Gold of The Information about legislation in the context of this week's $5 billion Federal Trade Commission settlement with Facebook, which drew a number of similar comments about the need for general national privacy standards, particularly since the FTC chairman's response to criticism that its fine and conditions were too lenient, said it was the best they could do with limited authority and that Congress needed to step in to give it more authority. 

The FTC is an enforcement agency. In fact, the Facebook fine and conditions mostly had to do with the company not living up to an earlier settlement with the FTC, which is primarily an enforcement agency with limited rulemaking and fining authority.

Latta referred back to when Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified before the House Energy & Commerce Committee. He said Zuckerberg had talked about being optimistic and idealistic when he started the company in a dorm room. Latta said he had written a note to himself on a copy of Zuckerberg's testimony as he listened to it: "But not realistic." 

Latta suggested that realistic now meant transparency, so users know what data is being collected and what it is used for. 

Asked what his "non-negotiables" were in such a bill, Latta said Democrats were currently working on the text of a bill, text he had not seen, and that they needed to have a sit-down on that, but declined to say what he would have to have. 

Latta was asked if Big Tech was too big. Latta said these were companies whose products and services a large number of the American people liked to use. 

He signaled he was ready to rush to "break things up." But he did want the committee to examine the issue, "getting the facts" before deciding whether something needs to be done about Big Tech "in the future." 

The Trump Administration is opening an antitrust investigation into Facebook and other tech giants. Latta said that it is the agency's job to determine if those companies were operating within the laws on the books.  

One argument by Big Tech critics is that they built up anticompetitive monopolies through serial purchases of smaller companies that, individually. did not raise antitrust red flags.  

DOJ antitrust chief Makan Delrahim has said that it is not size that necessarily matters, but how companies used that size.  

The Latta episode of The Communicators airs Saturday, July 27, at 6:30 p.m. on C-SPAN and Monday, July 29, at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on C-SPAN2.

Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) has reintroduced the SMART (State of Modern Application, Research, and Trends of) IoT Act. 

The bill would require the Commerce Department to study the state of the IoT industry. 

It passed the House last fall but not the Senate. 

The study would have to include a "comprehensive list" of federal agencies of jurisdiction, identify the IoT industry players those agencies interact with and more. Commerce would have two years to report back to the House Energy & Commerce and Senate Commerce Committee on the results of the study. 

"IoT technologies have the promise to change lives for the better, and as these new inventions develop, it’s important that government is a partner with -- not a hindrance to -- America’s innovators," said Latta, who is the ranking member on the House Communications Subcommittee. "With a projected economic impact in the trillions of dollars, we need to look at the policies, opportunities, and challenges that IoT presents. The SMART IoT Act will make it easier to understand what the government is doing on IoT policy, what it can do better, and how federal policies can impact the research and discovery of cutting-edge technologies.” 

Related: IoT Cybersecurity Bill Teed Up

The bill stems from a bipartisan IoT working group helmed by Latta and Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

There was more evidence Thursday (May 9) that one thing Washington can agree on is that there needs to be better data on where broadband is and isn't.

Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio), ranking member of the House Communications Subcommittee, and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced the Broadband Mapping After Scrutiny (MAPS) Act 

The bill would create a challenge process to verify fixed and mobile broadband service coverage data, as there currently is for handing out some broadband subsidies, and would require data to be verifiable, but does not explain how that would happen.

“Our communities know better than a map if they have access to fast, reliable broadband,” said Latta. “While we know these broadband maps are inaccurate," said Latta, "there currently isn’t a way for local governments to challenge them -- the Broadband MAPS Act would change that, making it easier for unserved and underserved communities to make their case to the FCC. Better maps mean better broadband availability.”

Related: Senate Looks into Broadband Mapping Issues

Welch sounded like he was trying to convince a dataholic to get treatment. "It is essential that broadband maps accurately depict broadband deployment, especially in rural areas,” he said. “The first step in solving a problem is admitting there is one."

The bill says that "Not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commission shall initiate a rulemaking to establish a challenge process to collect and use fixed and mobile broadband service coverage data submitted to the Commission by private entities and State, local, and Tribal government entities to verify fixed and mobile broadband service coverage data reported to the Commission by fixed and mobile broadband service providers."

The bill will include standards for "consistent and accurate" reporting methods and a way to validate the accuracy of the data submitted.

FCC Chairman has conceded the FCC needs better data and a better process than the one that, he pointed out as recently as Thursday, he had inherited when he got the job.

The FCC was bitten by its current broadband data collection regime when it released a draft deployment report based on wildly overinflated figures for one carrier, though the FCC said the corrected report still showed gains.

THe FCC is currently collecting comment on improving broadband data. USTelecom and NCTA-The Internet & Television Association have both offered up competing proposals on how to gather more granular, and thus more accurate, data.

WiFi is getting its own congressional caucus.

Reps. Bob Latta (R-Ohio) and Jerry McNerney (D-Calif.) have launched the bipartisan WiFi Caucus.

That comes as the FCC is moving fast on freeing up spectrum, including unlicensed, for broadband. 

The legislators pointed out that WiFi delivers more than half of all internet traffic and over 60% of mobile network offload. It is also the way cable broadband operators are reaching their increasingly mobile broadband subs.

Caucuses bring legislators together over common interests in an issue.

“The integral role that WiFi plays in our telecommunication infrastructure positively affects our economy, American businesses, consumers, and our way of life,” said Latta.

“WiFi Alliance commends Congressmen Latta and McNerney on the creation of a congressional WiFi Caucus to address important policy considerations shaping the future of WiFi innovation,” said alliance president Edgar Figueroa. “WiFi brings critical connectivity to society while contributing hundreds of billions of dollars in U.S. economic value. The WiFi Caucus will inform decisions to support a WiFi ecosystem that will continue to provide ubiquitous and affordable connectivity while creating jobs, innovation, and value to the U.S. economy.”

There is already a Congressional Internet Caucus, but not one dealing specifically with WiFi. 

After sampling dozens of Internet of Things opportunities -- from smart cities to medical sensors to autonomous vehicle prospects -- members of the House Digital Commerce and Consumer Protection Subcommittee sat down Tuesday (June 13) to hear about the challenges of bringing IoT to the American public.

The show-and-tell event was the latest installment of the "Disrupter Series: Update on IOT Opportunities and Challenges," organized by the subcommittee of the House Energy & Commerce Committee,” to identify policies that could affect technology innovation in this much-touted communications-based category of products and services.

Subcommittee chair Rep. Bob Latta (R-Ohio; pictured), in opening the session, said he wanted to explore "how we as policy makers can continue to support IoT and address any regulatory obstacles or barriers that may stifle innovation or hinder the industry."

Coincidentally, the session was held simultaneously with another Commerce subcommittee hearing on wireless security, a point mentioned by Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.).

"We are all faced with the challenges of integrating technology .... particularly cybersecurity," Pallone said, citing the hearing on risks in wireless technology. "I hope we as a committee will consider real legislative solutions" although he also insisted that "creators and manufacturers of Internet-connected technology must take responsibility for mitigating" any threats.

"I implore [them] to build in security from day one," Pallone said. He also emphasized that the industry should "be mindful of consumer privacy."

"Consumers have already told us they want control of who has access to their data," he emphasized.

In her opening remarks, ranking member Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) cited the value of energy generation and medical devices in the IoT race, calling them "two great examples of how innovation can benefit our country."

She went on to extol "research universities like Northwestern" (based in her district) as "critical to the future of innovation ... to help this innovation continue." Schakowsky also focused on the "enormous potential of the Internet of Things" but warned that the user experience, privacy and security are vital to the "make-up of connected devices" and should be part of government's assessment as it seeks to help consumers "realize the full benefit of this technology."

About two dozen organizations demonstrated their wares at an IoT Showcase in a House Office Building foyer prior to the hearing; the exhibits ranged from Smart Cities to medical assistance devices. Subcommittee members invited groups from their home districts to display products and services and explain to members and staffs how IoT is changing the way they do business.

Exhibitors included Qualcomm, Panasonic, General Motors, Honeywell and Siemens, plus utility companies, entrepreneurial IoT developers and academic start-up labs, such as The Garage at Northwestern University.

Witnesses Focus on Security, Spectrum and Light Regulation
Bill Kuhns, director of product development at Vermont Energy Control Systems LLC, a North Ferrisburgh, Vt., small business that makes home monitoring and control systems, offered an impassioned plea to "avoid heavy-handed regulations that could stifle innovation." He also cited spectrum and security factors that must be included in IoT development.

"This is an area where innovation is happening at a breakneck pace," Kuhns said in his prepared statement. "The potential benefits are enormous. It’s important that we allow the evolution of this technology to proceed with as few barriers and impediments as possible."

Kuhns cited the important of spectrum policy, especially lower frequencies.

"They don’t support high data rates, but they work better through walls and trees," he explained. "It would be helpful to free up additional low-frequency spectrum for low-power devices. It would be crippling to sell rights to more specific bands at auction. Bandwidth is a finite public resource, and selling it to the highest bidder effectively shuts out small businesses."

As for security, Kuhns emphasized that IoT makes "every connected device ... a risk."

"If you can connect to it, so can an intruder," he said. "Physically, I live in a very safe area. On the Internet, I live in a high-crime district. We see literally hundreds of probes and connection attempts every day."

Cameron Javdani, director of sales and marketing at Louroe Electronics, a Van Nuys, Calif., audio security firm, also focused on security in IoT technologies. He cited the value of networked devices that let security officials monitor larger geographic areas and take advantage of economies of scale to reduce the operating costs of their system.

"Technology growth within the security and surveillance industry is largely focused on the analytic capability of a system," Javdani said. "Very few security devices are monitored in real time, which means that IoT devices are data sensors, and not surveillance equipment as they are more conventionally thought of. ... Used alongside other networked security technologies, this type of system provides for optimization of security resources as it no longer becomes necessary for staff to monitor all areas at all times.

"As IoT technologies continue their adoption in the security industry, there are certain risks that present themselves," Javdani added. "Without taking appropriate precautions, consumers put themselves at risk of their privacy being violated. ... Certain malware and viruses scan networks for IoT devices that accept default credentials, and then use these devices to conduct large scale denial of service attacks."

Peter B. Kosak, executive director, urban active solutions at General Motors North America, focused on IoT's automotive opportunities. He testified that autonomous or self-driving technology "promises opportunities to make chaotic urban environments safely manageable."

"Embedded connectivity, app-based access, and data science will yield safer and more robust transportation systems, with more modality options," he said, going into great detail about GM's "Maven" platform for on-demand mobility. Maven's variations are in part aimed at "on-demand leasing for rideshare drivers," which has evolved into "Maven Gig," an enabler for the sharing economy. He cited GM's recent acquisitions and investments which are intended "to unlock the potential of autonomous vehicle and system capabilities as soon as possible."

"Business model and technology innovations promise to transform mobility, affording greater access and improved quality of life in cities," Kosak told the subcommittee in prepared remarks.