A bill has been introduced that would bring together stakeholders in government and private industry to come up with a common working definition of blockchain, which Wikipedia defines as "a growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked using cryptography.[1][6] Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block,[6] a timestamp, and transaction data (generally represented as a merkle tree root hash)."

"Merkle tree root hash" certainly begs for further explanation, and Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) have teamed up on the bipartisan effort, H.R. 6913, the Blockchain Promotion Act of 2018. The title gives away their view on the potential of the technology, which has applications across the internet of things. They are looking at the new tech as a way to promote innovation. "Blockchain can be a great resource for innovation and technology, but we must figure out exactly what best common definition is and how it can be used," said Guthrie. Those uses include for advertising and media distribution.

Need to Know: What Blockchain Means to Media

The bill would require the Department of Commerce to create the working group, which in addition with coming up with a consensus definition of blockchain, would also consider charging the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the President's principal communications advisor and a part of Commerce, and the FCC with teaming on a study of the potential impact of blockchain on spectrum policy or its use to promote a more efficient government.

The bill comes as states are trying to come up with their own, varying, definitions, so this would be an attempt to come up with a common definition, a rhetorical technical standard, as it were, that all could refer to.

“Blockchain technology could transform the global digital economy. Opportunities to deploy blockchain technology ranges from greatly increased transparency, efficiencies and security in supply chains to more-opportunistically managing access to spectrum," Matsui said.

Related: House Looks at Implications of IoT

“Blockchain technology shows serious promise for not just the financial industry, but also for many others by enhancing security, authentication, and regulatory compliance," said Software Information & Industry Association VP Mark MacCarthy. "A technical definition for blockchain will help set up a common framework for businesses, researchers, and policymakers and guide research and applications development. This is what happened when NIST set a definition for cloud-computing."

A bipartisan, bicameral bill has been introduced to insure there is enough money to fund efforts to get federal spectrum users to give up spectrum or share spectrum with commercial users.

Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) in the Senate, and Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) in the House have introduced the Supplementing the Pipeline for Efficient Control of The Resources for Users Making New Opportunities for Wireless (SPECTRUM NOW) Act. It "would allow the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in consultation with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to use existing Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF) funding (approximately $8 billion) to support research-related activities that examine the feasibility of federal spectrum users relocating or sharing spectrum with non-federal users as long as those monies are not already obligated to support federal agencies."

The SRF was created in 2004, but in 2015, the Spectrum Pipeline Act broadened the expenses that could be covered by the fund and, while it also authorized $500 million specifically to exploring spectrum re-purposing, that money is running out, say the Senators.

But the bill also says the SRF research money can only be spent if 1) "a research and development (R&D) plan by the incumbent federal spectrum user to explore relocating of sharing spectrum has been submitted and approved by the Technical Panel, which was established by Congress and is composed of three members representing the NTIA, OMB, and Federal Communications Commission (FCC); 2) as of the date of certification to Congress by NTIA and OMB that the R&D plan is approved, Spectrum Pipeline Act funds are insufficient to support that R&D plan; and 3) R&D payments will leave sufficient amounts in the SRF to complete ongoing transition plans from previous auctions."

“The ultimate success of next generation communications networks will depend on the United States using finite wireless spectrum more efficiently,” Wicker said in a statement. “It is important for Congress to consider ways to support innovation in this crucial sector and to free up existing resources accordingly.”

“As demand for licensed and unlicensed spectrum continues to grow, we need to find new ways to maximize our country’s spectrum resources,” said Schatz of the new bill. “By freeing up more licensed spectrum, we can give innovators a strong foundation for building new technologies and help grow an industry that fuels our national economy.”

“This bill makes it possible for federal agencies to more efficiently and innovatively use spectrum and, in turn, provide new opportunities for spectrum to be re-purposed for commercial use," said Matsui.

Related: House Joins Senate in Trying to Free Up More Spectrum

“Freeing up spectrum is key to furthering innovation and increasing high-speed internet access across the country,” said Guthrie.

“The AWS-3 spectrum auction proved that providing additional funds for spectrum research is money well spent, and reforms included in the SPECTRUM NOW Act have the potential to produce positive results," said Competitive Carriers Association President Steven K. Berry. “The SPECTRUM NOW Act will allow additional funds for spectrum research, including identifying best practices, which will greatly benefit the industry, the economy, and ultimately consumers."

"WISPA members across the country stand ready to deploy and innovate in rural areas to ensure reliable broadband is available in the communities that need it most," said WISPA President Claude Aiken. "We look forward to working alongside Congress to close the broadband gap and bring affordable service to the millions who lack access and choice.”

The dueling broadband bill introductions from Democrats and Republicans this week continued Friday with more than a half-dozen offerings from both sides.

On the Democrats' side, Reps. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.) and Susan Brooks (R-Ind.) introduced H.R. 4847, the Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act, which aims to speed deployment by "reforming and improving" the application process for building out broadband using public lands. President Donald Trump last week had signed two executive orders to do just that.

The Democratic bill:

 1) "Requires procedures to be established for tracking applications, monitoring the time between receipt and final decision, and reasons for denial;

 2) "Bases application fees that applicants pay to the designated federal agency on the actual costs of review and maintenance of that application;

3) "Requires that executive agencies act on siting requests with 270 days; and

 4) "Preserves agency obligations to follow applicable environmental laws."

The bill would also mandate a Government Accountability Office report on the National Broadband Map, a government effort to identify where broadband is accessible and where it isn't.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and David McKinley (R-W. Va.) offered up their second broadband bill of the week, the Climb Once Act, which would, they said, ensure that no federal laws get in the way of local "climb once" policies that "allow for a list of pre-approved contractors that pole owners agree on to handle make-ready work, eliminating the need for multiple contractors to perform the work."

The pair introduced a "Dig Once" bill Jan. 17.

Not to be outdone, Republicans followed with more of their promised broadband bill blitz.

Communications Subcommittee chair Marsha Blackburn unveiled five bills Friday, the third tranche of its series of bills, dealing mostly with historic preservation and environmental reviews.

Related: Cable Ops Push for Codified Overlashing Rules

H.R. 4832, “Restoring Economic Strength and Telecommunications Operations by Releasing Expected Dollars (RESTORED) Act,”  would allow companies eligible for Universal Service Fund high-cost money to get up to a 7-month advance on the funds in disaster areas.

H.R. 4845, “Connecting Communities Post Disasters Act,” would give facilities in disaster areas a five-year exemption from environmental and historic reviews to allow them to replace/improve their facilities.

H.R. 4842, “The Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment of Broadband Infrastructure,” would exempt environmental and historic preservation reviews on federal property if another facility on the same property has already been granted one; would exempt other such reviews in some other circumstances.

Related: FCC Takes 'Historic' Pole Position

H.R. 4847, “Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act,” would "direct the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture to issue regulations within one year to streamline applications processes to locate or modify communications facilities on public lands."; "amend Section 6409 of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act to institute a firm shot clock by which applications must be granted or denied (an application is deemed granted if the agency fails to grant or deny within the allotted time)" and "would require a GAO report evaluating accuracy and reliability of data collected for the National Broadband Map" (mirroring the Democratic bill).

H.Res. 701 would express "the sense of the House" that environmental and historic reviews for broadband buildouts "should be narrowly tailored and proportional to lands that are physically impacted by the deployment of such facilities."

A quartet of House Democrats are calling on the FCC not to delay action on its business data services (BDS) reforms and are asking their congressional colleagues to add their voices to that call.

Some ISPs have argued that the FCC needs to take a fresh look at the marketplace (Related: FCC Pressed to Re-Vet BDS Study) in light of some new data, or actually old data not submitted by major cable operators until recently, before acting on the proposal.

A politically divided FCC voted April 28 to propose remaking regulation of the business broadband marketplace and potentially regulating rates for cable operators' BDS (formerly known as "special access") service.

The FCC is phasing out the presumption of regulating the rates of historically "dominant carriers" – the ILECs (incumbent local exchange carriers) – as a way to boost competition from "nondominant" CLECs (competitive local exchange carriers) and from cable competitors and instead regulate the rates of any of them as it deems necessary. That is in the name of boosting price and service competition for the "special-access"—rebranded by the FCC as "broadband data"—services.

In a "dear colleague letter" this week, which is essentially a solicitation of support for their position from other members of Congress, House Communications Subcommittee member Anna Eshoo (Calif.), and Reps. Doris Matsui (Calif.), Peter Welch (Mass.) and Mike Doyle (Ap.) say the FCC already has all the info it needs.

"Chairman Wheeler has stated that reform of this market is essential for promoting competition, benefiting individual and business consumers, and unleashing the true potential of next generation wireless services," they wrote. "During the most recent Energy & Commerce Committee FCC Oversight Hearing in July, he testified that BDS reform is not only important for competition today, but necessary to meet our national priority of leading the world in 5G wireless services.

"The time has come for the FCC to use the extensive data collected over the last several years to undertake competition-based reform of the BDS market in urban and rural areas alike.  We commend Chairman Wheeler for his leadership on this important issue."

Cable operators are not happy with the FCC proposal, which would for the first time apply regs, including potentially rate regs, to all players in the BDS market, not just the incumbent telcos who have dominated access to the business lines and have been required to provide access on reasonable terms and conditions to new entrants like cable operators. Those cable operators say that the reward they get for building out plant is to get regulated like an incumbent.

The letter came only a couple of days after a group of Senators (and one independent) urged the FCC to factor in more recent cable information into their calculation for revamping its rules, though they did not say that would necessarily delay the process.

The FCC collected data from stakeholders on the BDS marketplace for several years before releasing the first report, which it used to buttress its case for BDS reforms. It only recently put out the peer reviews. But cable operators had to submit some new data and the report was tweaked and re-released along with the new data. That came on the same day initial comments were due on the BDS proposal based in part on the report.

CenturyLink and the others say that should warrant new peer reviews of the report, which should then be put out for comment.