U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE

24–883 WASHINGTON : 2018

REAUTHORIZATION OF NTIA 

HEARING 

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS AND 

TECHNOLOGY 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND 

COMMERCE 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

FEBRUARY 2, 2017 

Serial No. 115–5 

( 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

energycommerce.house.gov 

(II) 

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 

GREG WALDEN, Oregon 

Chairman 

JOE BARTON, Texas 

Vice Chairman 

FRED UPTON, Michigan 

JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois 

TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania 

MICHAEL C. BURGESS, Texas 

MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee 

STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana 

ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio 

CATHY MCMORRIS RODGERS, Washington 

GREGG HARPER, Mississippi 

LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey 

BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky 

PETE OLSON, Texas 

DAVID B. MCKINLEY, West Virginia 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

H. MORGAN GRIFFITH, Virginia 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

BILLY LONG, Missouri 

LARRY BUCSHON, Indiana 

BILL FLORES, Texas 

SUSAN W. BROOKS, Indiana 

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, Oklahoma 

RICHARD HUDSON, North Carolina 

CHRIS COLLINS, New York 

KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota 

TIM WALBERG, Michigan 

MIMI WALTERS, California 

RYAN A. COSTELLO, Pennsylvania 

EARL L. ‘‘BUDDY’’ CARTER, Georgia 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., New Jersey 

Ranking Member 

BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois 

ANNA G. ESHOO, California 

ELIoT L. ENGEL, New York 

GENE GREEN, Texas 

DIANA DEGETTE, Colorado 

MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania 

JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois 

G.K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina 

DORIS O. MATSUI, California 

KATHY CASTOR, Florida 

JOHN P. SARBANES, Maryland 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

PETER WELCH, Vermont 

BEN RAY LUJA ́ N, New Mexico 

PAUL TONKO, New York 

YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York 

DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa 

KURT SCHRADER, Oregon 

JOSEPH P. KENNEDY, III, Massachusetts 

TONY CA ́ RDENAS, California 

RAUL RUIZ, California 

SCOTT H. PETERS, California 

DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY

MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee 

Chairman 

LEONARD LANCE, New Jersey 

Vice Chairman 

JOHN SHIMKUS, Illinois 

STEVE SCALISE, Louisiana 

ROBERT E. LATTA, Ohio 

BRETT GUTHRIE, Kentucky 

PETE OLSON, Texas 

ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

BILLY LONG, Missouri 

BILL FLORES, Texas 

SUSAN W. BROOKS, Tennessee 

CHRIS COLLINS, New York 

KEVIN CRAMER, North Dakota 

MIMI WALTERS, California 

RYAN A. COSTELLO, Pennsylvania 

GREG WALDEN, Oregon (ex officio) 

MICHAEL F. DOYLE, Pennsylvania 

Ranking Member 

PETER WELCH, Vermont 

YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York 

DAVID LOEBSACK, Iowa 

RAUL RUIZ, California 

DEBBIE DINGELL, Michigan 

BOBBY L. RUSH, Illinois 

ANNA G. ESHOO, California 

ELIoT L. ENGEL, New York 

G.K. BUTTERFIELD, North Carolina 

DORIS O. MATSUI, California 

JERRY MCNERNEY, California 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., New Jersey (ex 

officio) 

(III) 

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 

Hon. Greg Walden, a Representative in Congress from the State of Oregon, 

prepared statement .............................................................................................. 67 

WITNESSES

John M.R. Kneuer, Former Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, Former Administrator, NTIA, President and Founder, JKC Consulting ................................................................................................................... 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 

Answers to submitted questions 1 ................................................................... 71 

Meredith Attwell Baker, Former Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information, Former Acting Administrator, NTIA, President and 

CEO, CTIA ............................................................................................................ 15 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 17 

Answers to submitted questions ...................................................................... 73 

Anna M. Gomez, Former Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications 

and Information, Former Acting Administrator, NTIA, Partner, Wiley Rein . 25 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 27 

Answers to submitted questions ...................................................................... 77 

SUBMITTED MATERIAL

Statement of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, submitted by Mr. 

Doyle ..................................................................................................................... 69 

1 Mr. Kneuer did not submit a response to questions for the record. 

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REAUTHORIZATION OF NTIA 

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2017 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY, COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE, Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10:48 a.m., in room 

2322 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Marsha Blackburn 

(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Present: Representatives Blackburn, Lance, Shimkus, Latta, 

Guthrie, Olson, Kinzinger, Bilirakis, Johnson, Flores, Brooks, Collins, Cramer, Walters, Costello, Doyle, Welch, Clarke, Loebsack, 

Ruiz, Dingell, Engel, Butterfield, McNerney, and Pallone. 

Staff present: Gene Fullano, Detailee, Telecom; Kelsey 

Guyselman, Counsel, Communications and Technology; Dan 

Schneider, Press Secretary; Evan Viau, Staff Assistant; Gregory 

Watson, Legislative Clerk, Communications and Technology; Alex 

Debianchi, Minority Telecom Fellow; David Goldman, Minority 

Chief Counsel, Communications and Technology; Jerry Leverich, 

Minority Counsel; and Lori Maarbjerg, Minority FCC Detailee. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Good morning, everyone. 

We are delighted that you all are here and that you’re joining us 

as the Communications and Technology Subcommittee is kicking 

off the 115th Congress. 

I guess kick off is the right word to use because we are looking 

at the Super Bowl this weekend. So everybody pick your team. 

Our subcommittee features a few new faces and also some familiar faces in new roles, and before we begin I’d like to take a moment for a brief introduction. 

Mr. Lance is our vice chairman and he is going to be a valuable 

partner in all of our endeavors. His understanding on the issues 

and his experience as a senior member of this committee will be 

a great asset to us on the subcommittee. 

I am also excited to introduce the new Republican members of 

the subcommittee: Mr. Flores, Ms. Brooks, Ms. Walters, Mr. Costello. We welcome their eagerness and their talents to these issues. 

I want to congratulate Mr. Doyle, the new ranking member. He 

has been consistently active on these issues through the years. I 

am looking forward to working with him. 

2 

As I have so focused on these coms and technology issues I’ve appreciated the fact that Mr. Doyle kind of like me chose to opt himself in to the discussion on these issues and he is joined by three 

new members on his side. 

I know that he is going to be ready to introduce them in a few 

moments. Let me begin with my opening statement. Get myself organized here. 

As we continue the subcommittee’s work, modernizing the laws 

around communications and technology and striving to promote innovation and investment it only makes sense to begin by taking a 

look at one of the agencies tasked with developing telecommunications policy. 

The last NTIA reauthorization was adopted in, get this, 1992. It 

is far past time that we again reauthorize the agency and the first 

step in the process is to examine the role of the agency past, 

present and future in crafting policies that will achieve our shared 

goals. 

We are pleased to have three witnesses today that can speak to 

their experiences as head of the NTIA. We are so grateful for your 

time and for your insights and I am certain they are going to give 

us the needed perspective on the work that the agency has done 

and also, hopefully, give us some good ideas on how to empower the 

NTIA going forward. 

One of the biggest bipartisan priorities for the subcommittee over 

the years has been satisfying the demand for additional spectrum 

for commercial use. 

As the FCC winds down the broadcast incentive auction, one of 

the last opportunities for reallocation of commercial spectrum to 

other commercial users we are again turning our focus to federallyheld spectrum. The government holds a large amount of spectrum 

and we recognize that they require much of it for carrying out critical government missions. 

However, we also want to be certain that the government is 

armed with the best technology and is using that spectrum as efficiently as possible. The dividend from this investment in our government agencies will be more spectrum to meet more broadband 

demands. 

Broadband deployment is America’s greatest infrastructure challenge of this decade and it is up to us to rise to the occasion of 

meeting this demand. 

We will have long said that spectrum will need to be an all of 

the above solution and NTIA will be an essential player in any discussion moving forward. In additional to spectrum policy, NTIA 

plays a leading role in public safety and cybersecurity policy. 

They serve as a liaison for interagency cooperation and standard 

setting in both of these areas promoting safer and more secure 

communications networks. 

We have seen time and again in recent months how serious cyber 

threats are we will need to use all of our tools to combat these attacks, especially when it comes to critical infrastructure. 

NTIA has the capability to bring together a diverse group of government stakeholders to address the problem and develop best 

practices. We must ensure that we empower them to be effective 

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and efficient in combating cyberattacks and promoting strong public safety networks. 

The communication sector is vibrant, thriving, and the government agencies that handle these issues should reflect that. 

Today, we are going to look at how to enable the NTIA to craft 

thoughtful telecom policy that promotes continued innovation and 

investment. 

I thank our witnesses for their thoughtful testimony and I look 

forward to a robust discussion on this important agency and at this 

time I yield 5 minutes to the ranking member. 

[The prepared statement of Mrs. Blackburn follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. MARSHA BLACKBURN

As we continue this subcommittee’s work modernizing the laws around communications and technology, and striving to promote innovation and investment, it only 

makes sense to begin by taking a look at one of the agencies tasked with developing 

telecommunications policy. The last NTIA reauthorization was adopted in 1992. It 

is far past time that we again reauthorize the agency, and a first step in the process 

is to examine the role of the agency, past, present, and future in crafting policies 

that will achieve our shared goals. 

We are pleased to have three witnesses today that can speak to their experiences 

as heads of NTIA. I’m certain they will provide us with valuable perspective on the 

work that the agency has done, but also hopefully give us good ideas as to how to 

empower NTIA going forward. 

One of the biggest bipartisan priorities for this subcommittee over the years has 

been satisfying the demand for additional spectrum for commercial use. As the FCC 

winds down the broadcast incentive auction, one of the last opportunities for reallocation of commercial spectrum to other commercial users, we are again turning 

our focus to federally held spectrum. The government holds a large amount of spectrum, and we recognize that they require much of it for carrying out critical government missions. However, we also want to be certain that the government is armed 

with the best technology, and is using spectrum as efficiently as possible. The dividend from this investment in our government agencies will be more spectrum to 

meet broadband needs. Broadband deployment is America’s greatest infrastructure 

challenge and we must rise to the occasion. We have long said that spectrum will 

need to be an ‘‘all of the above’’ solution, and NTIA will be an essential player in 

any discussion moving forward. 

In addition to spectrum policy, NTIA plays a leading role in public safety and 

cyber security policy. NTIA serves as a liaison for interagency cooperation and 

standard setting in both of these areas, promoting safer and more secure communications networks. We have seen time and again in recent months how serious 

cyber threats are, and we will need to use all tools at our disposal to combat these 

attacks-especially when it comes to critical infrastructure. NTIA has the capability 

to bring together a diverse group of government stakeholders to address the problem 

and develop best practices. We must ensure that we empower NTIA to be as effective and efficient as possible in combatting cyber attacks and promoting strong public safety networks. The communications sector is vibrant and thriving, and the government agencies that handle these issues should reflect that. Today, we will look 

at how to enable NTIA to craft thoughtful telecommunications policy that promotes 

continued innovation and investment. I thank our witnesses for their thoughtful testimony and look forward to a robust discussion on this important agency. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. MICHAEL F. DOYLE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE COMMONWEALTH 

OF PENNSYLVANIA 

Mr. DOYLE. Well, I want to thank you, Madam Chair, for holding 

this hearing and I want to congratulate you on your new role. I 

look forward to working with you and having a productive partnership and I am glad you like opt in. I do, too. 

4 

I also want to thank my colleagues on the committee for giving 

me this opportunity and introduce our two new members, Raul 

Ruiz from California and Debbie Dingell from Michigan—both good 

members and I think will be good members for this committee. 

I want to thank the outstanding panel that’s here today. We look 

forward to your testimony. As the chair said, we are here today to 

discuss reauthorizing the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, an agency charged with providing the 

president and the executive branch with fact-based expert policy 

recommendations on telecommunications, information, and internet 

issues. 

NTIA is also responsible for managing the federal government’s 

use of spectrum and it has been instrumental in clearing government-held spectrum and making it available for commercial use. 

In the process, tens of billions of dollars have been raised for the 

federal government. NTIA is also working with federal agencies to 

find new and creative ways to share underutilized spectrum resources and that’s important because maximizing our finite spectrum resources will be critical as we move to the fifth generation 

wireless networks and beyond. 

NTIA’s Institutes for Telecommunication Sciences located in Colorado are key to this mission. Last year, the funding for this lab 

was 23 percent below the president’s request. Our lack of investment here could have serious implications for this agency’s ability 

to accomplish its mission. 

We want to ensure that this agency has the authority, the tools, 

and the personnel it needs to do its job. NTIA also plays a critical 

role in convening government agencies, industry experts and academics to tackle complex problems through their multi-stakeholder 

process. 

This process has been used to address evolving issues such as cybersecurity, the internet of things, UAVs, and many others. 

This is a well-managed, orderly, and inclusive process that enables the federal government to thoroughly grasp and effectively 

address complex issues, and more than that, this agency has repeatedly proved its worth beyond just clearing spectrum. 

Under the leadership of our panel, NTIA ran the DTV converter 

coupon program and the BTOP program to deploy broadband infrastructure and stood up FirstNet, the public safety broadband network authority. 

They have learned valuable lessons along the way. BTOP is now 

Broadband USA, a program to help communities expand broadband 

and promote its adoption. 

My hope is that as we talk about infrastructure investment in 

this country we look to agencies like NTIA which have extensive 

experience in this area to help manage and direct these investments for our future. 

My hope in reauthorizing NTIA is that we empower this agency 

to continue doing its job and that they continue to have a seat at 

the table and continue to provide fact-based advice to the president 

and others. 

Madam Chair, I’d like to ask unanimous consent to enter this 

letter from the Electronic Privacy Information Center into the 

record. 

5 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. So ordered. 

[The information appears at the conclusion of the hearing.] 

Mr. DOYLE. Thank you, and I would like to yield the remainder 

of my time to my colleague, Ms. Matsui. 

Ms. MATSUI. Thank you very much, Mr. Doyle, for yielding me 

time. 

Today’s digital economy demands that we bolster the invisible infrastructure supporting wireless connectivity. Spectrum is the 

building block for innovation. 

Working with NTIA we made significant progress in the last 8 

years to free up federal spectrum for commercial use. Congressional oversight and cooperation from the administration was critical. As a result, we made 300 megahertz of spectrum available for 

the wireless broadband. 

We must have continued leadership from both branches of government including leaders at the agencies like the Department of 

Defense to expand this progress. 

We all know there is much more work to be done. The United 

States must lead the world in 5G and I look forward to working 

with my colleagues to free up more of our nation’s airwaves for the 

wireless economy. 

We have always been a nation of innovators and our spectrum 

policies should be no exception. With that, I yield back to the ranking member. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. The gentleman yields back his time. 

Chairman Walden is not here for his opening. Is there any member that would choose to take a portion of his time? Then let me 

reserve that in case he makes it up and at this time—Mr. Pallone 

had requested time. Is that not correct? 

Mr. DOYLE. Could I claim his time to yield for one more minute? 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Absolutely you can claim the time and yield. 

Mr. DOYLE. Thank you, Madam Chair. I appreciate it. 

Is there any member of the subcommittee that would like to have 

time? 

Mr. RUIZ. Chair. 

Mr. DOYLE. Yes, I’ll yield to Mr. Ruiz. 

Mr. RUIZ. Thank you, Chairwoman and Ranking Member. 

In today’s digital age, access to broadband internet is not a luxury. It is a great equalizer that gives millions of Americans the opportunity to pursue their education, find a job and achieve their 

dreams. 

But the fact is there are severe disparities in the deployment of 

broadband in my district and across the U.S., felt most acutely in 

rural areas and on tribal land. 

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration, or NTIA, has been instrumental in closing this digital divide 

and I am pleased to be here today to discuss how we can build 

upon their successes to better serve our constituents. And particularly, I want to highlight NTIA’s Broadband USA initiative 

launched in 2015 which empowers local communities and tribes to 

expand their broadband capacity and promote broadband adoption 

through online and in person technical assistance, regional workshops and guides and toolkits with best practices for achieving success. 

6 

This is a program that supports local solutions supported by evidence-based best practices and technical assistance and is a model 

that we should all be able to support. 

I thank the ranking member again for the opportunity to speak 

briefly about this critical program and look forward to working together with the members of this subcommittee to find solutions 

that move our nation forward into the digital age. 

Thank you, and I yield back. 

Mr. DOYLE. Thank you. I’d like to yield some time to Ms. Dingell, 

too. 

Ms. DINGELL. Thank you, Ranking Member, for yielding to me 

and I’d like to thank the chairman for holding this hearing today. 

I know this subcommittee oversees much of the new technology 

that’s reshaping our great nation and NTIA in particular has 

helped usher in this new era of connectivity through its work supporting broadband deployment and clearing our airwaves. Every 

day new high-tech marvels are unveiled, including connected and 

automated vehicles, which I care a great deal about, which have 

the promise of reducing energy consumption and saving lives on 

the road. 

The continuing technological revolution is creating many new 

jobs and bringing other benefits to society. But for all the good this 

innovation brings to consumers in our economy, we have to ensure 

that no American is left behind in this new technological era. 

As this transition occurs, we have got an obligation to use every 

tool at our disposal to create jobs and get people back to work. We 

are going to need to train Americans for the new jobs that need filling and if any agency’s up to the task of helping to solve this problem I know NTIA is. 

Keeping Americans on the job is critical to this new economy. It’s 

going to be a major focus for me on this subcommittee. I thank the 

ranking member and yield back the time. 

Mr. DOYLE. Thank you. Does anyone else seek time? 

Mr. McNerney. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Well, again, I thank the ranking member. 

The NTIA is the agency that’s going to be advising the president 

on internet policies, on privacy and security. These are really important functions, especially in the age of our internet of things— 

the IoT. 

So I really advocate for a strong agency that has the resources 

to do the research and to develop policy recommendations that will 

make internet more competitive and will keep America’s lead in 

the internet activities and telecommunications activities. 

So we have a couple of issues like the broadband map, I think, 

which needs to be updated so that we have the proper information, 

security and privacy. Very, very important. 

I’ve worked with the chairwoman of this committee on this issue 

and I look forward to working with you again on that. But again, 

I advocate that we have a strong NTIA to help us move forward 

working with the administration. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Gentleman yields back. 

Mr. DOYLE. I yield back. Thank you. 

7 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. And this concludes our member opening statements. I do remind all members that you’ve got 5 days for submitting those opening statements. 

They are all going to be made a part of the record and we know 

that several of our members are on the member bus coming back 

from the prayer breakfast and they are not here at this time. 

We want to thank our witnesses for being here with us today and 

for taking their time and for submitting that testimony early. 

That’s always a good thing. 

Our panel features three witnesses who are testifying today in 

their capacity as former administrators of the NTIA. 

They are the Honorable John Kneuer, who served as the assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and 

administrator of NTIA from February 2006 to November 2007. 

Welcome. 

The Honorable Meredith Attwell Baker, who served as the acting 

assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and acting administrator of NTIA from November 2007 to January 2009. Welcome. 

And Ms. Anna Gomez, who was the acting assistant secretary of 

commerce and acting administrator of NTIA from February 2009 to 

June 2009. Ms. Gomez continued to serve the NTIA as deputy assistant secretary and deputy administrator of the NTIA until 2013. 

We appreciate all of you, each of you being here today and preparing for this. We will begin the panel with you, Mr. Kneuer. You 

are now recognized for 5 minutes to give an opening statement. 

STATEMENTS OF THE HONORABLE JOHN M.R. KNEUER, 

FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS 

AND INFORMATION, FORMER ADMINISTRATOR, NTIA, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, JKC CONSULTING; THE HONORABLE 

MEREDITH ATTWELL BAKER, FORMER ACTING ASSISTANT 

SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION, 

FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, NTIA, PRESIDENT AND 

CEO, CTIA; ANNA M. GOMEZ, FORMER ACTING ASSISTANT 

SECRETARY FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION, 

FORMER ACTING ADMINISTRATOR, NTIA, PARTNER, WILEY 

REIN 

STATEMENT OF JOHN M.R. KNEUER 

Mr. KNEUER. Thanks very much. 

Good morning, Chairman Blackburn, Ranking Member Doyle, 

members of the committee. It was indeed my privilege to serve at 

NTIA as both the Deputy and the Assistant Secretary from 2003 

to 2007. 

Since that time in private life I have served as a board member, 

a consultant, and an advisor to various companies and institutions 

that have an interest in telecommunications and technology markets. 

But I want to stress I am here today in my personal capacity and 

all of my views are my own. 

So while NTIA has developed a diverse portfolio of issues over 

time, its core mission can really be broken down into two functions: 

8 

the policy coordination and policy advisory for the president function and as the manager of the federal government spectrum. 

Because of this dual responsibility, NTIA occupies an important 

intersection of telecommunications policy in industry as well as our 

national and homeland security. 

But to be most effective I think any reauthorization statute 

should focus NTIA on those areas where its core competency can 

be leveraged to maximum effect. 

With regards to policy coordination and development, under the 

existing statute NTIA administrator serves as the president’s principal advisor on telecommunications policies pertaining to the nation’s economic and technological advancement and to the regulation of the telecommunications industry. 

This is a very, very broad mandate that can be read to include 

essentially policy area that affects the telecommunications and 

technology markets. 

However, in my experience at NTIA I think it’s at its most effective when it focuses its policy coordination efforts on those areas 

of its unique responsibility, namely, this intersection of commercial 

and government interests. 

Now, one very obvious example is with regard to cyber. Cybersecurity is an issue that cuts across commercial interest as well as 

very important government equities. By providing the perspective 

of industry and the experience that NTIA has there into the interagency process, NTIA can help bridge the gap between the executive branch interests and executive branch entities that have national and homeland security responsibilities and the key private 

sector interests that also support our collective cyber defenses. 

Similarly, NTIA can serve as a conduit from government agencies with cyber experience back into the private sector so they have 

that information flow as well. 

With regards to spectrum management, I think as Secretary-designee Ross stated in his confirmation hearing testimony, the Department of Commerce has to work with Cabinet departments to 

free up more spectrum to meet our critical demand for broadband, 

and it’s not just broadband but it’s also autonomous vehicles, the 

internet of things, the range of spectrum-dependent industries that 

are proliferating across the economy. All have spectrum demand 

and we need to manage that properly. But this doesn’t have to be 

a zero sum transaction where industry’s gain is agency’s loss. 

With thoughtfully crafted policies, Cabinet departments, and 

agencies benefit both from commercial industry technological developments that produce not only spectrum efficiencies but also new 

mission critical capabilities for government services, and then the 

revenue from spectrum auctions can also be used to fund these critical government facilities and ease budget pressure. 

Because of its exposure to both industry and government agencies, NTIA can help ensure that the spectrum relocation results in 

both positive benefits for industry and the government, and I think 

it had been mentioned by multiple comments the ITS labs in Boulder can also help with cutting edge research in that regard. 

There are, however, limits to NTIA’s authority. As a sub-Cabinet 

agency in a single department it’s beyond NTIA’s authority to dicVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:26 Oct 24, 2018 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 115\HEARINGS\115-5 CHRIS
9 

tate to other Cabinet departments their spectrum and capital budget allocations and resources. 

However, there is one section of the existing authorizing statute 

that I think should be examined for potential clarification in any 

future reauthorization. 

Under existing law, NTIA is authorized to advise the director of 

OMB on the development of policies relating to the procurement 

and management of federal telecommunication systems. 

In the past, this authority has been effective in combining 

NTIA’s expertise with OMB’s government wide authority to promote spectrum efficiencies. I think there is untapped potential in 

that relationship. 

So, again, I appreciate the opportunity to testify and I’ll remain 

available to the committee as you consider the authorization of this 

agency and I’ll look forward to any questions. 

[The statement of Mr. Kneuer follows:] 

10 


24883.001

Testimony of john M. R. Kneuer 

House Energy and Commerce Committee 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

February 2, 2017 

Good Morning Chairman Blackburn, Ranking Member Doyle, Members of the 

Committee. 

It is an honor to be back here before the Committee, my name is john Kneuer. From 

2003 to 2007, it was my privilege to serve first as the Deputy Assistant Secretary, 

and then to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate as the 

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information and 

Administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

("NTIA"}. 

Since leaving government in 2007 I have worked in the private sector as a board 

member, consultant, and advisor to companies and institutions with interests in 

domestic and international telecommunications and technology markets. However, 

I am appearing before you today in my personal capacity and my testimony and 

comments are my own. 
11 


24883.002

While NTIA has developed a diverse portfolio of issues over time, its core mission 

can be broken down into two functions on which I will focus my testimonytelecommunications policy coordination, and federal government spectrum 

management. 

As the principal advisor to the President on telecommunications policy, NTIA has 

exposure to and expertise in the broad trends and inputs that impact the economic 

and technical success of our telecommunications and technology markets. 

As the manager of the federal government radio spectrum, NTIA has expertise in the 

operational needs and technologies deployed by federal agencies for our national 

and homeland security and scientific research. 

Because of this dual responsibility, NTIA occupies an important intersection of 

telecommunications policy and industry, and our national and homeland security. 

But to be most effective, any reauthorization statute should focus NTIA on those 

areas where its core competency can be leveraged to maximum effect. 

Policy Coordination and Development: 

Under the existing authorizing statute the NTIA Administrator serves as "the 

President's principal adviser on telecommunications policies pertaining to the 

Nation's economic and technological advancement and to the regulation of the 
12 


24883.003

telecommunications industry."1 This is a very broad mandate that can be read to 

include essentially any policy area that affects the telecommunications and 

technology markets. However, in my experience NTIA is at its most effective when 

it focuses its policy coordination efforts on the areas of its unique responsibilitythe intersection of commercial and government interests. 

To take one obvious example, cyber-security is an issue that cuts across commercial 

interests as well as important government equities. By providing the perspective of 

industry into the inter-agency process, NTIA can help bridge the gap between the 

executive branch interests with national and homeland security responsibilities and 

key private sector interests 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 affect. 

Spectrum Management: 

As Secretary-designate Ross stated in his confirmation hearing testimony, the 

Department of Commerce has to work with other cabinet departments to free-up 

more spectrum to meet our critical demand for broadband and other emerging 

technologies such as autonomous vehicles and the Internet of Things (loT). 

However, this doesn't need to be a zero sum transaction where industries gain and 

1 47 U.S.C. 902(a)(D). 
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24883.004

agencies lose. With thoughtfully crafted policies, Cabinet Departments and agencies 

can benefit from commercial technological developments that produce not only 

spectrum efficiencies, but also new mission critical capabilities for government 

services. And revenue from spectrum auctions can also be used to fund these new 

technologies, easing budgetary pressures. Because of its exposure to both industry 

and government agencies, NTIA can help ensure that spectrum relocation results in 

positive benefits for both industry and government. And the NTIA labs in Boulder 

Colorado can also help in performing cutting edge research and providing technical 

clarity to what can be sometimes contentious policy debates. 

But, there are also limits to NTIA's authority. As a sub-Cabinet agency of a single 

Department it is beyond NTIA's authority to dictate to other Cabinet Departments 

how they should allocate their spectrum and capital resources. However, there is 

one section of the exiting authorizing statute that should be examined for potential 

clarification in any future re-authorization. Under existing law, NTIA is authorized 

to "advise the Director of the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") on the 

development of policies relating to the procurement and management of Federal 

telecommunications systems."2 In the past this authority has been effective in 

combining NT!A's expertise with OMB's government-wide authority to promote 

spectrum efficiencies in government spectrum use. I believe there is untapped 

potential in this or similar authority to achieve further efficiencies to the benefit of 

both the private sector and the federal government. 

2 47 U.S.C. 902(a)(E). 
14 


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Again, I appreciate the opportunity to testify before you this morning, and I will 

remain available to the Committee as you consider the authorization of this 

important Agency. I will be happy to answer any questions. 

#### 
15 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank you, and Ms. Baker, you’re recognized 

for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF MEREDITH ATTWELL BAKER 

Ms. BAKER. Terrific. Good morning. My name is Meredith Attwell 

Baker and I’m President and CEO of CTIA. 

I first wanted to offer my congratulations to both Chairman 

Blackburn and Ranking Member Doyle on your new roles. We applaud your longstanding commitment to ensuring that all Americans have access to global-leading communications. 

As the head of an association that cares deeply about spectrum 

policy and as a previous acting administrator of NTIA, it’s an honor 

to be a witness at this subcommittee’s first hearing. 

Your focus today on the reauthorization of NTIA rightfully underscores the importance of this organization to so many of our 

shared and bipartisan objectives. 

Serving alongside my colleagues at NTIA was a distinct honor. 

I have the highest opinion of the extremely talented and surprisingly small staff. From the digital television transition that I 

helped lead to the AWS–1 and AWS–3 auctions they helped enable, 

NTIA plays a critical role in our nation’s communication future in 

close collaboration and with guidance from this committee. 

While NTIA serves many important functions, I want to focus my 

remarks on spectrum. As a nation, we need to have advanced communication networks to support mission critical government programs and we need to continue to lead the world in commercial 

wireless services. 

NTIA plays a unique role seeking out win-win situations for government and commercial users. They leverage new technologies 

and auction revenues to provide government agencies more efficient and effective systems. 

In doing so they provide our industry with access to critical new 

spectrum to better serve all of us. I hope this reauthorization process can help empower NTIA to advance its mission and ensure government and commercial users have the communications resources 

they need. I believe we can benefit from the lessons learned from 

prior reallocation efforts to strengthen NTIA’s role. 

First, we should ensure that NTIA has the technical resources 

and expertise it needs to serve as an impartial mediator of future 

spectrum disputes. 

For example, I hope we focus on NTIA’s engineering lab, ITS, 

and its ability to do cutting edge research with both government 

and commercial partners. The lab has always played an important 

role in AWS–1 and AWS–3 reallocation efforts. 

Similarly, NTIA should be able to provide agencies with the R&D 

support needed to evaluate potential sharing and reallocation efforts. Hand in hand with those technical resources, NTIA would 

benefit from greater transparency tools to better hold agencies accountable for their spectrum use and to simplify this committee’s 

important oversight role. 

In my mind, given the importance of our sector to the economy 

it is also overdue to elevate the NTIA administrator to an Under 

Secretary level to better reflect their role as the president’s principal advisor on communications. 

16 

Strengthening NTIA now is particularly important. We are about 

to have a revolutionary breakthrough in the next generation of 

wireless, known as 5G. These networks will be 10 times faster and 

five times more responsive than today’s networks. 

They will be able to support 100 times more wireless devices, 

from beacons to wearables, and that will unlock powerful benefits 

in communities of all sizes from Clarksville, Tennessee to McKeesport, Pennsylvania. 

America’s wireless industry is ready to make significant new investments to bring these benefits to communities all over the country. 

One recent study estimates that wireless operators will invest 

$275 billion over the next decade to deploy 5G. That investment is 

projected to create a new 5G job for every 100 Americans—three 

million total jobs. 

In local communities, increased 5G connectivity will mean officials can more quickly respond to emergencies. It will make our 

roads safer. Smarter energy solutions will lower our monthly bills 

and mobile health care systems will instantly connect patients with 

doctors. The speed with which these benefits reach all Americans 

will largely depend on decisions made here in Congress at NTIA 

and at the FCC. We need an infrastructure policy to support denser networks with new small cells, hopefully a future topic for another hearing soon. 

And we need a plan for 5G spectrum with a clear pipeline of new 

commercial spectrum under NTIA’s steady hand. The wireless industry is ready to invest in what’s next. 

We hope this committee will continue its record of helping make 

that happen, help us create jobs and, most relevant for today, help 

empower NTIA to provide for all Americans’ communications 

needs. 

Thank you. 

[The statement of Ms. Baker follows:] 

17 


24883.006

Testimony of 

Meredith Attwell Baker 

President and CEO 

CTIA- The Wireless Association® 

on 

"Reauthorization of NTIA" 

before the 

House Energy & Commerce 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

February 2, 2017 

ctia'· llf 
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Chairman Blackburn, Ranking Member Doyle, and members of the 

Subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to share CTIA's perspective on the 

reauthorization of the National Telecommunications and Information 

Administration {"NTIA"). I was fortunate enough to be at NTIA for nearly five 

years, and I can say, without a doubt, that it was a wonderful place to work. 

NTIA has undertaken some critical jobs, including the DTV transition, and they 

continue to do outstanding work with a small staff. I'm proud to have spent 

time there. And I'm happy to provide the Committee with some thoughts on 

how to empower NTIA to continue doing its great work. 

First, CTIA appreciates the Committee's leadership on wireless issues and your 

continued engagement in making additional spectrum available to fuel the 

robust and growing American wireless market. We are on the cusp of a 

revolutionary breakthrough in the next generation of wireless technology, known 

as "5G" or "Fifth Generation." These networks will be 10 times faster and five 

times more responsive than today's networks. They will be able to support 100 

times more devices, beacons, and wearables. This will unlock powerful benefits 

in communities of all sizes, but these exciting new developments in wireless 

networks cannot be achieved without additional spectrum resources. Because 

of NTIA's role in spectrum management, it is appropriate that the Subcommittee 

carefully consider, as part of the reauthorization process, how it can empower 

the NTIA to even more effectively partner with federal agencies and with the 

wireless industry to make additional capacity available for our Nation's 

networks. Additionally, the Subcommittee should consider how it can 

encourage NTIA to leverage tools it already has to best manage spectrum use. 

NTIA has done, and continues to do, outstanding work in the spectrum space 

with a small and dedicated staff. CTIA appreciates that in addition to NTIA 's 

spectrum management function, NTIA plays a significant role in a wide variety of 

other issues of importance to the American economy and the wireless industry, 
19 


24883.008

including broadband deployment siting, online privacy, copyright protection, 

cybersecurity, international spectrum collaboration, and telecommunications 

research and engineering. The goal should be to ensure that NTIA can continue 

to serve its critical role in the future to benefit all Americans. 

The Need for Spectrum. Spectrum is a vital national resource. It is the lifeblood 

of the wireless communications ecosystem, which in turn is a critical driver of our 

Nation's economy. In the three years ending in December 2015, U.S. wireless 

carriers invested on average over $32 billion per year in their networks. 11 

Spectrum licensed to U.S. wireless carriers generates more than $400 billion 

annually in economic activity,2/ and this is without taking into account the other 

sectors of the American economy that the wireless ecosystem enables. 

According to one recent survey, 9 out of 10 small businesses in the U.S. today are 

reliant on wireless. In fact, wireless spectrum is an economic force-multiplier. 

Every 10 megahertz of spectrum made available adds $3 billion to the U.S. Gross 

Domestic Product and supports approximately 202,000 new jobs.31 Further, 

future deployment of 5G wireless networks is projected to produce an additional 

$500 billion of economic growth and create $160 billion in benefits and savings 

through smart city solutions. 4/ Wireless operators will invest an estimated $275 

billion over the next decade to deploy 5G across America, and that investment 

is projected to create 3 million new jobs- almost one new job for every 1 00 

11 See Americans' Data Usage More Than Doubled in 2015, CTIA (May 23, 2016), 

http://www .clio .erg/resource-library /press-releases/ archive/ americans-data-usage-more-thandoubled-in-2015. 

21 See Coleman Bazelon and Giulia McHenry, Mobile Broadband Spectrum: A Vital 

Resource for the U.S. Economy, THE BRATTLE GROUP, 2 (May 11, 2015) ("Brattle Group Report"), 

http://www .ctia.org/docs/default -source /default -documentlibrary/brattle_spectrum_051115.pdf. 

3' See Wireless Quick Facts, CTIA, http://www.ctialatest.org/industry-data/wireless-quickfacts (last accessed Jan. 27, 2017). 

41 Smart Cities: How 5G Can Help Municipalities Become Vibrant Smart Cities, ACCENTURE 

STRATEGY, at 1 (2017), https://newsroom.accenture.com/content/1101 /files/Accenture_5GMunicipalities-Become-Smart-Cities.pdf. 

2 
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Americans. s; As more industries embrace digital and wireless technologies, 

increases in productivity are expected to add $2.7 trillion to the U.S. economy by 

2030. In short, spectrum availability has a direct and substantial impact on 

consumers and the American economy. 

That is why it is so important that as a country we continue to ensure that there is 

sufficient spectrum available to meet the well-documented growing consumer 

and business demands for wireless capacity. The growth is staggering. In fact, 

Americans used 25 times more mobile data in 2015 than they did in 2010. And 

by 2020, it is projected that number will be six times higher than the 2015 record 

levels. By any measure, the demand for wireless services is exploding and to 

keep up with the demand, increased spectrum is necessary. 

The migration to 5G networks makes the spectrum conversation even more 

critical. Build out of 5G networks, which will depend on the deployment of tens 

of thousands of small wireless facilities- such as small cells and Distributed 

Antenna Systems- in order to increase coverage, density networks, and boost 

capacity, will require more spectrum. These new systems will facilitate very high 

speed and low latency services and will support high capacity networks, 

touching every sector of our economy. They will enable increased machine-tomachine communications, an even wider variety of consumer devices, and 

Internet of Things applications including wearables, fitness and healthcare 

devices, self-driving cars, and home and office automation. In local 

communities, increased 5G connectivity will mean officials can more effectively 

spot and respond to crime, emergencies or natural disasters. It will make roads 

and public transit systems safer. Smarter energy solutions will lower utility costs 

for businesses and families. Mobile healthcare solutions will instantly connect 

urgently ill patients with doctors, regardless of where they live. 

51 !d. 

3 
21 


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NTIA's Critical Role. But spectrum is a limited and finite natural resource. Some 

spectrum is available for commercial use, and this is the spectrum that wireless 

carriers, broadcasters, satellite TV providers and Wi-Fi devices employ. That 

spectrum is managed by the FCC. Other spectrum is available for federal 

agencies to fulfill their critical missions and is managed by NTIA. The FCC 

continues to review ways that the spectrum over which it has authority can be 

repurposed to meet the skyrocketing demand for capacity. And, industry has 

continued to upgrade its networks to make more intense use of the spectrum 

available to it. Recently some of the so-called high-band spectrum that will be 

used for 5G networks was previously underutilized, if not unused, and recently 

designated by the FCC for mobile terrestrial use. And now, with Congress' help, 

the FCC will convert 70 megahertz of TV spectrum for wireless broadband use 

through the broadcast Incentive Auction, providing the wireless industry more 

spectrum than the A WS-3 auction did two years ago. It is rare for a single 

auction to include this much spectrum. By all accounts, the Incentive Auction 

will be a success and pay great dividends in our nation's effort to lead the world 

in 5G services 

However, there are limited additional opportunities for the FCC to make more 

spectrum available on its own. That is why NTIA's role is so important- more so 

than ever before. Because NTIA is in charge of federal agencies' use of 

spectrum it can use that role to determine whether spectrum can be more 

efficiently used, freeing up additional bands for commercial use. 

In light of the extraordinary value of spectrum to private and public entities, NTIA 

must have the prominence and resources to perform its critical tasks. It would 

therefore make sense to elevate the NTIA Administrator's title from what is now 

an Assistant Secretary position, to an Undersecretary level position. This would 

also be consistent with the Undersecretary title of NTIA 's sister agency, the head 

of National Institute of Standards and Technology. We need to ensure that 

4 
22 


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federal agencies have the sufficient spectrum for their critical needs, and that 

the commercial market has access to the spectrum assets necessary to meet 

consumer demands. A stronger NTIA Administrator will be a more successful 

arbiter of these private and public spectrum needs. 

There are many cases where federal agencies can make more efficient use of 

spectrum by upgrading technology, combining with other federal 

communications systems. or even using commercial services. This is a process 

that has worked very successfully. For instance. in the AWS-3 auction, NTIA 

made 40 megahertz of what was in large part Department of Defense spectrum 

available for commercial use. Due to continued coordination between NTIA. 

the FCC, industry, and federal agencies like the Department of Defense, that 

spectrum is being put to productive use by wireless carriers today, meeting 

consumer and business demands and growing our economy, all at no loss to the 

federal systems' operations. Indeed, the process of making federal spectrum 

available to commercial users has been a win-win for both parties. I should also 

note the critical role this Committee has played to facilitate reallocations and 

"win-win" results for commercial and government users. 

Additionally, through the congressionally-created Spectrum Relocation Fund, 

federal agencies are able to upgrade their systems when they relocate to other 

spectrum and, based on a recent amendment to the Fund, are able to 

conduct research and planning to increase their spectrum efficiency. The 

Spectrum Relocation Fund provides positive incentives for federal agencies to 

invest in new and innovative technologies needed to support efficient spectrum 

use and potential reallocation, and this Committee can take steps to further 

enhance this system. 

Congress Can Infuse more Transparency info NT/A Process. Because spectrum is 

such a valuable resource, there is great interest from Congress, federal 

agencies, and private industry into the actions of NTIA. NTIA would benefit from 

5 
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greater transparency tools to better hold agencies accountable for their 

spectrum use and needs as well as simplify this Committee's important oversight 

role. For instance, NTIA released a report in November 2016 evaluating several 

spectrum bands now used by federal agencies that hold significant potential for 

commercial use. This "Quantitative Analysis" was a useful process that required 

evaluation of federal spectrum use. Congress can further direct NTIA to issue 

similar reports in the future on a more regular basis, and create mechanisms to 

provide greater awareness into the timing and status of key spectrum 

priorities. This kind of transparency will help all spectrum-using entities to better 

understand the interagency spectrum review process and provide more 

certainty for future planning. Congress Should Encourage NT/A to Leverage 

Tools Already Available to Best Manage Federal Spectrum Use. Congress can 

also encourage NTIA to make greater use of the tools NTIA already possesses to 

make additional spectrum available. For instance, NTIA has the Institute for 

Telecommunication Sciences- known as ITS- NTIA's lab in Boulder, Colorado. 

The ITS engages in in important studies to determine the most effective means of 

making federal spectrum available for commercial use. In the context of 

sharing A WS-1 and A WS-3 spectrum, for example, the ITS helped determine the 

level of protection required for incumbent licensees, which facilitated greater 

access to federal spectrum by commercial users while protecting critical 

government uses. 

From an industry perspective, it is helpful to have an independent, unbiased lab 

with a deep knowledge base and expertise to examine highly technical issues. 

Congress should encourage NTIA to find new ways to use the ITS and determine 

if there are other tools that would be helpful in the exercise of examining new 

federal bands of spectrum for commercial use. 

* 

6 
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The wireless industry is ready to invest in what's next. As a new Administration 

and a new Congress begin their work, we have a simple ask: help us invest. Help 

us create jobs. Through NTIA's reauthorization, Congress has an opportunity to 

recognize the critical role NTIA plays in making additional, much needed 

spectrum available for commercial wireless use. Help empower NTIA to serve 

the critical role it must to benefit all Americans' future communication 

needs. And help us ensure that America remains the global leader in wireless 

innovation. We look forward to working with each of you as you consider 

actions to encourage investment and innovation in the wireless ecosystem, 

strengthen the Nation's economy, and maintain America's position as a wireless 

leader. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of today's hearing. 

7 
25 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I thank you. 

Ms. Gomez, you’re recognized for 5 minutes. 

STATEMENT OF ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Ms. GOMEZ. Good morning, Chairman Blackburn and Ranking 

Member Doyle, distinguished members of the subcommittee. Thank 

you for the opportunity to appear before you to share my thoughts 

regarding the important work NTIA performs. 

I had the honor to serve as NTIA’s deputy administrator from 

2009 through March 2013 and a short stint as acting administrator 

as well. I am proud to have served our nation alongside the many 

committed professionals at NTIA and the Department of Commerce. 

Given technology’s large and growing contribution to our broader 

economy, sound policy that supports investment and innovation is 

critical. NTIA has an important and often underappreciated portfolio in this regard. 

First and foremost, Congress and through this committee’s efforts in 1992 enshrined NTIA’s authority to serve as the president’s 

principal advisor on telecommunications. 

As such, NTIA is responsible for formulating the administration’s 

telecommunications and information policy, a role that has grown 

in importance and breadth with the evolution of a digital economy. 

NTIA enables the federal agencies to have access to spectrum to 

meet their mission needs and has played an integral role in making additional spectrum for wireless broadband uses. NTIA also 

provides valuable research and analysis to inform efforts to identify 

additional spectrum efficiencies and potential opportunities to increase spectrum access for all users. 

With increasing demand for wireless technologies showing no 

signs of abating, the need for an experienced and knowledgeable 

manager of our federal agency spectrum resources is ongoing. 

NTIA also play an important role in developing internet policy. 

American businesses in the digital space both large and small depend on an online ecosystem that has the confidence of all users. 

NTIA should continue convening multi-stakeholder processes to 

address policies that affect the internet and it’s also very important 

that NTIA be at the table in policy discussions both domestically 

and internationally related to practices that may affect the digital 

economy and that it continue its strong voice in the internet domain name system. 

NTIA has also focused on increasing broadband access and adoption. The Broadband Technology Opportunities Program helped 

build lasting projects that increase access and adoption of 

broadband throughout the country. 

NTIA also co-chairs the Broadband Opportunity Council, an 

interagency effort to produce recommendations to increase and do 

remove barriers to broadband deployment, competition, and adoption. 

And through its Broadband USA program NTIA sponsors a series of publications, webinars, and conferences designed to help 

stakeholders overcome broadband access and adoption obstacles. 

NTIA also helps ensure that the nation’s telecommunications resources adequately support the needs of public safety. 

26 

NTIA administers grants to promote Next Generation 911 and 

works with FirstNet, an initiative that is near and dear to my 

heart. I believe strongly in its mission to provide broadband services to all first responders. 

NTIA also works with NIST on the public safety communications 

research program whose laboratories provide research, development, testing, and evaluation to foster nationwide interoperability 

in communications. 

These highly valuable programs will help provide the nation’s 

public safety the technology they need to keep their communities 

and themselves safe. 

In conclusion, NTIA should continue its important role coordinating federal policies in areas such as spectrum, broadband, internet policy, public safety, and research. In an area like technology 

policy where there are many agencies with overlapping jurisdiction, 

it is critical to have an agency like NTIA to shepherd interagency 

activities and to bring some thought and rigor to priorities and 

interagency coordination so there is less duplication of effort. 

One example is with policies regarding the internet of things. 

Myriad agencies have oversight over different components of the 

IoT. IoT implicates spectrum policy, cybersecurity, privacy concern, 

among others. 

In the absence of a central approach to governance, we risk having inconsistent and burdensome requirements. NTIA can and 

should play an important role in convening and guiding the numerous agencies and ensuring consistent federal policies that promote 

innovation. 

NTIA also should continue its efforts to identify barriers to 

broadband deployment and to push interagency efforts to streamline processes or eliminate requirements that show down that deployment. In addition, NTIA is well positioned to manage any 

grants or other infrastructure funding that would promote 

broadband access and adoption. Any new program would benefit 

from the NTIA’s prior expertise and experiences. 

I want to thank you again for allowing me to share my thoughts 

with you this morning and I look forward to answering any questions you may have. 

[The statement of Ms. Gomez follows:] 

27 


24883.014

Testimony of Anna M. Gomez 

Partner, Wiley Rein LLP 

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information for 

the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, 

U.S. Department of Commerce 

Before the 

U.S. House of Representatives 

Committee on Energy & Commerce 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

Reauthorization of NTIA 

February 2, 2017 

Chairman Blackburn, Ranking Member Doyle, distinguished Members of 

the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to share my 

thoughts regarding the important work performed by the National 

Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and its dedicated 

staff. 

From January 2009 through March 2013, I had the honor of serving as 

NTIA's Deputy Administrator, including a stint as Acting Administrator from 

February 2009 through June 2009. I am proud to have served our nation alongside 

the many committed professionals in the Department of Commerce and at NTIA. 

Given the large and growing contribution of technology to our broader 

economy, sound technology policy that supports investment and innovation is 

critical. As former NTIA Administrator Strickling said in December, "tech policy 

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is now intrinsically and irrevocably linked to our country's overall economic 

prosperity." 1 

NTIA has an important and often under-appreciated portfolio in this regard. 

First and foremost, Congress-- through this Committee's efforts-- in 1992 

enshrined NTIA's "authority to serve as the President's principal advisor on 

telecommunications policies pertaining to the Nation's economic and technological 

advancement and to the regulation of the telecommunications industry." As such, 

NTIA is responsible for formulating the Administration's telecommunications and 

information policy, a role that has grown in importance and breadth with the 

evolution of our digital economy. 

Congress has entrusted NTIA with many responsibilities: 

• NTIA advises the U.S. government and works with private-sector and 

civil society stakeholders on Internet policies, including convening 

multistakeholder processes to address challenges in this field such as 

cybersecurity and privacy questions. NTIA represents the 

Administration in discussions and negotiations regarding Internet 

governance. 

1 Remarks of Assistant Secretary Lawrence E. Strickling, The 5G Wireless Future and the Rule of the Federal 

Government, Remarks to the Hudson Institute (Dec. 16, 2016), available at 

https:/ /vvww. ntia.doc .gov I specchtesti mony /20 16/remarks-assistant -secretary -strickl ing-5 g-wireless-futurc-and-ro lefederal. 

2 

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• NTIA works, in coordination with other agencies, to ensure the free 

flow of data across borders. 

• NTIA plays a key role in public safety communications. It works 

with FirstNet in implementing the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job 

Creation Act of2012. NTIA will have a key role in the future ofthe 

nationwide interoperable public safety broadband network. 

• NTIA has experience managing various federal grant programs for 

broadband, public safety, and Next Generation 911. 

• NTIA conducts research and testing in radio frequency science and 

technologies through its Institute for Telecommunication Sciences. 

I would like to briefly address some of these responsibilities in further detail. 

Spectrum Policy 

Spectrum has been described as "the currency of the wireless industry," but 

in reality it goes much further. Wireless is the backbone of 21st century education, 

commerce, and government. Our dependency on wireless networks and the 

spectrum that powers them continues to grow at an exponential rate. We are in the 

midst of a virtuous cycle, where the availability of wireless networks, with 

increasing speed and reliability, encourages the development of new and 

innovative edge technologies, in turn spurring further investment in our wireless 

3 

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networks. For this level of innovation to continue, however, we must be able to 

deliver the spectrum needed to power the wireless technologies of the future. 

NTIA's role as our country's federal agency spectrum manager helps 

provide the proper framework for the development of tomorrow's technologies. 

The agency has played an integral role in working to make additional spectrum 

available for wireless broadband uses. It utilizes the resources of the Office of 

Spectrum Management and the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences to meet 

these demands. The Institute for Telecommunication Sciences provides valuable 

research and analysis to inform the Office of Spectrum Management as NTIA 

works to identify additional spectrum efficiencies and potential opportunities to 

increase spectrum access for all users. 

With increasing demand for wireless technology showing no signs of 

abating, the need for an experienced and knowledgeable manager of our federal 

agencies' spectrum resources is ongoing. 

Internet Policy 

The U.S. must ensure continued trust in the privacy and security of the 

Internet, which is necessary to facilitate the continued free flow of information 

around the world. American businesses in the digital space, both large and small, 

depend on an online digital ecosystem that has the confidence of potential users 

4 

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and customers. It is imperative that the Department of Commerce, and namely 

NTIA, is at the table in policy discussions related to practices that may affect the 

digital economy. 

NTIA's objectives are "to advance inclusive multistakeholder methods of 

developing information policy and preserve an open, interconnected global Internet 

that supports continued innovation and economic growth, investment, and the trust 

of its users. "2 NTIA represents the Administration internationally, including 

serving as member of the U.S. delegation to International Telecommunication 

Union (ITU) conferences and as an active participant of the Internet Corporation 

for Assigned Names and Numbers' 

(ICANN's) deliberations. NTIA should continue its strong voice to ensure all 

stakeholders, including the U.S. Government, have a voice in the domain name 

governance system. 

As the challenges oflnternet-relatcd policies continue to evolve and present 

themselves, it is critical to have a strong NTIA that can help the U.S. Government 

represent U.S. interests in setting productive policies that allow for continued 

innovation and growth in the global digital economy. 

2 U.S. Department of Commerce, The Depar/ment of Commerce Budget in Briel Fiscal Year 2017 131, available a/ 

http://www .oscc.doc.gov /bmi/budgct/FY 17BJB/ Al!Fi les W ithCharts2 .pdf. 

5 

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Broadband 

NTIA over the past decade has had a strong focus on increasing broadband 

access and adoption in a number of ways. The agency invested more than $4 

billion in grants through the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program 

(BTOP). These funds helped build sustainable infrastructure, establish public 

computer centers, and develop digital literacy training. While this program is 

winding down, it invested in lasting projects that increase access and adoption of 

broadband throughout the country. Recently, NTIA also Co-chaired the 

Broadband Opportunity Council- a collaboration of25 federal agencies and 

departments that work with industry stakeholders to better support the needs of 

communities seeking broadband investment. I understand NTIA continues to work 

on increasing interagency coordination in this area. Through its BroadbandUSA 

program, NTIA also continues to sponsor a series of publications, webinars, and 

conferences designed to help stakeholders overcome obstacles to broadband access 

and adoption. 

Public Safety 

NTIA helps ensure that our nation's telecommunications resources 

adequately support the needs of the public safety community. 

6 

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The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 helped 

implement a key recommendation of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission by creating 

the First Responder Network Authority, or FirstNet, and charging it with 

deploying, maintaining and operating a nationwide, interoperable public safety 

broadband network. FirstNct is an initiative near and dear to my heart. Working 

closely with Administrator Strickling, I was personally very involved in standing 

up FirstNet, and believe strongly in its mission to provide broadband services to all 

first responders. NTIA continues to have a role in the roll-out ofFirstNet through 

grants to states for planning, as well as oversight ofFirstNet's fees and the State 

Alternative Plan Program. 

NTIA is also charged with administering grants to promote Next Generation 

911 at public safety answering points across the country in coordination with the 

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

Conclusion 

NTIA should continue its important role coordinating federal policies in 

areas such as spectrum, broadband, Internet policy, public safety, and research. In 

an area like technology policy, where there arc many agencies with overlapping 

jurisdiction, it is critical to have an agency like NTIA to shepherd interagency 

7 

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activities, and bring some thought and rigor to priorities and interagency 

coordination so there is less duplication of effort for the private sector. 

One example is with policies regarding the "Internet of Things" ("IoT"). 

NTIA can spearhead a coordinated federal policy to encourage the growth and 

development of the IoT. Myriad agencies have oversight over different 

components or uses ofloT devices. IoT implicates spectrum policy, cybersecurity, 

and privacy concerns, among other issues. These are just some of the areas in 

which NTIA has expertise and can show leadership. In the absence of a central 

approach to governance in technology policies, such as with loT, we risk having 

inconsistent and burdensome requirements that threaten the health of the sector, 

innovation and interoperability of systems. NTIA can and should play an 

important role in convening and guiding the numerous agencies and ensuring 

consistent federal policies that promote innovation. 

NTIA also should continue its efforts to identify barriers to broadband 

deployment, and to push interagency efforts to streamline processes or eliminate 

requirements that slow down infrastructure deployment, such as environmental 

reviews or access to federal lands. 

Many Congressional leaders have stressed that any Infrastructure plan 

should include broadband projects. While the details of the plan have not yet been 

announced, I believe NTIA is well-positioned to manage any grants or other 

8 

14068885.1 
35 


24883.022

funding that would promote broadband access and adoption. Any new program 

would benefit from the expertise and experiences NTIA staff developed while 

managing BTOP. 

In remarks late last year, Administrator Strickling provided some advice on 

future efforts to expand broadband access and adoption. For example, he 

recommended making sustainability a top priority. As Administrator Strickling 

observed, "It makes little sense to utilize tax dollars to provide the capital to 

construct a project, if the project cannot generate the operating revenue needed to 

sustain that network in the future." 3 He also recommended ensuring that dollars 

are provided to organizations that have a proven record of building and managing a 

broadband network and give them the flexibility to design sustainable projects. 

NTIA has the experience and skills necessary to put these principles into 

action and make better, faster broadband networks more ubiquitous than ever. 

Thank you again for allowing me to share my thoughts with you this 

morning. I look forward to answering any questions you may have. 

3 See Remarks of Assistant Secretary Lawrence E. Strickling, Transforming Communities: Broadband Goals for 

2017 and Beyond (Nov. 30. 2016), available at https://www.ntia.doc.gov/specchtestimony/2016/remarks-assistantsecretary-strickling-transforming-communities-broadband-goals. 

9 

14068885.1 
36 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. The gentlelady yields back and we thank you 

all for being here. 

We will now move to questions and Mr. Kneuer, I would like to 

begin my 5 minutes of questions with you. 

As I’ve reviewed the testimony from each of you and we have 

looked at the number of different funds, and you alluded to this in 

your testimony and all of you did actually, how it is spread out 

over different agencies. And I know Commissioner O’Reilly at the 

FCC has also commented on his concerns with the way sometimes 

we don’t have one hand knowing what the other hand is doing or 

the agency across the street hasn’t coordinated. 

And so as you were saying, Ms. Gomez, you end up with this duplication of effort. What I’d like to hear from you is how best can 

NTIA work to coordinate those funds and you touched on this when 

you talked about advising the OMB director. 

And then what would you propose for them as they look to coordinate those funds and utilize those dollars to the maximum? 

Mr. KNEUER. Sure. I think, as you pointed out and Mr. O’Reilly 

pointed out, lack of coordination is a fundamental challenge and 

problem where you’ve got so many different pools of money under 

different control. 

But I think there is also not just different institutions managing 

these pools of money. They sometimes have slightly different views 

and agendas. So some of these pools of money are for loans versus 

some are for grants, some are focused on underserved areas versus 

unserved areas. 

I think the path is, and particularly as you consider reauthorization of NTIA, taking a broader look and collaborating with other 

committees of jurisdiction, working with the executive branch, 

working with OMB to the extent possible to bring these under a 

single area of planning and oversight so that the money that we 

are spending is focused, it’s accountable. 

It gets to with the highest priority on unserved area, places that 

really have no opportunity to take part in the broadband economy 

whether it is tribal lands or very rural areas but a consolidation 

and coordination of effort and I don’t know if it’ll be possible to 

make a singular place of focus. But the challenge is going to be to 

tighten it up as much as possible. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. OK. So singular point of focus—if that’s the 

goal then is NTIA the best place to house that? 

Mr. KNEUER. In the executive branch I would certainly think 

that. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. You would say so? OK. That’s great. 

Mr. KNEUER. You’ve got still the other options under the FCC. 

But NTIA, having the function of working directly with the FCC, 

is the one place in the executive branch that has the expertise. I 

think the logical locus would be NTIA. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. OK. 

Ms. Gomez, I saw you making notes so I know you have something you want to add. 

Ms. GOMEZ. Actually, I was just making notes on what you said. 

But I agree that coordination is very important. One of the things 

that NTIA did with BTOP was it—as part of its stage of reviews 

of grants was to make sure that it got input from industry and 

37 

from the local governments and from others to make sure there 

was not duplication of efforts or that they were not targeting already served areas. There is always room for improvement but I do 

think it’s a good role for NTIA. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. OK. 

Ms. Baker, I want to ask you a little bit about the 5G deployment. I see this is siting, utilization of health care informatics. I 

am from Nashville. This is something that people are working on 

every single day. 

This is something we want to go quickly and I am about out of 

time and I really want to get through this. Is there anything that 

NTIA can and should do that would help facilitate the 5G deployment? And about 30 seconds on that because I’ve got one more 

item. 

Ms. BAKER. Absolutely. I am glad you asked the question. We 

can talk about health care in the future. But I think the core functions that NTIA serves to streamline siting would be very helpful, 

streamline and simplify siting these small sites that need to be put 

up for 5G is critical for the rapid deployment—— 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. OK. 

Ms. BAKER [continuing]. And I think we are going to need more 

spectrum so we need to work on a spectrum pipeline for commercial wireless. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. That is terrific. I appreciate that, and what I 

want each of you to submit, since I am out of time, if you were the 

one with the pen and the pad working out the reauthorization of 

the NTIA and modernizing the agency, what would you see as the 

five critical items and what did you see as the biggest stumbling 

blocks? 

If you’ll submit that for the record then I will turn and yield 5 

minutes to Mr. Doyle. 

Mr. DOYLE. Thank you very much. 

Ms. Baker, I believe that spectrum like roads and bridges are 

part of our critical infrastructure and I am starting to work on 

some legislation to free up at least an additional 20 megahertz of 

federal spectrum below 3 gigahertz available for commercial use. 

Would that be something your association and industry would support? 

Ms. BAKER. Absolutely. I think the low-band spectrum is really 

critical. I think the FCC has done a good job this summer in bringing forth some high-band spectrum. But if you look at a place like 

Montana that hasn’t been sited there is been a recent low-band 

spectrum that’s been released there that has caused the deployment of siting in Montana. 

So I think that’s—it is very important for the future that we 

have low, middle and high-band spectrum. 

Mr. DOYLE. Great. 

Ms. BAKER. So we absolutely support that. 

Mr. DOYLE. Well, Madam Chair, maybe that’s something we can 

make part of this reauthorization or perhaps as a standalone or 

one of the proposed infrastructure packages. I’d certainly be interested in working with you on that if you’re interested. Thank you. 

Ms. Baker and Ms. Gomez, you both worked on spectrum issues. 

How important do you think it is that NTIA lab in Colorado is fully 

38 

funded and tell us a little bit about what types of research the lab 

does and what role they play in freeing up federal spectrum and 

do you see that as critical to the future of federal spectrum policy? 

Ms. BAKER. I’ll be happy to go first. 

As I mentioned in my testimony, I think ITS is a critical part of 

future questions in spectrum. I personally think that spectrum is 

a scarce resource. It’s becoming more and more difficult as we move 

forward. 

Some place like ITS can help us figure out how we can share 

where spectrum is critical and where it can be geographically 

shared or some other sort of sharing. It was very helpful in AWS– 

1 as well as AWS–3 to figure out how to move critical government 

agencies’ missions to different spectrum. 

Mr. DOYLE. Ms. Gomez. 

Ms. GOMEZ. I agree. ITS, which is the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences, served as a valuable resource to NTIA’s Office of 

Spectrum Management in identifying spectrum and how it’s being 

used. 

They perform spectrum surveys that assist with this kind of 

planning that we are talking about. Their deployable team and 

measurement system go to sites. 

They identify sources of interference. They, as Meredith mentioned in her opening statement, performed spectrum occupancy 

measurements in support of the AWS auction preparations, which 

helped industry better understand the nature of the federal operations. 

They perform system to system measurements. Basically, they 

are an objective and neutral arbiter of these issues—technology 

issues, technical issues—as we move forward with trying to identify 

more spectrum and trying to get more efficient usage of the spectrum we have today. 

Mr. DOYLE. Thank you. Let me ask you also, Ms. Gomez, as we 

look at the challenges of repacking stations as part of the incentive 

auction, do you believe that public telecommunications and facilities program if funded could play a role in assisting public stations 

and making the investments necessary to continue operating? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Yes. As you know, that program was defunded some 

years ago and but it would have, if it were still funded, been able 

to provide valuable support to these public television stations. 

Mr. DOYLE. And let me ask you all, too, during your time at 

NTIA what benefit did you see to having an agency act as an interagency coordinator on telecommunications and what can Congress 

do to strengthen that role to ensure that NTIA has a seat at the 

table when government agencies are discussing technology and 

telecommunications issues? 

If you could each just take maybe 10 seconds because I have one 

more question. 

Ms. GOMEZ. So NTIA is in this unenviable role of trying to herd 

other federal agencies, not just with spectrum but with other policies, and pull them away from their own missions to try to provide 

resources for the administration’s telecommunications policy and 

spectrum policies. 

So anything Congress can do to help bolster NTIA’s position visa ̆-vis those other agencies would be very helpful. 

39 

Ms. BAKER. I think NTIA’s coordinating and convening role is 

critical. I think three things really will help NTIA. I think an elevation of title to Under Secretary helps. I think transparency as to 

what they are working on will help and I think that being able to 

play the traffic cop for NTIA is also a very critical function that 

they perform. 

Mr. DOYLE. And let me just close by saying that, Ms. Baker, I 

received a letter from not only your association but several associations and I know this isn’t relative to NTIA reauthorization but 

asking us to use the Congressional Review Act to repeal FCC’s privacy order. 

I just want to say for the record that I was disappointed to get 

that letter from these associations and that you would urge Congress to use such a blunt and untested tool to remove privacy protections for hundreds of millions of Americans. I think there is a 

better way to work on that issue and I look forward to doing that 

with you. 

Thank you, Madam Chair. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Lance, you’re recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. LANCE. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. 

To the entire panel, the Spectrum Pipeline Act updated existing 

law to ensure federal agencies have the necessary resources to undertake research and development activities that would result in 

freeing up more spectrum for commercial mobile broadband. 

The act provides very specific instructions on when and how the 

federal agencies may gain access to the $500 million provided 

under the act. 

To the distinguished members of the panel, how do you think 

NTIA could further safeguard the expenditure of this R&D fund so 

that it funds activities that would truly improve the efficiency and 

effectiveness of federal spectrum use? 

Mr. KNEUER. There was originally money for similar purposes in 

the Commercial Spectrum Enhancement Act as part of the relocation funds for agencies. 

So agencies would get some of the auction revenue for relocation 

purposes and I think one of the challenges with that process is that 

agencies had expenditures they wanted to make that they believed 

would give them the ability to be more efficient going forward but 

it wasn’t tied directly to their immediate relocation efforts. 

They were looking for spending money on tools that they could 

apply in multiple scenarios with multiple different projects. 

I think the money in the Pipeline Act sort of fills that purpose. 

I think for it to be most useful, again, it’s coordination, having 

some ability to test, OK, how is that money being spent and, again, 

I think the ability for NTIA to be effective in an arbiter of that is 

leveraging their relationship with OMB, that you can export the 

expert judgment of NTIA into the agency with the authority that 

can green light those projects, which would be OMB. 

Mr. LANCE. Very good. 

Ms. Baker. 

Ms. BAKER. So I think John is right. I think one of the lessons 

that he’s learned is that the spectrum relocation fund shouldn’t just 

fund the move. 

40 

It should fund the planning that goes into what a future move 

should be and how that should be coordinated. So I think that’s one 

of the lessons that we have learned that I think has been very 

good. I think that also the qualitative analysis that NTIA has done 

has been very good. But I think it’s this committee that usually instructs. 

If you pick two targets that NTIA can fulfill then and focus on, 

I think that oversight of this committee has really been critical to 

future spectrum allocations. 

Mr. LANCE. Thank you. 

Ms. Gomez. 

Ms. GOMEZ. I would say that the Spectrum Relocation Fund and 

the changes that were made in the Pipeline Act actually have 

helped motivate the agencies to think ahead and to plan. So it’s an 

important process and I do think it was very important to provide 

the funding for that planning. 

The technical panel that reviews these investments, so to speak, 

is already providing a lot of rigor to the process in determining the 

funding is being utilized for the reasons that it should be and I 

would not want to add more process to that, given that you have 

the voice of NTIA, OMB and the FCC as part of that process. 

Mr. LANCE. Thank you. 

Ms. Gomez, you noted that the NTIA plays a critical role in public safety communications including a role in the future of the 

FirstNet public safety broadband network. 

NTIA’s role in public safety communications and in the FirstNet 

is relatively new. The last time NTIA was authorized there wasn’t 

a FirstNet. 

Given that fact, on what should we focus as we reauthorize NTIA 

regarding this critical component, moving forward? 

Ms. GOMEZ. NTIA works with FirstNet. FirstNet is an independent agency but it’s housed within NTIA, and then NTIA has 

some responsibilities that go hand in hand with FirstNet’s responsibilities. 

It is the one that approves or provides grants to the states. If 

states decide not to participate in the FirstNet deployment then 

NTIA is the one that will run that process and they will also be 

the ones that approve spectrum leases for any states that choose 

not to participate in the FirstNet deployment within the states. 

So I think that NTIA will continue to have responsibilities to its 

overseers to respond to its particular role within the larger endeavor. It needs to support FirstNet to the greatest extent possible. It’s 

a large undertaking. It’s unprecedented. So this committee’s oversight and support would be very important to it. 

Mr. LANCE. Thank you very much. 

Madam Chair, I yield back two seconds. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Way to go. We are running on time today. 

Mr. Loebsack, 5 minutes. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you, Madam Chair. 

I do want to thank the subcommittee for holding this hearing 

today and thank the witnesses for your expert testimony regarding 

the important role NTIA has to play in our nation’s technology policy. 

41 

And again, I note that I can’t believe it’s been since 1992, although knowing how Congress works I guess it’s not surprising. 

But so many things have changed since that time. And so I really 

appreciate the chair’s request that you provide in writing those five 

items regarding modernization. 

I think that makes complete sense, and then we can all have access to that so we know what we are talking about because so 

many things have changed, as Mr. Lance just said, with respect to 

FirstNet. 

We didn’t really have any of that. We didn’t have a lot of things 

in 1992. But I also want to make sure that I emphasize that when 

we do the reauthorization, assuming that we get there and that 

may be a big assumption, but when we get there make sure that 

we provide the funding for that reauthorization too because just 

going briefly over what NTIA does there is so much that it does 

and so the funding is going to be absolutely necessary. 

I am from southeast Iowa. I continue to harp on rural broadband. 

I’ll do that until my dying days, no doubt, even when I am not in 

Congress and, of course, yesterday we had a great rollout of our bicameral bipartisan Rural Broadband Caucus. 

We all know that upwards of 49 percent of rural America really 

isn’t adequately provided for when it comes to sufficient broadband. 

And we really know that, obviously, around the country, the beginning of the 21st century we have to have that kind of coverage 

out there in rural America. Rural America simply will not survive, 

let alone thrive if we don’t have broadband. 

Everybody on this committee knows that. I appreciate even the 

folks who are from the urban areas here who do support this expansion of rural broadband. 

There has been a lot of talk on the infrastructure front, as we 

know, with the new president. I think we have bipartisan support 

for significant infrastructure improvements around the country and 

we are talking perhaps as much as $20 billion for broadband development. 

And I guess I’d like to ask all three of you, if you could, to weigh 

in. What are the lessons learned from NTIA’s role in supporting 

broadband infrastructure development in the past? 

How can these programs be updated to bring more broadband to 

underserved communities, assuming that we—and, again, it may 

be a big assumption but assuming in the coming months perhaps 

we get a pretty significant infrastructure investment in broadband. 

Can you speak to that, all of you, please? 

Mr. KNEUER. Sure. I think one of the stats that Meredith referenced, close to $300 billion in new cap ex from industry over a 

decade. 

These industries are spending an enormous amount of money 

and they have incentives to spend a great deal of money. But that 

incentive is tied to places where they’ve got enough population density for their returns—— 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Exactly. 

Mr. KNEUER [continuing]. On capital. So the challenge is to closely monitor and evaluate where those market failures exist. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Right. 

42 

Mr. KNEUER. All of these companies are in competition with one 

another. The value of the network increases to the extent it can 

reach other places. It’s more valuable to us in Washington, D.C. if 

we know that we can reach people in every part of rural America. 

So there is certainly a will and a desire to spend private money. 

There is a manifest will and desire to lever the private money with 

government expenditures in those places that we can identify and 

I think it’s going to be a combination of leveraging those two pools 

of capital in a focused way so that the money gets to people where 

it’s needed and new incentives for the private sector to counter 

those market failures that may not be direct expenditures of grants 

but it could be tax benefits and other things. But it’s measuring, 

focusing, and being deliberate about it. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you. 

Ms. Baker. 

Ms. BAKER. So I think, as you know, I was privileged to be at 

the Rural Caucus roll-out—— 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you for being there. 

Ms. BAKER [continuing]. And I support both the House and Senate bipartisan Rural Caucus. It’s a wonderful endeavor to see and 

very important. 

As you said, 1992 is the last reauthorization. 1997 was when 

Steve Jobs first introduced the smart phone, and so that was 10 

years ago. 

The computing power of the smart phone led to our 3G networks 

and in the 10 years that’s now led to our 4G networks and what 

we have now is these data driven very fast and what I am talking 

about for 5G, which is coming probably in the next, we have trials 

all over America, 10 times faster network is going to be gigabit 

fast. 

So it will actually be a substitute for your wired broadband. So 

I think we need to be careful when we define broadband to make 

sure that we encompassed the fast growth of these networks and 

how quickly they are turning over and improving. 

I do want to say that the most important thing that NTIA can 

do and that we can do as in oversight and as an industry is to 

streamline the siting to make sure that these networks can roll out 

fast. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you. 

Ms. BAKER. And they will also need more spectrum. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you. 

Ms. Gomez. If that’s OK, Madam Chair. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Oh, yes. 

Ms. GOMEZ. OK. Some of the lessons that we learned, the importance of a broad perspective in the community—we want to make 

sure that we have both the deployment and the adoption and so 

those economics are very important. 

Secondly, the importance of sustainability—we don’t want to 

have stranded investments. You want to make sure that it actually 

continues and one of the big successes of the BTOP program is that 

98 percent of its projects continue to operate today. 

And then, finally, making sure that whoever gets funding, 

whether through the Universal Service program or through other 

43 

grants, has the institutional knowledge and structure that it’s 

going to be able to succeed. 

That’s also part of sustainability. So these are all important lessons learned. 

Mr. LOEBSACK. Thank you for indulging, Madam Chair. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. And the gentleman yields back, and Mr. Shimkus. 

Mr. SHIMKUS. Thank you, Madam Chairman. Thank you also for 

holding this hearing in our conference and I think really on both 

sides part of our responsibility is just oversight and then the focus 

on addressing reauthorization of agencies is key. So your expertise 

is welcome and we look forward to moving forward. So it’s the 

focus. 

So you all have been here before. We have worked with you 

closely for many, many years. So it’s—for those of us who’ve been 

up here it’s comfortable and we have got great trust and faith in 

your expertise in your sector. 

So let me start by going to Meredith. The committee received the 

management plan developed by NHTSA and NTIA for administering $115 million in grants to update public safety. You all 

know that I’ve been involved with Anna on the public safety 911 

stuff. 

It appears that most of the actions are generic agency actions 

that each agency could perform separately or jointly. What specific 

expertise or contribution does NTIA bring to the table apart from 

what NHTSA brings to the table? Does the burden of coordinating 

with a separate agency outweigh the benefits of the added perspective of the second agency? 

Ms. BAKER. Good question. 

Mr. SHIMKUS. Yes. 

Ms. BAKER. Yes. I would say I think one of the most important 

things NTIA does is its convening role and I think some of the joint 

roles, whether it’s been public safety interoperability with Department of Homeland Security or NHTSA, the future of these networks is health care. 

The future of these networks is Connected Cars. The future of 

these networks are financial institutions. So I think communications will cover every part of our lives and so this convening role 

only gets more important for NTIA. 

Mr. SHIMKUS. So I think that it’s better to talk and maybe lose 

a little efficiency there but in the long run that’s a better process? 

Ms. BAKER. I think it’s important for—we have a Connected Car 

Coalition that we work with the auto industry. I think it’s important because our jurisdictions have traditionally been so different 

but yet our lives are now intertwined. I think it’s important for us 

to understand both the history and the future of the industries. 

Mr. SHIMKUS. Thank you. 

Anna, could you discuss your experience and role of NTIA in the 

International Telecommunications Union? 

When I was doing other things involved in the sector I was not 

that excited about that. But there are some benefits that I am 

going to try to raise. 

As you know, this is an organization where international spectrum allocation decisions are made which to me makes it seem fairVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:26 Oct 24, 2018 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00047 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 115\HEARINGS\115-5 CHRIS
44 

ly important that the U.S. participate in a robust way to maintain 

a voice in those decisions. 

In your view, does the United States benefit from its membership 

in ITU and is it important that we have a forum like ITU? 

Is it able to accommodate our commercial, defense, and other interests and does NTIA have the appropriate authority and tools to 

participate in this new regime? 

In international discussions I think this might be more important. Do you want to comment on those? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Yes, absolutely. 

NTIA is very involved at the ITU both on the spectrum side for 

allocations. NTIA works closely with the FCC, with the Department of State to represent the federal agencies’ interests and the 

administration’s interests. 

It also participates in other areas, including internet governance. 

So yes, NTIA’s role is very important and it should continue. 

The ITU is important to both the health of our spectrum management system as well as for companies, for example, that build 

to standards and to be able to have interoperability—global interoperability so that they can continue to participate in the global 

economy and not have that hindered by lack of participation. 

The U.S. voice at the ITU is very strong and it needs to continue 

to be strong to reflect the status of our economy versus, I guess, 

everyone else. 

Mr. SHIMKUS. Thank you very much, Madam Chairman. 

I am finished and I yield back. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Gentleman yields back 53 seconds on the clock. 

We are doing well. Mr. Ruiz, you’re recognized 5 minutes. 

Mr. RUIZ. Thank you very much. 

In 2009, the NTIA was tasked with administering $4 billion in 

grants to increase broadband access and adoption in underserved 

and unserved areas of the country. 

I understand the NTIA invested $3.3 billion into infrastructure 

projects, which 98 percent of those funded projects still operating 

and serving communities across the country. 

I represent a remarkably diverse district with 11 tribal nations, 

underserved, desert farm worker communities like Thermal and 

Mecca, small desert communities like Chiriaco Summit and rural 

mountain communities like Anza. So no one solution will address 

the broadband needs of the people and the geography that I serve. 

So, Ms. Gomez, in your testimony, you referenced the Broadband 

USA initiative and how NTIA is using this program to continue 

helping communities and tribes across the country increase their 

access and adoption of broadband. Can you elaborate on how 

Broadband USA might be able to help the diverse set of communities I represent and in particular how tribal governments might 

be able to benefit from the Broadband USA initiative? 

Ms. GOMEZ. What NTIA did was as it starts winding down its 

BTOP program it has the staff that has this great expertise and 

knowledge now in both how to deploy infrastructure in unserved 

and underserved areas including tribal areas, as you mentioned, 

and also how to ensure adoption because, you know, if we build 

them and they don’t come that’s not a good thing. 

45 

So we have this great staff now that has this technical expertise 

so their goal is to provide as much technical assistance as possible. 

Mr. RUIZ. How does a tribe or a school district get this support? 

What do they have to do? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Well, first of all, NTIA puts together webinars. They 

put together seminars. They can reach out to the NTIA or NTIA 

can do the opposite in order to make sure that they go to locations 

where these tribes are. 

They’ve put together a toolkit specifically for tribal broadband 

deployment and NTIA also, through the Broadband Opportunity 

Council, is working with the Department of Interior to also have 

programs to reach out to the tribes on these issues. 

Mr. RUIZ. Thank you. 

So on another topic, as an emergency medicine physician your 

testimony on the First Responder Network Authority, or FirstNet, 

was equally near and dear to my heart and in trauma situations 

communications between first responders and physicians in the 

emergency department can be critical to the survival and wellbeing of a patient. 

So what have you done and what is NTIA doing to ensure 

FirstNet’s network deployment is patient centered and focuses on 

improving outcomes and saving lives? 

Ms. GOMEZ. FirstNet’s mission is to deploy this network but 

there is no requirement that any public safety entity actually participate in it. 

So FirstNet has very wisely paid a lot of attention to the needs 

of every segment of the first response community and they need to 

continue to do so. 

They are engaging currently and will continue to engage in consultation with each state and territory to make sure that those 

needs are met because the only way they succeed is if in fact public 

safety sees the value of the network. 

Mr. RUIZ. And so what can Congress do to help EMS systems engage with FirstNet and help foster that kind of relationship and 

promote those services? 

Ms. GOMEZ. I think communication is very important. What we 

find is that the state at the high level is very engaged in FirstNet 

but it’s not necessarily at the very local level. 

So the more we can reach into those localities and make sure 

that they understand that this is a resource and that they need to 

have a voice with the state point of contact that works with 

FirstNet on these issues the better. 

Mr. RUIZ. Well, it kind of sounds like a visit to my district would 

be warranted and we can get all the stakeholders together and 

start talking about how we can help build that relationship. 

Ms. GOMEZ. Yes. I am sure FirstNet is watching. 

Mr. RUIZ. Good. I yield back my time. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. At 41 seconds. We are rolling. OK. 

Mr. Latta. 

Mr. LATTA. I hope I don’t get in trouble now. 

Madam Chair, thanks very much for having this hearing this 

morning and to our witnesses, thanks very much for being here. 

I’ve been very involved with the internet of things working group 

and also with rural broadband, and with the rollout yesterday, as 

46 

was mentioned a little bit earlier from our friend and colleague 

from Iowa, that, you know, there is great interest out there because 

of what you have to have today. 

Ms. Baker, if I could ask you the first question. It’s clear that 

wireless is the future and with limited spectrum availability NTIA 

has a vital role encouraging efficient use by federal users. 

What can NTIA do to ensure that there is sufficient spectrum 

available for both commercial and federal purposes to meet the 

needs of our increasing connected world? 

Ms. BAKER. So I think NTIA plays a critical part, obviously, in 

managing the federal spectrum. I think they’ve just done a qualitative analysis, which I think is very helpful for us to take a look 

at what spectrum bands we need to focus on for reallocation next. 

We now have devised a system where it’s a win-win. So the the 

spectrum comes to the commercial providers but yet the federal 

agencies get updated systems. 

It’s a terrific tool for federal agencies to update their system to 

also become more spectrally efficient. I think with the help of this 

committee we can identify the next bands so that we can have 

more commercial spectrum and it can move this process. 

The FCC did a broadband plan but that was a while ago. So I 

think it’s time to take a look and see what we need to do for the 

future and to build the spectrum pipeline. 

Mr. LATTA. Thank you. 

Ms. Gomez, you spoke about overlapping jurisdiction in the federal agencies, specifically how it relates to the internet of things. 

As I am sure you are aware, NTIA has already taken an active 

role in the security of IoT by holding multi-stakeholders process 

meetings and recently releasing a green paper discussing the possibility of a national IoT strategy. 

Do you believe that NTIA could be doing more to address securing IoT as well as other policies that touch these connected devices 

such as spectrum policy and privacy concerns? 

Ms. GOMEZ. I think it’s a very important role for NTIA to address 

these issues. The multi-stakeholder process in which it has been 

engaging is a very good process for addressing these issues that 

change so quickly in our technical system. 

So yes, I do think NTIA could be doing more. I will say they are 

very under resourced in this. So what they are doing right now is 

what they can do at their current capacity. 

If they could get some more capacity, absolutely. There are lots 

of areas that they identified in the IoT green paper that you mentioned in which additional multi-stakeholder processes would be 

able to develop policies to address these challenging issues that are 

probably better done via this consensus process than via regulations that become enshrined for long periods of time. 

Mr. LATTA. Let me follow up. 

In addition, would it be harmful to the development of the IoT 

to have multiple agencies asserting jurisdiction and with that 

should it be more coordination? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Multiple agencies have jurisdiction because of the 

nature of the IoT. The IoT now touches the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Food and Drug 

47 

Administration, the Health and Human Services, because it touches so much of our society today. 

But, yes, you are correct—we need more coordination to make 

sure that we are not having one segment be the tail that wags the 

dog of the entire IoT. 

Mr. LATTA. Thank you. 

Ms. Baker, if I could ask, with my remaining time here, much 

of federal infrastructure is governed by agencies other than NTIA. 

How do you think NTIA could better work with agencies to accelerate and expand access to necessary inputs like leases of federal 

buildings or federal right of ways? 

Ms. BAKER. So a great amount of land, as we know, is owned by 

the federal government and that is something that NTIA can absolutely help in citing federal government lands and expedite. 

At this point, it takes an average of 18 months to site a tower. 

In the speed of which we need to roll out 5G, there is a global race. 

America has won the race in 4G. We are the world’s leader in wireless. 

For 5G, Japan, Korea—they are right on our tails and I think for 

us to win the 5G race, which is important for every aspect of our 

life and economy, we need to make sure that we can roll it out fast. 

NTIA can help in streamlining federal lands, siting on federal 

lands. They can also help in best practices and figure out—Ohio 

just passed a bill. I think at every level of government we need to 

pitch in to see if we can roll these networks out as fast as we can. 

Mr. LATTA. Well, thank you very much and, Madam Chair, with 

4 seconds left I yield back. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. He made it in under the wire. All right. 

Ms. Dingell, 5 minutes. 

Ms. DINGELL. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

First, I want to thank all of the witnesses for your public service. 

People don’t thank people enough for putting themselves out there. 

NTIA has a critical mission that’s going to be even more important in the coming years as technological advances promise to 

change the way we live our lives. 

Nowhere is that more evident than in my home state of Michigan 

where the development of connected and automated vehicles promises to transform the auto industry into the mobility industry. 

And while we all agree that we should be doing more to use spectrum more efficiently, we also have an obligation to ensure we 

allow connected and automated vehicles to be developed in a responsible manner. Over 35,000 people die on our roadways each 

year and this technology has the potential to save lives, plain and 

simple. 

NTIA has played a critical role here through its support for vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure technology known as 

dedicated short-range communications, or DSRC. There are more 

initials in this. 

I’d like to thank NTIA for collaborating with the FCC and the 

DRT with really important work on establishing and executing the 

test plan to find the best possible sharing solution for the 5.9 GHz 

band of spectrum. 

I hope this continues to move forward and we keep finding common ground. As you know, the auto industry is near and dear to 

48 

my heart, in case anybody missed that, and NHTSA has stated 

that DSRC has the potential to eliminate or mitigate the severity 

of up to 80 percent of nonimpaired crashes. But there are other 

ways NTIA could help enable the deployment of these technologies. 

As you all know, the president and many members of Congress 

have said it’s a priority to pass an infrastructure bill maybe has 

high as a trillion dollars. And I would agree this is a good idea if 

we do it right. 

One thing that must be included is dedication to developing the 

vehicle to infrastructure technologies. We should be giving moneys 

to the states to help them build these systems up and giving them 

technical expertise as well. 

So my question is for all three of you. Given NTIA’s successful 

history administering the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program, do you believe the agency would have the technical expertise 

and experience to effectively manage a grant program to help 

states and localities adopt the V2Y technologies and should this be 

something that Congress considers either in a comprehensive 

transportation bill or legislation reauthorizing NTIA? 

Mr. KNEUER. I think absolutely NTIA has that ability and there 

have been, you know, examples in the past. We worked very closely 

with the Transportation Department to authorize something as 

simple as EZ Pass, a single frequency allocation that would cover 

the entire world or the entire country and the entire highway system that resulted in probably trillions of hours of saved time with 

productivity gains across the economy by something seeming so 

small. 

You magnify that with the ability to essentially make it highly 

unlikely to die in a car crash on the nation’s highways. 

It’s not just the technical coordination but there is also a leadership function of being able to articulate the benefits of this, that 

there are huge benefits to the economy and to the nation by doing 

these things. 

So I think NTIA is sort of well situated in its dual role both in 

the spectrum side and as a communicator of a unified national policy. 

Ms. BAKER. I think you’re going to find agreement here that 

NTIA has effectively handled every single grant program that this 

committee has given it and you have given NTIA a lot of grant programs. 

The staff is amazing. They have developed expertises in places 

that I think they didn’t think their core mission was to begin with. 

They have very effectively done a terrific job. 

It’s a fair question for this committee to ask whether they want 

NTIA to continue in grant programs and I think that that’s a conversation that is worth having. 

Ms. GOMEZ. I agree it’s a very nimble staff that understands the 

importance of having a strong oversight mechanism and of working 

closely with other agencies like the Department of Transportation 

as well as with state and localities and tribes and making sure that 

the grant dollars are stretched to the furthest possible. 

Ms. DINGELL. Thank you. I don’t have enough time so I’ll yield 

back my 20 seconds, Madam Chairwoman. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. We are on a roll. 

49 

Mr. Guthrie, see if you can continue it, for five minutes. 

Mr. GUTHRIE. Thank you. I’ll definitely stay within the 5 minutes. I appreciate that. 

Mr. Kneuer, thanks to everybody for testifying here today but I 

want to start with a question regarding top level domains. 

In 2013, the Obama administration sided with foreign governments and abstained from a vote at ICANN that led to the rejection of Amazon’s application for the dot Amazon top-level domain, 

acting directly against the interests of a major American company 

which happens to have facilities in my district. 

Just made a major announcement that they are going to be locating a new part of their business at Cincinnati Airport, which happens to be in Kentucky across the river from Ohio, and a lot of people are constituents of theirs as well. 

Do you believe it would be appropriate for the Trump administration to take specific steps at ICANN to assist Amazon in its ongoing effort to resolve this matter and right the wrong? 

Mr. KNEUER. Absolutely. with the conclusion of the transition of 

the IANA contracts, without speaking to the substantive decisions 

of the Obama administration, the United States government can 

take counterintuitively, perhaps, a more proactive role in favor of 

domestic companies. 

I think there was at some point, when the U.S. government had 

its oversight or its exclusive contractual relationship with ICANN 

there was some hesitancy to be perceived as abusing that authority 

or overplaying that role. 

With the IANA functions being fully enshrined in the private sector, there are all sorts of examples where it is appropriate and 

wholesome for the U.S. government to collaborate with U.S. companies in front of myriad private and governmental bodies. 

So I think that’s exactly the kind of role that you would expect 

to see the Commerce Department and NTIA in particular playing 

in this new environment with the full privatization of IANA. 

Mr. GUTHRIE. How strong do you believe the U.S. position would 

be in matters like this when advocating before the Governmental 

Advisory Committee? 

Mr. KNEUER. I think the comparative advantage the U.S. government has in the Government Advisory Committee is our expertise 

in the subject. All right. We stood up ICANN. We probably have 

the most dedicated and competent staff to work with the Government Advisory Committee. 

So while we are a nation of equals, our historic role and our expertise, I think, gives us a comparative advantage. 

Mr. GUTHRIE. OK. Thank you. 

And Ms. Baker, one of the things in your testimony focuses on 

ways to empower NTIA, especially as the agency has become more 

important in the spectrum debates. 

I’ll leave it open ended if you’d like to expand on some of the 

points you made and describe what more can be done to empower 

NTIA on spectrum issues. 

But one idea that has been raised with me would have NTIA regularly collecting more information about how agencies are actually 

using their spectrum rather than conducting band-specific studies. 

50 

So in addition to other ideas you may suggest, is it worth looking 

at giving NTIA a stronger coordinating role not just in initial frequency assignments but also in monitoring how federal spectrum 

is being used? 

Ms. BAKER. Thank you for your question, and I think that that 

is a good idea. I think in my testimony I call it transparency and 

I think that it would help both to have federal government agencies 

be more transparent about what their use is of the spectrum as 

well as what NTIA might be looking forward to in relocation in the 

future and I think that would probably help this committee in its 

oversight abilities as well. 

I also would compliment you on your federal incentives bill because I think that also is a very good step. 

Mr. GUTHRIE. Well, thank you. Do you think the NTIA has sufficient stature to tell federal users that they need to be more efficient with allocations? Is there a problem with regulatory by larger 

and possibly more influential federal departments such as DoD, 

Homeland Security, FAA? 

Ms. BAKER. I think NTIA punches above its weight in everything 

they do and I think that they do a terrific job in coordinating federal agencies. 

I do think raising NTIA’s profile with the title of undersecretary 

would help. It would make them equal to their sister agency, NIST, 

and I think it reports directly to the commerce secretary. So I think 

that that is a natural. In this town, titles seem to matter and that 

seems like that might be a good addition to their—— 

Mr. GUTHRIE. OK. Would the other two of you like—any ways to 

empower NTIA? 

Mr. KNEUER. There is the coordination with OMB is critical. So 

NTIA can use its expertise to gather information from other departments and agents. But Under Secretary or not, Under Secretary of commerce calls the Under Secretary of Defense, it’s going 

to be a different story. The director of OMB calls and says, look, 

you’ve got a new requirement—if you want capital to spend on 

these things it’s a different kind of conversation. 

Mr. GUTHRIE. I only have about 6 seconds. I am not going to run 

over because it appears that’s the flow. So a couple of seconds? Oh, 

well, I’ll catch you up later. Sorry, I am out of time. I yield back 

one second. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Yield back, and we can submit for the record. 

How is that? Because we do have a couple of things that are coming in. 

Ms. Clarke, you’re recognized for 5 minutes. 

Ms. CLARKE. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I thank the ranking 

member. I thank our witnesses today. 

Spectrum sharing in urban environments may pose particular 

challenges since population density and user demand for wireless 

services is very high. 

In the previous administration, NTIA and the FCC started work 

towards a model city program that would establish a pilot program 

in a major city or cities to serve as a test bed to evaluate and demonstrate spectrum-sharing technology for urban environments. 

Additionally, FCC Chairman Pai recently announced the formation of the broadband deployment an advisory committee that 

51 

would provide advice and recommendations to the FCC on how municipalities can deploy high-speed broadband nationwide to close 

the digital divide. 

So my question is do you support the model city initiative and 

what are your thoughts on NTIA—what would you be doing to promote spectrum sharing in cities? And it’s for the panel. 

Mr. KNEUER. I think there is a great benefit of those sort of 

model roll-outs. We conducted or we developed a spectrum initiative for the 21st century when Meredith and I were working together. 

And one of its proposals was a test bed where you could take potentially a block of federal spectrum that’s under consideration for 

reallocation and a block of perhaps underutilized commercial spectrum and figure out what are the best ways to share and how they 

can be best deployed. 

The challenge in urban environments is the propagation characteristics and it’s much more difficult to find low-band spectrum 

that you can do those sorts of things that would be of most benefit 

to an urban environment. But some of those propagation characteristics have made some spectrum lie fallow. 

And so I definitely think there are opportunities to combine those 

two to explore in the real world and develop the data that comes 

from that. So I think it’s a fine idea. 

Ms. BAKER. So a couple different things. Sharing, I think, is important. I think it’s the future. But it has to work for all. It has 

to work for everyone. 

I think these questions are less policy questions than they actually are technical questions and I think that goes back to my plea 

for the importance of ITS and the labs in Boulder. 

The FCC is rolling out one test program now in 3.5. It’s still to 

be seen if that’s going to work or not. We are all in. We are trying 

it. 

We are going to see if it does work. I think in the future, whether 

it’s licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, shared spectrum, we 

are going to need it all and I think model cities are terrific. A lot 

of our companies have focused on model cities and I think when a 

city sees that they are saving $160 billion in energy costs by being 

a smart city then it does catch your eye and everybody wants to 

be one. 

So I think there is a cost to the build out but the savings is so 

exponentially great for smart city that I think the more we can illustrate the more rapidly they will deploy. 

Ms. GOMEZ. I can’t say much more than that. I agree, smart cities are so important for our future in 5G as well. So anything we 

can do to support that is a good thing. 

Ms. CLARKE. Very well. 

The next question is for you, Ms. Gomez. First, I want to say 

that NTIA is a very important government agency vital to growing 

our innovative digital economy. 

With the recent cyberattacks that have occurred over the past 

couple of months, a particular spotlight has been placed on creating 

secure cybersecurity policies. 

52 

In 2015, NTIA began its cybersecurity multi-stakeholder process. 

What are your thoughts on this approach and how will it enhance 

NTIA’s policy recommendations? 

Ms. GOMEZ. I’m a big believer in the multi-stakeholder processes. 

I think that they can be much more nimble and flexible than actual 

regulations and they pull in all of the stakeholders, not just whatever stakeholder a particular individual agency has jurisdiction 

over. 

So it’s important to have these discussions, to have as many 

stakeholders as possible including government, civil society, public 

interest groups, industry, everybody together to come to consensus 

to try to address these issues as they change on almost a daily 

basis. So I would be a big supporter of what they are doing. 

Ms. CLARKE. Very well, and I won’t break the trend. I go back, 

Madam Chair. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. We are on a roll. 

Mr. Olson. 

Mr. OLSON. I thank the chair for the time. On behalf of all Texans, especially one of our witnesses from Houston, Texas, thank 

you for the opening comments, the strong statements about the 

best Super Bowl ever. Super Bowl LI, Falcons versus the Patriots, 

NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas, kickoff 5:30 p.m. Sunday, February 

5th. 

Well, to our witnesses a special howdy to our Texan, Ms. Baker. 

Ms. Baker, in our home state bigger is better. Your testimony spent 

a great time talking about the deployment of 5G over moving up 

from 4G. 

In Texas, bigger is better. 5G is bigger. And Texans are excited 

about the flood of new services they will have with 5G deployment. 

You mentioned medicine, transportation. My question is, where 

do we stand right now with deployment of 5G in the spectrum. 

When do you think that will be truly available? 

Ms. BAKER. Great question, and we are excited for the Super 

Bowl in our house, too. 

I think when you look at the Super Bowl, for instance, you look 

at the capacity of how many people are going to want to send videos and tweet and take pictures and send them. 

You see the importance of the capacity. It’s grown exponentially 

and we are expected to see it grow six times by 2020. 

So the data is just increasing so our network’s capacity has to 

increase. I was in Dallas not too long ago and we have some trials 

going on there. I think there are about 117 trials of 5G across the 

country at this point. 

When I first started this job two and a half years ago we were 

not necessarily thinking that we needed 5G. The industry has 

changed that quickly to now we are seeing the rollout of field trials 

this year and I expect that we will see commercial roll-out of 5G 

by 2020. 

Mr. OLSON. Great. Thank you. 

You talked about America leading development of 4G. We led the 

world in 4G. It appears we are losing some advantages with 5G. 

In today’s global economy, as you know, speed kills. You mentioned we are behind South Korea and Japan. I traveled there with 

Chairman Upton and Chairman Walden, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. GrifVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:26 Oct 24, 2018 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00056 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 115\HEARINGS\115-5 CHRIS
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fith, we saw it firsthand. We are falling behind those two countries. 

Who else is ahead of us globally? 

Ms. BAKER. I’m hopeful we’re not too far behind at this point and 

we are catching up. 

Mr. OLSON. OK. Great. 

Ms. BAKER. Our companies are really working hard and they are 

investing the money and they are working hard to overtake that 

because of the importance of—the reason the app community is in 

the United States is because we lead the world in wireless. The 

reason that 98 percent of operating systems are from the United 

States is because we rolled our networks first. 

So I think we understand how important it is and we are working hard to that end. 

Mr. OLSON. OK. Thanks. 

Who’s behind? Who should be considered as behind us but catching up quickly maybe we should be worried about in the rear view 

mirror? 

Ms. BAKER. I think we are doing well. Well, our LTE networks 

are covering 99.7 percent of America. So we have a good head start 

to build on. 

Mr. OLSON. OK. One further question—as former NTIA administrators speaking only for yourselves, not for the organization, is 

NTIA being helpful with the 5G rollout and where can we help 

them with deficiencies with the reauthorization of the agencies? 

One minute and 20 seconds. Ms. Gomez, you’re up. 

Ms. GOMEZ. 5G rollout, as Meredith has mentioned, is a huge undertaking. I think continued support of their interagency processes 

to get relief from the barriers to infrastructure deployment is the 

most important thing. 

Mr. OLSON. OK. Ms. Baker. 

Ms. BAKER. More spectrum and streamlined siting. 

Mr. OLSON. Mr. Kneuer. 

Mr. KNEUER. Because of our lead in 4G, we have the highest economic incentives to roll out 5G. The barriers are going to be in policy and so making sure that we have the spectrum available, that 

everybody’s pulling in that direction, the industry’s going to take 

care of it and we will be first in that. 

Mr. OLSON. Well, thank you. I yield back my time with 45 seconds. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. And he is under the wire. 

Mr. OLSON. I yield back. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. And I will remind the gentleman from Texas 

that his Houston team left and came to Tennessee and became 

Tennessee Titans. 

And with that, Mr. McNerney, all yours for 5 minutes. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Well, first, I want to congratulate the chairwoman on assuming the chair. I look forward to working with you 

and the ranking member as well. 

My first question goes to Ms. Gomez. The rapid growth of the IoT 

devices creates immense opportunities but also raises serious concerns about issues like privacy and data security. 

Multiple federal agencies have recently been involved in examining the challenges raised by these questions. Can you explain the 

NTIA’s role and why that might be important? 

54 

Ms. GOMEZ. So the NTIA is, of course, the principal policy advisor for administration policy on telecommunications and information issues, which includes the issues that you raised—privacy, cybersecurity, any other issues raised by the internet of things. 

In that role it serves a convening function in two ways. One, it 

coordinates interagency activities that lead to whatever policies are 

implemented for the IoT and hopefully the removal of barriers to 

deployment so that we can get to the rollout of 5G in a timely fashion. 

And then, secondly, it’s a multi-stakeholder process in which it 

convenes stakeholders from all walks of life in order to develop consensus policies to address issues like cyber security and privacy 

issues writ large, both for the IoT and for others. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Thank you. 

I am going to follow up on a question that the ranking member 

asked Ms. Baker. Industry groups like the CTIA have been on the 

Hill, sent a letter around asking Congress to use the Congressional 

Review Act to overturn existing rules. This letter makes no mention of the fact that the CRA could prevent the FCC for making 

substantially similar rules in the future. 

Now, are you aware that the CRA could prevent the FCC from 

making future rules regarding data breach notification or working 

with industry to create new privacy rules in the future? 

Ms. BAKER. So we are absolutely 100 percent committed to consumers’ privacy and as such we distributed privacy principles on 

Friday. 

I think what we are looking for is a uniform and common set of 

rules that apply to the entire ecosystem so that everyone is competing with the same rules. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. But are you aware that the CRA could prevent 

the FCC from making new rules regarding privacy and data breach 

notification, for example? 

Ms. BAKER. We’re looking for any tool that will allow privacy 

rules to be the same for the entire ecosystem. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. Ms. Gomez, it’s been 2 1⁄2 years since the National Broadband map was updated. Although the NTIA is no 

longer responsible for keeping the map up to date, individuals, 

businesses and state and local governments still rely on this map. 

Is having an accurate map important for identifying geographical 

areas that are underserved or unserved by broadband providers? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Yes. As you know, NTIA is no longer updating the 

map. That function has been moved over. But it has not been updated since 2015 and that was using 2014 data. 

I do believe it’s important to have data-driven decisions and so 

having an updated map would be a good thing, just not the current 

state. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. How fast does that map change? 

Ms. GOMEZ. The map changes constantly. We have deployment 

change every day. As Meredith mentioned, there is a lot of capital 

expenditures every year, every day to get the infrastructure deployed. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. So, in terms of the digital divide, having this 

map up to date is important and should be funded. 

55 

Ms. GOMEZ. The map was an important tool and it would be good 

to fund the map in the future. 

The FCC also has the ability to do it. It just doesn’t have the 

funding. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. So is the NTIA the right organization to do 

that? 

Ms. GOMEZ. If the NTIA gets its grant program again that would 

be the right way to do it or it would be a good way to do it, I should 

say. The way that the map was developed was a bottoms-up process in which the states provided the information to NTIA and 

NTIA worked with the FCC to create the map. 

One way or another, you need to have that input and you need 

to have the funding to be able to have an accurate map because 

if it’s not accurate then it’s not useful. 

Mr. MCNERNEY. I’m just going to ask a question, and you won’t 

have time to answer it. Mr. Kneuer, you indicated that the NTIA 

is the most effective when it’s the working intersection between 

business and private and government sectors and also can be effective in advising the Office of Management of Budget. 

I’d like you to elaborate on that in writing, since I am running 

out of time. Thank you. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. And he made it before he went into overtime. 

Mr. Johnson, for 5 minutes. 

Mr. JOHNSON. Thank you, Madam Chairman, and I to want to 

congratulate you on your chairmanship and looking forward to this 

session, working with you. 

I want to thank our panel for being here today, too. Really appreciate that. 

I represent a district that struggles with the issue of the digital 

divide, particularly when it comes to talking about broadband access. I’ve got high school students in my district that have to go 

a public library or to a neighboring town in order to do their school 

research or to check out the internet, to do things that most of us, 

you know, just take for granted. 

So broadband access is a very, very important issue for the 

721,000 people that I represent. 

Ms. Gomez, one important component of effectively allocating resources for broadband deployment projects is accurate comprehensive data regarding the current level of broadband service across 

the country ideally at a granular level. 

How can NTIA, in your opinion, be helpful in developing this information? 

Ms. GOMEZ. There are a couple of ways that NTIA has been involved in this type of information. The first is with this tool that 

we were talking about before, which is where NTIA administered 

grants to get the data necessary to populate the map that the FCC 

actually put together. They worked on that jointly. 

It’s not something that’s currently funded by if it was that would 

be a very valuable way to get more accurate data and give the localities of tool that is visual and that provides them good planning 

tools. 

The second way is also with the work that NTIA does in working 

with the Census to get accurate adaption information. That is a 

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ment but not necessarily the take-up. So understanding from a demographic perspective who is using the internet, how they are 

using the internet, also helps with this type of planning to support 

localities that need to get broadband infrastructure and adoption. 

Mr. JOHNSON. OK. Continuing with you—I appreciate that answer—you were at NTIA during the broadband technology opportunities program when NTIA administered more than $4 billion in 

grants to promote broadband employment and adoption. 

What are some of the lessons that we can draw from that program as we move forward and what role is appropriate for NTIA 

to play in future broadband deployment efforts? 

Ms. GOMEZ. We learned a few things from the BTOP program. 

As I mentioned before, we want to make sure that the funding is 

sustainable and continues. 

The importance of providing the technical assistance to the 

grantees and to the communities to make the full usage of the 

grants and to make sure that the grants not just benefitting a specific deployment but also had ripple effects throughout the communities in both the adoption as well as the access for other providers 

to be able to link to whatever infrastructure was being deployed. 

The importance of a strong both team to both select the grantees 

as well as to manage and oversee them. It really requires a lot of 

resources and a lot of attention to make sure that the grant dollars 

are well used and used in a timely fashion. 

So there is still a lot of that expertise within NTIA because that 

staff that became very expert at managing the grants have now 

pivoted to the technical assistance they are providing through the 

Broadband USA program. 

So absolutely NTIA could continue to provide the grant management that you might seek. Understanding that whatever enabling 

statute is very important in setting parameters of the program. 

A lot of the criticisms of the program came from concerns about 

the fact that, for example, the grants went to fund both unserved 

and underserved areas. 

The definition of rural was very important to managing the grant 

program. So attention to the statutory language that NTIA would 

use to implement the programs is also very important. 

Mr. JOHNSON. OK. Well, thank you. 

Madam Chair, I yield back just under the wire. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. I tell you, we are rolling. 

Let’s see. Mr. Pallone, you’re recognized 5 minutes. 

Mr. PALLONE. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chairman. 

And, again, I know this is your first hearing so I want to congratulate you and Mr. Doyle for being the chairman and the ranking member. 

Ms. Gomez, I’ve reviewed NTIA’s most recent budget request 

asking for only $50 million total, and given the recent growth in 

the communication networks that the agencies oversees, that 

amount seems reasonable. 

NTIA has also provided strong justification for their request. So can you just tell us briefly what an authorization of $50 million 

would allow the agency to do for the American people? 

Ms. GOMEZ. From my experience, NTIA is a very resource-constrained agency. It is surprisingly small, considering the breadth of 

57 

its portfolio. And with the evolution of the digital economy and the 

new and innovative uses, its role is only going to get bigger. 

So new funding can be used in a variety of ways. Spectrum, spectrum, spectrum. Our innovation is very much centered on wireless 

and we need to have both the staff that can manage day to day the 

federal agency’s use of spectrum but also continue to plan for the 

future, continue to plan for the pipeline and continue to work within the interagency process to identify more spectrum for wireless 

broadband uses. 

On the internet policy front, we need to continue our strong voice 

at the governmental advisory committee before ICANN. That is 

going to continue to be important for international and domestic 

internet presence but also addressing cyber security and privacy 

issues is going to be important in the multi-stakeholder process. 

Particularly with cyber security, we need staff that has security 

clearances that understands the issues so that they can convene 

and shepherd these multi-stakeholder processes to develop these 

policies. 

Both with the multi-stakeholder process as well as intergovernmentally to work with the other agencies as they develop their own 

security policies. 

And on research, it’s important for supporting the spectrum initiatives as well as other agencies and also industry. Industry relies 

on the laboratory for some of its measurement and testing. 

And so bolstering their ability is going to be very important. I 

think the National Foundation found that they are actually seriously underfunded. So that would be very helpful in that regard. 

Mr. PALLONE. Thank you. 

Ms. Gomez mentioned the privacy issues. So let me ask Ms. 

Baker, NTIA found last year that around half of American adults 

limited their economic activity online because they were worried 

about their privacy and data security. 

A Pew study also found that a full 91 percent of adults believe 

they have lost control of how personal information is collected and 

used by companies. And that’s why I have been disappointed in 

CTIA’s recent attacks on consumer privacy protections. I am hopeful we can still find some common ground though. So I think we 

may agree that the Federal Trade Commission should be a strong 

protector of consumer privacy. 

Let me ask you, would CTIA support democratic efforts to 

strengthen the FTC’s ability to protect consumers by lifting the 

common carrier exemption, given the FTC Rulemaking authority, 

giving the FTC more privacy staff. Would you comment on that? 

Ms. BAKER. First, I think that CTIA believes strongly in privacy 

and in consumers’ right to privacy and data security. It is a priority 

for all of our carriers and companies. 

I think that we believe that consumers are served better when 

their privacy protections are based on the type of information as 

opposed to the company that holds it. 

And for that reason, we would like to see the FTC’s jurisdiction 

on privacy be consistent across all of the companies. The mechanism is to how to get to that. I would have to get back to you on 

the languages too. 

58 

But yes, the idea is to having the FTC have jurisdiction over the 

privacy of consumers’ data. All companies would be consistent with 

what we believe. 

Mr. PALLONE. All right. I’ve run out of time but I wanted to ask 

you a local question. Well, it’s not really local. But Ms. Gomez, one 

of my priorities is promoting public safety communications and network resiliency, and I have been a strong supporter of FirstNet, 

which is housed at NTIA. 

And getting better technology in the hands of first responders is 

really important. So I understand you were at NTIA when FirstNet 

was formed, and from that perspective how would you assess 

FirstNet’s progress in starting up the nation’s public safety 

broadband network? 

Ms. GOMEZ. I think FirstNet has made great progress. It is a 

huge undertaking as well and it is very close to getting the contract 

in place to be able to start the actual deployment in services and 

working with the states. 

So I, too, am a great supporter of FirstNet. 

Mr. PALLONE. OK. We have run out. Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Well, actually, you went 3 seconds over but 

who’s counting? 

Mr. Kinzinger, you’re recognized 5 minutes. 

Mr. KINZINGER. Thank you, Madam Chair, and running a tight 

clock. That’s good. That’s good. I am excited. It’s going to be a good 

couple years. 

Quickly, just to all witnesses, since 2010 NTIA’s office of spectrum management has been tasked with executing a presidential 

memorandum to make available a total of 500 megahertz of federal-nonfederal spectrum by 2020. We are quickly approaching the 

end of that 10-year window and do you all think there is a need 

for the NTIA and the FCC to jointly establish and carry out formal 

planning activities for the next decade through a new national 

spectrum plan? 

Mr. KNEUER. Yes, I think it’s vital to have a pipeline to have to 

have long-range visibility as to where the next spectrum bands are 

going to come from to meet the growing needs that I think we have 

all been talking about. 

I think there is a challenge when you set numbers of megahertz 

to be freed without some more detail and concept about what that 

means. 

If the agencies are put in a position to find spectrum, they may 

find spectrum that is in the cupboard but is not very useful and 

say we have met our obligation. 

So the focus less on specific targets and more on holistic policies 

that will be deployed across the entire government that this is part 

of your job, day in day out. 

As a steward of these resources you need to account for them and 

make sure you’re taking steps that they are used across the economy and not just held for isolated purposes. So I think long-range 

planning is very important. I think the spectrum pipeline bill is important. But yes, we have to keep looking down range. 

Ms. BAKER. I think goals are important and I would certainly 

welcome this committee, asking NTIA and the FCC to have set anVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:26 Oct 24, 2018 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 115\HEARINGS\115-5 CHRIS
59 

other goal for 10 years. I think that the focus of this committee is 

very helpful. 

You have brought the AWS–3 auction. You have brought the 600 

megahertz auction to bear. And I think that the guidance from this 

committee is very important and we would love to see that. 

Mr. KINZINGER. Ms. Gomez, do you have anything to add? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Sorry. The only thing I would add is I agree, planning is I agree planning is very important. Goals are very important. I also want to make sure that NTIA continues to focus on 

what it’s doing today because it still has a lot of work to do. 

So whatever resources they need it would be good to bolster 

those resources so they can in fact engage in thoughtful planning 

for the future. 

Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Kneuer and Ms. Gomez, how can the NTIA 

most effectively promote the interests of the United States in international discussions on internet and communications policies? 

Mr. KNEUER. Well, I think Mr. Shimkus asked about ITU and 

our role there. That has been the vehicle in the world radio conference where NTIA works with our colleagues in the State Department. Aggregating all of the equities of the spectrum-dependent 

agencies is very heavily focused on the Defense Department, as you 

would imagine. 

So maintaining a robust role and making sure that we collaborate across those areas. With regards to internet governance and 

those sorts of subject matters, the multi-stakeholder model has 

been very, very productive. 

It was productive in collaborating and coordinating the IANA 

functions. Some of these broader internet governance issues probably don’t belong. 

The nontechnical issues don’t belong in a technical body. But the 

model of the multi-stakeholder model to bring diverse coordinated 

interests and equities together for U.S. promotion in a variety of 

international forums, NTIA plays an important role in that. 

Ms. GOMEZ. I absolutely agree with John. NTIA’s strong voice 

and role in the governmental advisory committee is very important, 

may even be more so important today to ensure that the internet 

remains a free and open resource and that other bodies don’t take 

over trying to manage the architecture that so far has been so successful and open. 

Mr. KINZINGER. And let me just ask you very briefly, Ms. Gomez, 

one of the NTIA administrator’s important roles is to represent the 

administration and the United States and the multi-stakeholder 

decision process, particularly when it comes to settings like ICANN 

and the internet governance issues. Do you see any obstacles to 

doing this? 

Ms. GOMEZ. I would agree with what Meredith said earlier, 

which is that this is—or maybe it was John who said it. Sorry. 

This is probably the best staff, the most expert staff and the 

strongest and most strategic staff that we have to participate in 

this body. 

So it’s important to continue to support that resource and support their needs as we move forward with a U.S. presence and 

voice in these meetings and associations. 

Mr. KINZINGER. OK. Thanks. 

60 

And I yield back now. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. With military precision, yields back. 

Mr. Butterfield, 5 minutes. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Thank you, Chairman Blackburn and Ranking 

Member Doyle. Thank you for holding today’s hearing on NTIA reauthorization. 

There is no doubt that NTIA will play a critical role as this administration contemplates its goals related to our nation’s telecommunications policy. 

By any definition, NTIA is critical in the communication space. 

NTIA’s past and ongoing work with FirstNet—and I appreciate the 

ranking member’s comments a few moments ago—work with 

FirstNet as well as their work with the National Highway Safety 

Administration to develop and implement next generation 911 services is to be commended. 

NTIA also plays a critical role in safeguarding our nation from 

cyber threats. There is no higher mission from members of Congress than doing all that we can to protect our constituents from 

potential threats. 

At this point, it is underscored by the intervention of Russia in 

last year’s election and their state-sponsored hacking of the Democratic National Committee. 

Those incidents highlight that cyberattacks that threaten our 

country can be carried out by highly funded and even state-sponsored actors. 

In response to that type of attack on our democracy, we must 

take steps to investigate all potential cyber security threats including those posed by state sponsors like Russia, and I am confident 

that NTIA will do just that. 

Also important to my district and my constituents is identifying 

ways to increase broadband adoption and reduce barriers to 

broadband deployment. 

In this regard, I understand that NTIA continues to engage in 

several initiatives aimed to increase adoption. For example, NTIA 

has engaged local communities through the Broadband USA initiative to provide technical assistance and guidance on how best to increase access to affordable broadband. 

It has also been a key participant of the broadband opportunity 

council which was created to ensure federal agencies take specific 

steps to encourage broadband investment and remove regulatory 

barriers. 

Just one or two questions, Ms. Gomez. Do you think that the new 

administration should continue these activities and why? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Absolutely. All the activities that you mentioned are 

important and especially to the continued innovation and deployment of these new and important technologies. 

So I would say NTIA is front and center in a lot of them and 

these are initiatives that should continue. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Aside from the increase in the budget from 40 

to 50, are there other things that we can do legislatively to enhance 

the work of NTIA? 

Ms. GOMEZ. I do think that there are ways that you can empower 

and promote NTIA as it continues a lot of these interagency discussions. 

61 

As we have discussed before, it’s a small agency with a mandate 

to push and prod its fellow agencies throughout the federal government to lead to, for example, removing barriers to infrastructure 

deployment. 

That requires dedication and focus from other agencies that 

NTIA sometimes doesn’t have the muscle to force other agencies to 

make a priority as part of their mission. 

So to the extent Congress can help with bolstering NTIA’s ability 

to successfully get the other agencies to cooperate, that’s always 

very helpful. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. Thank you very much. 

Madam Chairman, I yield back. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. And gentleman is competing for first prize in 

yield back. 

Ms.—— 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I was told that you would be in the chair, Ms. 

Blackburn. Your real title in the time is when I was a judge in the 

courtroom. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Absolutely. 

Mr. BUTTERFIELD. I understand the importance. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Yes, sir. Ms. Walters, five minutes. 

Ms. WALTERS. There is a lot of pressure. 

First of all, there’s a lot of pressure. First of all, I’d like to thank 

the chair for holding this hearing and for the witnesses being here 

today. 

Cybersecurity continues to be a growing threat and I’d like to get 

your thoughts on what role the government should play in this 

area as this becomes a bigger concern to all stakeholders. 

With that, Ms. Baker, with regard to cyber security, there seems 

to be several agencies that are staking a claim of leadership—FCC, 

DoD, DHS, NTIA. 

With respect to the commercial sector, do you have opinions as 

to which agency should run point? 

Ms. BAKER. I’m glad you asked. It’s a great question. 

We do have an opinion here. Cybersecurity is critical. These networks are going to change everyone’s life every job, our economy. 

But they have to be safe. 

And so cyber security is the most important thing that we work 

on every day. I feel strongly that this needs to take place within 

the administration, not an independent agency. 

So I think there’s a coordination role that needs to happen between DHS, NTIA, NIST. I think we probably prefer DHS to be the 

lead with coordination from the others. But I do think one way or 

another it needs to take place in the administration, not in the 

FCC. Thank you. 

Ms. WALTERS. Ms. Gomez, one of the primary challenges we face 

in securing our nation’s communication infrastructure and networks from cyber threats is the rapidly evolving nature of these 

threats. 

Does NTIA have the ability to adapt quickly enough to adjust to 

new and emerging threats in its efforts to drive interagency cybersecurity practices? 

62 

Ms. GOMEZ. In keeping with your prior question, it is important 

that we have some kind of a balance of the economic and national 

security concerns in cybersecurity practices. 

The point that you’re making is it is a challenge to keep up with 

changes in technology and that is why you need an agency that can 

convene processes that are able to be flexible enough to be able to 

address those changes. 

NTIA could use more expert staff. They have very good expert 

staff. But as we look forward to continuing and increasing challenges and new and novel issues in these areas, it would be helpful 

to be able to bolster them. 

As I mentioned before, they also need the security clearances, 

which is part of the reason why they need additional budget to be 

able to get those clearances for their staff. 

Ms. WALTERS. And Ms. Gomez, you have the most recent tenure 

at NTIA. And how would you describe the relationship between 

NTIA and DHS and in this cybersecurity framework? And do you 

think NTIA and the FCC have sufficient authority and ability to 

represent the interest the interests of the commercial sector in this 

conversation? 

Ms. GOMEZ. NTIA and DHS has had a very good relationship 

both on cybersecurity as well as on public safety. There are established processes in place. There are interagency groups in which 

they participate. So that is very helpful. 

I think having specific authority is always helpful to bolster an 

agency’s jurisdiction and I think NTIA does have a very good jurisdiction writ large but it always is helpful to give them that specific 

jurisdictional authority in reauthorizing legislation. 

Ms. WALTERS. And Ms. Baker and Mr. Kneuer, do you have anything to add, either one of you? 

Mr. KNEUER. I think there is value in NTIA’s role with its interface with the private industry. There is the response part of dealing with the cyber initiative which is probably not going to be 

NTIA’s role. 

But one of the greatest lines of defense in cyber is to share information on the nature of threats and the nature of attacks. 

Private industry sometimes is hesitant to share that kind of information because they are admitting to a vulnerability or they are 

exposing a vulnerability or they are concerned about litigation exposure. 

NTIA can play that role, taking some of the information of the 

information from the private sector, bringing that into the interagency and taking the best information from the interagency and 

taking the best information from the interagency and distributing 

it back into the private sector. 

Ms. BAKER. I think you’ve covered it. 

Ms. WALTERS. Thank you, and I yield back the balance of my 

time. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Mr. Costello for 5 minutes. 

Mr. COSTELLO. Thank you. 

Continuing on the cybersecurity issue, could you share your 

thoughts, Ms. Gomez, and I would open up to the other panelists 

as well, on NTIA’s role in assisting FirstNet plan and its cybersecurity strategies. 

63 

We spoke on the commercial side already. 

Ms. GOMEZ. Great. Well, cybersecurity is a very important component of FirstNet. Again, we need to have public safety’s trust and 

confidence in the security of the nationwide public safety 

broadband network to get them to actually sign on to the service. 

FirstNet has its own cybersecurity staff. I would start with that. 

So to the extend NTIA is supporting FirstNet I would say that’s 

probably it’s biggest role. 

NTIA also participates with NIST in the public safety communications research program and through that program is able to coordinate support for FirstNet as well on cybersecurity issues. 

But this is fundamental to the success of the network will be the 

ability to have a very secure network. 

Ms. BAKER. I would just add probably that I think FirstNet it 

has probably one of the very most important missions of any government agency. 

And as I just stated, I think cybersecurity is one of the most important jobs that we have as network providers. So I guess you get 

double importance there. 

Mr. KNEUER. I think that’s right. I think there is an opportunity 

for potentially a virtuous cycle to come into effect as a customer. 

FirstNet probably has higher cyber requirements than a typical 

large enterprise company, right. 

So as they put those requirements into the provider and the contractor for FirstNet, those cyber requirements populate into the 

commercial networks more broadly and as those technological developments take place in response to FirstNet, we get this loop 

where the requirements get put in, the technology gets developed 

and it’s an improving cycle. 

Mr. COSTELLO. This could be a philosophical or a technical question or both. 

We are obviously dealing with a very massive network that I 

think we can all agree needs to remain agile because as you get 

new security technologies you want to make sure that you don’t 

have to sort of go back in time to reengineer. 

How does NTIA remain relevant and make sure that it remains 

agile and nimble as new security technologies enter into this? 

Ms. GOMEZ. I think, again, this goes back to NTIA’s convening 

role. It both has the external expertise and also the interagency expertise between NIST and DHS. 

But, more importantly, it also needs to rely on the stakeholders 

to come in and to educate it and the multi-stakeholder processes 

on these new technologies and that’s a large part of what they do. 

Mr. KNEUER. I would just build on something Meredith said earlier about the administration being the best place for some of these 

issues. 

I think the danger in pursuing a regulatory approach to cyber is 

that the incentives shift from network protection to regulatory compliance and that creates a sort of sporadic function that you’re concerned about, that how do you stay relevant. 

Enshrining things in regs is the quickest way to delay rapid 

changes. So levering the coordinating function, leveraging and taking advantage of the incentives that both industry and the government have to protect themselves is the best way for us to keep it 

64 

as something that’s top of mind rather than always backward looking at a regulatory structure. 

Mr. COSTELLO. The state and local implementation grant program—the education and outreach to a state’s local emergency personnel is obviously extremely important. And the guidance—the 

NTIA can offer in the decision making process for states weighing 

challenges and how to opt in or opt out, can you sort of explain, 

moving forward, how NTIA should approach that—particularly in 

my state of Pennsylvania, where it’s an extremely important issue? 

Ms. GOMEZ. Yes. Congress was very wise to include what we call 

planning funding, just generally, in creating this state and local 

implementation grant program because FirstNet needs to get the 

input from the bottom up, from the cities and communities and localities up through the state up to FirstNet, and that takes dedicated resources. That’s what the grant program does. 

What NTIA does is administers that grant program and support 

FirstNet’s efforts to reach out to those individuals so they can have 

a voice in the network. 

Mr. COSTELLO. Thank you. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Gentleman yields back. 

Mr. Cramer, you’re recognized 5 minutes. 

Mr. CRAMER. Thank you, Madam Chair, and congratulations on 

the gavel. 

Thanks to all of our witnesses for this hearing and your time— 

time that is getting late. 

Now, I’ve sat here a long time and I’ve listened to pretty much 

everything and there have been a couple of passing references to 

smart cars or autonomous vehicles. But I am going to bring up a 

completely different topic so a completely different context at least 

for a similar topic. 

So my home state of North Dakota is home to the Northern 

Plains UAS test site, one of the six FAA-designated test sites designated in 2013. 

And as you likely know, remotely-piloted aircraft are playing an 

increasing role in important duties like disaster recovery, monitoring pipelines, precision agriculture. 

Obviously, there are the obvious military applications. And as a 

result of our test site, we have a rather unique enhanced use lease 

at the Grand Forks Air Force Base where there is a private sector 

business park at the same place on the air base, with the appropriate security divisions and what not. 

It’s quite unique, and for military applications for defense contractors, which we have attracted to the park, spectrum is fairly 

easy. Of course, it’s a military issue. 

But for the private sector where I think the real opportunity and 

real growth lies for testing, aircraft testing equipment, training pilots, research and development, there has been a challenge as it relates. And, in fact, there was a specific situation not that long ago 

where a company was testing and wanting to illustrate, demonstrate the use of their cameras and video. And they literally 

could not do it because of a fairly basic spectrum issue. 

All of that being said, going forward, how do you see spectrum 

allocation as it relates to UAS and how do you see it being resolved, improved upon? NTIA—obviously, their role in other agenVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:26 Oct 24, 2018 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 115\HEARINGS\115-5 CHRIS
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cies and what can we as Congress do to help clarify it? And I throw 

that to all of you and that will be my only question, Madam Chair. 

Ms. GOMEZ. So spectrum is going to be very important for unmanned aircraft in a variety of ways. First of all, the command and 

control of aircraft, particularly if you start looking at beyond line 

of sights uses. 

And there is going to be different types of needs depending on 

the type of aircraft and the operations themselves. So right now, 

you can fly using unlicensed but that’s not going to be true for the 

longer range flights. 

So the spectrum is going to be very important. The FCC is going 

to be important because they are going to have the rules for commercial uses. 

The FAA’s going to be important because they are the ones that 

are going to try to regulate to make everything safe and make sure 

that they meet requirements to make them safe. And NTIA is important because there is going to be interagency coordination. 

And so spectrum is something that the agencies are very focused 

on currently. There is internationally allocated spectrum for unmanned aircraft and it’s specific aeronautical spectrum, and then 

there is also other spectrum that can be utilized that will also be 

very significant for the expansion of this industry that is moving 

so quickly and, as you’ve noted, the North Dakota test site is an 

important part of that. 

Mr. CRAMER. So Ms. Gomez had beautifully described the complication of the issue. So as a result going forward, how can we 

help streamline? Because you articulated perfectly how difficult 

this is, especially command and control, which is where the real opportunity rests. 

Ms. BAKER. I would highlight, many of the things that we have 

talked about today, the future of our communications networks, 

overlapped jurisdictions, and I think what we need to encourage is 

to make sure that we remain on the cutting edge of innovation and 

I think UAS is one where they are using them in England. We are 

not using them really here. 

So I think its own place where—I think with Congress’ oversight 

we can make sure that we don’t over regulate budding innovations 

and budding industries so that we can maintain our innovative 

edge and competitive edge against other countries around the 

world. 

Mr. KNEUER. The only thing I would add apart from the longterm deployment of unmanned vehicles, with regards to the test 

site, there are private test sites. There are military test sites that 

are typically in very remote areas and those remote areas are typically not at all spectrum constrained in the real world but they’re 

spectrum constrained by the issuance of those licenses. 

We issue licenses on national bases or wide geographic areas and 

you can turn on a spectrum analyzer and say there is no one here. 

But the authorities are held by someone else. 

Creating governance processes where there are the opportunity 

and the ability of diverse carriers to say you know what, I am not 

out there, and, here’s how we can collaborate and here’s how you 

can use my spectrum, how you can have transactional agreements 

66 

in those areas, I think, clarifies or will get the regulatory out of the 

way of the technological in those test areas. 

Mr. CRAMER. Thank you all very much, and Madam Chair, I 

yield back. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. Gentleman yields back. 

Mr. Engel, we will get you in before we get called to votes and 

be able to dismiss our panel and not have to come back. 

Mr. ENGEL. OK. Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair, and briefly, before I begin, I want to say how excited I am to be rejoining 

this subcommittee after having served on it a number of years ago 

and how much I am looking forward to working with you, Madam 

Chair, and all the members here on these important issues of Congress. 

Thanks to our witnesses. I wanted to focus on cybersecurity and 

particularly the role NTIA plays coordinating our national cybersecurity response between government and industry. 

Last year, when Russian operatives breached the Democratic National Committee and broke into John Podesta’s emails, they attacked our election, the very core of our government. 

But even that attack never hit a government agency or government-owned computer. The DNC is a private organization and Mr. 

Podesta kept his e-mail on a Google g-mail account. 

So the Russian hacking story is at least in part a story about 

how cyber threats leave us vulnerable in these places where governments and the private sector meet. 

NTIA has emerged as a vital cop on that beat in its role at the 

IPTF and as a liaison between industry, Commerce Department, 

defense and intelligence communities, DHS and the rest of the government. 

So let me ask Ms. Gomez and Mr. Kneuer, I wonder if you could 

talk a bit about what would happen to this multi-stakeholder approach to cybersecurity, particularly on the government side if 

there wasn’t an agency to fill that role. 

Ms. GOMEZ. So what would happen if there wasn’t an agency to 

fulfill the role of coordinating with other agencies, as we talked 

there’s a lot of overlapping jurisdiction and interests throughout 

government. 

As I mentioned, I think it’s very important that as we continue 

to look forward to securing the networks that we make sure we balance economic and national security interests because each agency’s mission is a little bit different. 

The national security agency’s interest is in protecting the internet. That could lead to very draconian measures that would not 

allow continued innovation. 

So an NTIA is important because they are a convener and they 

provide a balance. It’s also important because it convenes the 

multi-stakeholder processes to ensure that we have methods of addressing a lot of these vulnerabilities and without having rules enshrined in regulations that would then not be flexible for to take 

into account changes in technology. 

Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Kneuer, do you have anything to add? 

Mr. KNEUER. I think I agree largely with all of that. 

The legal and authorization structures around structures around 

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ment—it’s Title 10 Authority under Espionage and you’ve got all of 

the various law enforcement authorities on the response side of 

things. 

I don’t think it’s ever going to be NTIA’s role or whether it would 

be wise for it to be NTIA’s role to be in the response change. 

However, it does play an important role in, as we have talked 

about earlier, sharing information that is developed from some of 

those other expert agencies that are really designed to respond to 

foreign and domestic threats. 

Its role is best suited, I think, to making the commercial industry 

aware of these threat vectors, what they can do to practically defend themselves. And should the attacks come, the response is 

going to be focused, I think, in other agencies. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you. Let me ask Ms. Baker. 

How valuable is the institutional expertise at NTIA and IST and 

these other industry facing agencies that work with all of you in 

cybersecurity—what would happen to our national cybersecurity 

strategy if we lost that expertise at that junction between industry 

and government? 

Ms. BAKER. I think it’s critical. I mean, I think expertise as these 

networks evolve is having that housed in both in the private sector 

and having that in the government so that they can convene the 

private sector I think is integral to our protection, going forward. 

Mr. ENGEL. Thank you. So let me just say, in conclusion, that I 

am convinced that one of the biggest problems we are facing now 

in confronting cyber threats is that everything is spread out. 

There are precious few clearinghouses where actual decisions are 

made about the best way to protect American interests. 

We have this opportunity here with NTIA to build on and expand 

our capability at this intersection of industry and government. 

I believe it is very important to overcoming part of this problem. 

So I want to urge my colleagues and chairwoman to keep that in 

mind while this subcommittee moves forward with this reauthorization process. 

Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back the balance of my 

time. 

Mrs. BLACKBURN. The gentleman yields back and there are no 

further members waiting to ask questions. So we will thank our 

witnesses. 

We are so pleased to have had you with us today. I remind members you’ve got 5 days to submit opening statements. You have 10 

days to submit further questions to our witnesses. 

We would ask for written responses within 10 days, and there 

being no further business to come before the committee today, it is 

adjourned. 

[Whereupon, the hearing concluded at 1:01 p.m.] 

[Material submitted for inclusion in the record follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. GREG WALDEN

I had the honor of chairing this subcommittee for 6 years and still care deeply 

about the issues under its jurisdiction. There is never a dull moment in this exciting 

industry. The communications and technology sector is a bright spot in the American economy as it continues to innovate, compete, and grow despite the recession 

of 2008. I have always argued that this industry deserves a fair, transparent government agency to oversee the rules of competition. Moreover, this industry deVerDate Nov 24 2008 12:26 Oct 24, 2018 Jkt 037690 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 I:\MY DOCS\HEARINGS 115\HEARINGS\115-5 CHRIS
68 

serves a government that understands modern technology and recognizes that these 

innovations are a critical underpinning of the domestic economy. Our hope today is 

to ensure that the agencies overseeing this dynamic industry have the tools they 

need to set an environment that fosters innovation and competition. 

I applaud Chairman Blackburn for kicking off this Congress with a close examination of NTIA. This agency plays a critical role in determining how spectrum is allocated. We will be looking increasingly to our government agencies to determine 

where spectrum can be re-purposed for ever increasing commercial needs without 

compromising the safety of our infrastructure. 

This agency also plays an important role in assessing policy challenges in securing 

our networks. We should consider how its role should evolve in this day and age, 

when threats include everyone from nation states to teenage kids. I am also mindful 

that additional work must be done on public safety networks in general. NTIA’s responsibilities include not only the incubation of FirstNet but also the distribution 

of grants intended to incentivize states to deploy and support public safety answering points that can receive IP-based texts, voice, and video. This work hasn’t exactly 

gotten off to a roaring start, and it is high time we looked into moving that forward. 

I appreciate the work that this subcommittee has done to date on these issues, 

and I know that under Chairman Blackburn’s leadership, you will continue to do 

good work. I thank the witnesses for their time today and look forward to their testimony. 

69 


24883.023

epic.org ELECTRONIC PRIVACY 

INFORMATION CENTER 

February 2, 2017 

Tbe Honorable Marsha Blackburn, Chair 

The Honorable Michael Doyle, Ranking Member 

U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

2125 Rayburn House Office Building 

Washington, D.C. 20515 

RE: Hearing on "Reauthorization of NTIA" 

Dear Chairwoman Blackburn and Ranking Member Doyle: 

We write to you regarding the reauthorization of the National Telecommunications & 

Information Administration (NTIA). American consumers face unprecedented privacy and 

security threats. The unregulated collection of personal data has led to staggering increases in 

identity theft, security breaches, and financial fraud in the United States. Congress should work 

with the NTIA to develop meaningful safeguards for the privacy and security of Americans' 

personal information. 

The Electronic Privacy Information Center was established in 1994 to focus public 

attention on emerging privacy and civil liberties issues. EPIC is a leading advocate for consumer 

privacy and has appeared before this Committee on several occasions, and has actively 

participated in the proceedings of the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") and the Federal 

Communications Commission ("FCC"). 1 

1 See, e.g, Marc Rotenberg, EPIC Executive Director, Testimony before the U.S. House Energy & 

Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, Examining the EU Safe Harbor Decision 

and Impacts for Transatlantic Data Flows (November 13, 2015), 

https:l/cpic.org/privacy/intl/schrems/EPI C-EU-SI 1-Testimony-HCEC-11-3-final.pdf; Marc Rotenberg, 

EPIC Executive Director, Testimony before the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on 

Communications and Technology, Communications Networks and Consumer Privacy: Recent 

Developments (April 23, 2009), https:/lepic.org/privacyldpilrotenbcrg_HouseCom_ 4-09.pdf; Letter from 

EPIC to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce on FCC Privacy Rules (June 13, 2016), 

https:llepic.org/privacyiconsumer/EPIC-FCC-Privacy-Rules.pdf; Letter from EPIC to the U.S. Senate 

Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation on FTC Oversight (Sept. 26, 20 16), 

https :/ i epic .org/privacy I consumer/BPI C-Letter -Sen-Comm -CST-FTC-Oversight. pdf. 

EPIC Letter to House Committee 

on E&C, Subcomm. On Comm. & Tech. 

NTIA Reauthorization Hearing 

February 2, 2017 
70 


24883.024

The recent Yahoo! data breach that exposed the personal information of more than one 

billion users is the latest in a growing number of high-profile hacks that threaten the privacy, 

security, and financial stability of American consumers. Far too many organizations collect, use, 

and disclose detailed personal infonnation with too little regard for the consequences. Further, 

there are massive privacy and security implications of the growing "Internet of Things." Earlier 

this week, the New York Times reported on the hack of an Austrian hotel relying on Internetconnected locks 2 The hackers demanded ransom to unlock guests' doors. Last week, it was 

discovered that hackers infected a majority of the storage devices that store data from D.C. 

police surveillance cameras just a week before Inauguration Day3 Congress and the NTIA must 

work together to enact concrete consumer protections that: 

Promote Privacy Enhancing Techniques (PETs) that minimize or eliminate the 

collection of personal information. 4 

Ensure routine security updates for loT devices; and 

Carefully assesses loT deployment for critical functions, including transportation, 

home security, and medical devices. 

The NTIA's multi-stakeholder processes are simply not working they result in weak, 

voluntary self-regulatory regimes. Industry self-regulatory programs do not provide meaningful 

privacy protections5 The NTIA should support a strong legal framework that protects American 

Internet users and promotes public safety. 

The implications of Internet of Things for consumer privacy and security are farreaching. If the NTIA fails to develop appropriate safeguards, the country will face growing risk. 

We ask that this letter be entered in the hearing record. EPIC looks forward to working 

with the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on these issues. 

Sincerely, 

:Marc 'Rotenberg 

Marc Rotenberg 

EPIC President 

Caitriona Titzgera{c[ 

Caitriona Fitzgerald 

EPIC Policy Director 

2 Dan Bilefsky, Hackers Use New Tactic at Austrian Hotel: Locking the Doors, NY Times (January 30, 

20 17), https:llwww.nytimes.com/20 1710 l/30/world/europe/hotel-austria-bitcoin-ransom.html. 3 Clarence Williams, Hackers hit D.C. police closed-circuit camera network, city officials disclose, Wash. 

Post (Jan. 27, 2017), http://wpo.st/Jb_ Y2. 4 See Comments of EPIC, On the Privacy and Security Implications of the Internet of Things, FTC File 

No. (June l, 20 13), https:/lepic.orglprivacy/ftciEPIC-FTC-loT -Cmts.pdf. 5 Comments of EPIC, Multistakeholder Process to Develop Consumer Data Privacy Codes a_{ Conduct, 

Docket No. 120214135-2135-0 l (Apr. 2, 20 12), https:llcpic.orglprivacylconsumer/EPIC-NTIAComments-FlNAL.pdf; Comments of EPIC, Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and 

Other Telecommunications Services, WC Docket NO. 16- 106 (July 6, 2016), 

https:/lepic.org/apa/commcnts/EPIC-FCC-Privacy-NPRM-Reply-Comments-07.06.16.pdf. 

EPIC Letter to House Committee 2 NTIA Reauthorization Hearing 

on E&C, Subcomm. On Comm. & Tech. February 2, 2017 
71 


24883.025

GREG WALDEN, ORt:.GON 

CHAIRMAN 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., NEW JERSEY 

RANKING MEMBER 

ctr:ongress of tbc ~nitcb ~tatcs 

:l)ouge of l\eprrgentatibes 

COMMITIEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 

2125 RAYBUHN HmJSF. OFFICE BuiLDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6115 [202/11~-:.'927 

\ZD;I)225-Jil11 

February 23,2017 

The Honorable John Kneuer 

Former Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information 

Former Administrator 

National Telecommunications and Infonnation Administration 

1050 30th Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20007 

Dear Mr. Kneuer: 

Thank you for appearing before the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on 

Thursday, February 2, 20 I 7, to testifY at the hearing entitled "Reauthorization ofNTlA." 

Pllrsuant to the Rules of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the hearing record remains 

open for ten business days to permit Members to submit additional questions for the record, which are 

attached. The format of your responses to these questions should be as follows: (I) the name of the 

Member whose question you are addressing, (2) the complete text of the question you are addressing in 

bold, and (3) your answer to that question in plain text, 

To facilitate the printing of the hearing record. please respond to these questions with a 

transmittal letter by the close of business on Thursday, March 9, 2017. Your responses should be mailed 

to Greg Watson, Legislative Clerk, Committee on Energy and Commerce, 2!25 Rayburn House Office 

Buildingt Washington. DC 20515 and e-maiied in VVord format to Oreg.Watson@maiLhouse.gov. 

Thank you again for your time and eflbrt preparing and delivering testimony before the 

Subcommittee, 

Cha1 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

cc: The Honorable Mike Doyle, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

Attachment 
72 


24883.026

Attachment-Additional Questions for the Record 

The Honorable Marsha Blackburn 

l. What are five critical items that Congress should consider in our efforts to reauthorize 

and modernize NTIA? What do you see as the biggest challenges to reauthorizing and 

modemizing the Agency? 

The Honorable Kevin Cramer 

l. You mentioned there may be an ability to develop a governance process to create an 

opportunity and ability to use spectrum through transactional agreements. Is there 

currently a process that can be followed by the NTIA that is understood by the FCC and 

the FAA Spectrum Office to execute these types of agreements? This seems like an 

opp01iunity to use frequencies based on geographical location, which could be written 

into the concept of operations for beyond visual line of sight flights. 

The Honorable Jerry McNerney 

l. In your testimony, you indicated that NTIA is most effective when it focuses its policy 

coordination efforts on the intersection of commercial and government interests. You also 

noted cybersecurity as an example where this type of coordination occurs. Aside from 

policy coordination, how does NTIA work with the private sector in the area of 

cybersecurity? 

2. How can the research being done at NTIA's Institute for Telecommunication Sciences 

aid technological developments in the area of cybersecurity? 
73 


24883.027

GREG WALDEN, OREGON 

CHAIRMAN 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., NEW JERSEY 

RANKING MEMBER 

<!ongreS'S' of tbe 1titniteb f6>tateS' 

;i)oullc of ~eptellcntatillcll 

COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 

2125 RAYRUHN HousE 0fHCE BurLDING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6115 

The Honorable Meredith Attwell Baker 

Majnnty (202122& ?921 

Mmonty !2021225 

February 23, 2017 

Former Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information 

Former Acting Administrator 

National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

1400 16th Street, N.W., Suite 600 

Washington, DC 20036 

Dear Ms. Baker: 

Thank you for appearing before the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on 

Thursday, February 2, 2017, to testilY at the hearing entitled "Reauthorization ofNTIA." 

Pursuant to the Rules of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. the hearing record remains 

open for ten business days to permit Members to submit additional questions for the record, which are 

attached. The format of your responses to these questions should be as follows: (I) the name of the 

Member whose question you are addressing, (2) the complete text of the question you are addressing in 

bold, and (3) your answer to that question in plain text. 

To facilitate the printing of the hearing record, please respond to these questions with a 

transmittal letter by the close of business on Thursday, March 9, 2017. Your responses should be mailed 

to Greg Watson, Legislative Clerk, Committee on Energy and Commerce, 2125 Rayburn House Office 

Building, Washington, DC 20515 and e~mailed in Word format to Greg.Watson@mail.house.gov. 

Thank you again for your time and effort preparing and delivering testimony before the 

Subcommittee. 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

cc: The Honorable Mike Doyle, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

Attachment 
74 


24883.028

Responses to Questions for the Record from Meredith Baker, President and CEO, CTIA 

House Energy & Commerce Communications & Technology Subcommittee 

Hearing on the "Reauthorization of NTIA" 

Chairman Blackburn 

1. What are five critical items that Congress should consider in our efforts to 

reauthorize and modernize NTIA? What do you see as the biggest challenges 

to reauthorizing the Agency? 

Five critical items that Congress should consider in a NTIA Reauthorization 

should include the following: 

1. Infuse increased transparency into NTIA processes. NTIA would benefit from 

greater transparency tools to better hold agencies accountable for their 

spectrum use and needs, as well as simplify this Committee's important 

oversight role. 

2. Encourage NTIA to leverage those tools already available to it to best 

manage federal spectrum use. For instance, NTIA can fully utilize the Institute 

for Telecommunication Science (ITS), which engages in important studies to 

determine the most effective means of making federal spectrum available 

for commercial use. In the context of sharing AWS-3 spectrum, for example, 

the ITS helped determine the level of protection required for incumbent 

licensees, which facilitated greater access to federal spectrum by 

commercial users while protecting critical government uses. 

3. Elevate the NTIA Administrator's title from what is now an Assistant Secretary 

position, to an Undersecretary level position. This would be consistent with 

the Undersecretary title of NTIA's sister agency, the head of National Institute 

of Standards and Technology. 

4. Continue to find ways to utilize the Spectrum Relocation Fund (SRF). The SRF 

provides positive incentives for federal agencies to invest in new and 

innovative technologies needed to support efficient spectrum use and 

potential reallocation, and this Committee can take steps to further enhance 

this system. 

5. Encourage NTIA to more routinely review spectrum needs and assets. NTIA 

released a report in November 2016 evaluating several spectrum bands now 

used by federal agencies that hold significant potential for commercial 

use. This "Quantitative Analysis" was a useful process that required 

evaluation of federal spectrum utilization. Congress can further direct NTIA to 

issue similar reports in the future on a more regular basis, and create 

mechanisms to provide greater awareness into the timing and status of key 

spectrum priorities. These reports can assist all spectrum-using entities to 

better understand the interagency spectrum review process and provide 

more certainty for future planning. 
75 


24883.029

As for potential challenges to a NTIA reauthorization, CTIA was pleased to see 

bipartisan support to examine NTIA's mission, a task not undertaken since 1992. 

We are hopeful that members see the value of NTIA's critical convener role of 

ensuring federal agencies have the spectrum necessary to fulfill their important 

operations, while finding ways to efficiently repurpose federal spectrum for 

commercial use. 

Ranking Member Pallone 

2. When asked whether CTIA would support Democratic efforts to strengthen 

the FTC's ability to protect consumers by lifting the common carrier exemption, 

giving the FTC rulemaking authority, and giving the FTC more privacy staff, you 

responded:"[Y]es, the idea of having the FTC have jurisdiction over the 

privacy of consumers' data over all companies would be consistent with what 

we believe." In your testimony, you also clarified, however, that "the mechanism 

as to how to get to that, I would have to get back to you on the language." 

a. Can you provide specific language on how the best to strengthen 

the FTC's ability to protect consumers by lifting the common carrier 

exemption, giving the FTC rulemaking authority, giving the FTC more 

privacy staff, or additional mechanisms? 

Re-establishing the FTC as the expert agency of jurisdiction on privacy 

best strengthens the FTC's ability to protect consumers. Congressional 

rollback of the misguided FCC privacy rules is the first step in restoring 

the FTC's previous role. Because the FCC's 2015 Open Internet Order 

stripped the FTC of its authority over broadband providers' privacy and 

data security practices, that decision continues to be the most significant 

obstacle to a return to the FTC's consumer protection work relating to 

ISPs. 

Any legislation that seeks to focus on the FTC's ability to protect 

consumers, ensuring that all entities are subject to a uniform privacy 

regime, would have to simultaneously address the gap created by the 

Open Internet Order, 

3. Last year, the Energy and Commerce Committee considered a bill, H.R. 5510, 

the FTC Process and Transparency Reform Act that would substantially weaken 

the FTC's ability to protect consumers. 

a. Do you oppose H.R. 5510, or similar legislation, that would diminish 

the FTC's ability to protect consumers? 

CTIA did not take a position on H.R. 5510. In general, legislation that 

seeks to consider the costs of regulation and increases agency 
76 


24883.030

transparency can result in decisions that are more balanced from federal 

agencies, including the FTC. 

4. Yes or no, in your opinion, if Congress were to pass a Congressional 

Review Act resolution disapproving the Federal Communications 

Commission's (FCC) broadband privacy rules, would that preclude the FCC 

from adopting broadband privacy rules harmonized with the Federal Trade 

Commission (FTC) unfair and deceptive acts or practices framework? 

No, we do not believe that the invocation of the CRA would preclude the 

FCC from adopting new privacy rules consistent with the FTC framework. The 

CRA would only foreclose rules that are "substantially the same" as the 

disapproved rules, which departed significantly from the FTC approach. We 

support the goals jointly expressed by FCC Chairman Pal and FTC Chairman 

Ohlhausen establishing a uniform, technology-neutral privacy framework 

that allows for consistent treatment of consumer data throughout the Internet 

ecosystem. 

5. Yes or no, if Congress were to pass a Congressional Review Act resolution 

disapproving the FCC's broadband privacy rules, would you petition the FCC to 

adopt broadband privacy rules harmonized with the FTC unfair and deceptive acts 

or practices framework? 

CTIA has already filed a comparable petition before the FCC, in the form of a 

petition for reconsideration to revise its rules so as to make them consistent with the 

FTC privacy framework, to the extent permitted by Section 222 of the 

Communications Act. As stated above, the more uniform approach would subject 

all entities to the same privacy regime under FTC jurisdiction. 

6. Yes or no, if the FCC adopts broadband privacy rules harmonized with the FTC 

unfair and deceptive acts or practices framework, would you defend those rules if 

challenged. 

As noted above, CTIA has filed a petition for reconsideration, asking the FCC to revise 

its rules to make them consistent with the FTC privacy framework, to the extent 

permitted by Section 222 of the Communications Act. If the Commission chooses to 

craft rules that align with our petition and the FTC approach, we would not challenge 

the new rules. 
77 


24883.031

GREG WALDEN, OREGON 

CHAIRMAN 

Ms. Anna Gomez 

ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS 

FRANK PALLONE, JR., NEW JERSEY 

RANKING MEMBER 

<!Congress of tbe ~niteb ~tates 

j!)ousc of. i\eprt£ientatibc£i 

COMMITIEE ON ENERGY AND COMMERCE 

2125 RAYBUBN HausE OFFiCE Buu.DING 

WASHINGTON, DC 20515-6115 M1•ionry ao:nn5?9'?7 Mmontv (202)2?0-3641 

February 23, 2017 

Former Acting Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information 

Former Acting Administrator 

National Telecommunications and Information Administration 

1776 K Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20006 

Dear Ms. Gomez: 

Thank you for appearing before the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology on 

Thursday, February 2, 2017, to testify at the hearing entitled "Reauthorization ofNTIA." 

Pursuant to the Rules of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the hearing record remains 

open for ten business days to permit Members to submit additional questions for the record) which are 

attached. The format of your responses to these questions should be as follows: (I) the name of the 

Member whose question you are addressing, (2) the complete text of the question you are addressing in 

bold, and (3) your answer to that question in plain text. 

To facilitate the printing of the hearing record, please respond to these questions with a 

transmittal letter by the close of business on Thursday, March 9, 2017. Your responses should be mailed 

to Greg Watson, Legislative Clerk, Committee on Energy and Commerce, 2125 Rayburn House Office 

Building, Washington, DC 20515 and e~mniled in Word format to Greg.Watson@mail.house.gov. 

Thank you again for your time and effort preparing and delivering testimony before the 

Subcommittee. 

Chain 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

cc: The Honorable Mike Doyle, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

Attachment 
78 


24883.032

1776KSlRHl NW 

WAS!;JNGTON, DC 20006 

PHONE 202.719.7000 

fAX 202.719.7049 

7925 JONES BRANCH DRfVE 

M(LEAN, VA 22102 

PHON£ 703.90S.2800 

fAX 703.905.?8<.'0 

www.wileyrein.com 

March 9, 2017 

Via first class mail and email 

The Honorable Marsha Blackburn 

Chairman 

Subcommittee on Communications and Technology 

2125 Rayburn House Office Building 

Washington, DC 20515 

Re: February 2, 2017 Hearing· Reauthorization ofNTIA 

Dear Chairman Blackburn: 

Anna M. Gomez 

202.719.7261 

AGomez@wileyrein.com 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Subcommittee Hearing entitled 

"Reauthorization of NT! A" and to respond to your and Subcommittee Members' 

additional questions as outlined in your February 23,2017 letter. 

Attached please find my responses to the Member Questions for the Record. 

Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. 

Anna M. Gomez 

AMG:pld 

Attachment 

cc: The Honorable Mike Doyle, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on 

Communications and Technology 

cc: The Honorable Greg Walden, Chairman of Committee on Energy and 

Commerce 

cc: The Honorable Frank Pallone, Jr., Ranking Member, Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 
79 


24883.033

ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Questions for the Record from the Feb. 2, 2017 Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Hearing: 

"Reauthorization ofNTIA" 

MEMBER QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD 

Chairman Marsha Blackburn 

1. What are five critical items that Congress should consider in our efforts to 

reauthorize and modernize NTIA? What do you see as the biggest challenges to 

reauthorizing and modernizing the agency? 

Thank you, Chairman Blackburn, for the opportunity to offer my views on opportunities and 

challenges relating to the reauthorization ofNTIA. As Congress deliberates about how to 

reauthorize and modernize NTIA, it should consider NTIA's roles in spectrum management, 

infrastructure deployment, technology research, interagency coordination, and facilitating and 

managing multi-stakeholder processes. 

Spectrum: One ofNTIA's most critical roles is serving as the spectrum manager for federal 

users. In that role, NTIA ensures that federal agencies have the spectrum they need to 

accomplish their missions, and also to identify spectrum that can potentially be shared or 

repurposed with new commercial uses. 

NTIA should continue to focus on its longstanding and important role of managing federal use of 

radio frequency spectrum domestically, but also bringing its technical expertise into the 

international regulatory arena. It serves as a key expert advisor to the Department of State on 

spectrum, as well as other key domestic policy issues. While one ofNTIA's primary 

responsibilities is to ensure there is sufficient spectrum for federal users to accomplish their 

missions, NTIA should also continue to actively explore ways for the federal government to 

make the most efficient use of spectrum. This would not only help federal users but also support 

the important goal of ensuring that the United States remains at the forefront of mobile 

communications and that the commercial sector has enough spectrum to meet ever-increasing 

consumer demand for mobile broadband. By improving spectrum efficiency, federal users 

should have access to more capacity using spectrum more effectively, which would allow the 

federal government to meet its own increasing demands and potentially share or repurpose more 

spectrum for commercial use. 

NTIA should continue to advocate for aggressive use of the Spectrum Relocation Fund to 

identify technology upgrades for government systems, potentially leading to greater federal 

allocations being opened to spectrum commercial uses. The most effective incentive to achieve 

efficient federal spectrum utilization is to provide agencies the necessary resources to research 

and plan for more efficient technologies. Congress made important and needed changes as part 

of20 15 Spectrum Pipeline Act to broaden scope of eligible expenses. Additional funding and 

flexibility would further strengthen the fund, such as by supporting research into allowing more 

unlicensed use in federal bands. 

Easing barriers to infrastructure deployment: Deploying infrastructure is a costly and timeconsuming endeavor, made worse by inefficient permitting and licensing processes, delayed 

access to rights-of-way, and uneconomic buildout and service requirements. NTIA should 
80 


24883.034

ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Questions for the Record from the Feb. 2, 2017 Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Hearing: 

"Reauthorization ofNTIA" 

continue its efforts to identify barriers to broadband deployment and to push interagency efforts 

to streamline processes or eliminate requirements that slow down infrastructure deployment, 

such as environmental reviews or access to federal lands. 

At the federal level, despite the Obama Administration's 2012 Executive Order to prioritize 

broadband infrastructure deployment on federal properties, concrete improvements have been 

slow and providers continue to experience significant difficulties in getting sites approved and 

installed. While some agencies have made improvements, siting on federal properties is a very 

long, painful endeavor, often taking years to get processed and approved. 

NTIA can play an important role in addressing the most significant barriers to timely approval of 

applications for siting on federal lands. NTIA can help address the lack of consistent application 

processes and uniform forms across agencies, and even within agencies themselves. For 

example, NTIA can assist by convening the relevant agencies to establish uniform siting 

processes across agencies, to create uniform leases, licenses and other forms for use by all 

agencies, and to develop best practices for siting on federal lands. This includes boosting the 

existing broadband interagency working group co-chaired by the Department of Commerce and 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture and utilizing the working group to reduce barriers. 

At the state and local level, NTIA should continue its BroadbandUSA efforts and develop best 

practices to help communities both attract infrastructure providers and expedite the permitting 

process. A frequent problem facing infrastructure providers is the lack of consistency in the state 

and local review process. To address this, NTIA and the FCC should jointly publish "Model 

Infrastructure Siting Rules for Broadband Deployment," which would establish best practices for 

state and municipal tower siting. Among the best practices that would improve broadband 

deployment: establishing right-of-way fees based on an objective standard, such as right-of-way 

management costs; providing reasonable and enforceable timelines for approval (such as a 

deemed-granted shot clock); basing municipal pole attachment fees on the FCC's formula; 

granting communications companies the right to place poles and small wireless facilities in the 

right-of-way and to attach to municipal poles in the right-of-way under permits with initiallOyear terms with up to three 5-year renewals; and specifying that no moratoriums should be 

imposed on approving small wireless facility permits. To encourage state and local 

instrumentalities to manage rights-of-way consistent with federal telecommunications policy, 

NTIA can also condition federal funding for state and local broadband infrastructure deployment 

on the recipient jurisdiction's agreement to follow the model rules. 

NTIA has talented staff knowledgeable in managing programs, including grants and other 

investment vehicles that promote broadband. As the Congress and White House consider 

infrastructure funding including national broadband investment activities, be mindful that NTIA 

has expertise and experience in increasing broadband availability and adoption in this country. 

Bolstering the lab: NTIA's lab, the Institute for Telecommunication Sciences ("ITS") is known 

for its objectivity and neutrality in assessing new technologies. The lab works as an impartial 

arbiter within government by doing objective testing and research. The lab provides valuable 

research and analysis to inform the Office of Spectrum Management as NTIA works to identify 

2 
81 


24883.035

ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Questions for the Record from the Feb. 2, 2017 Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Hearing: 

"Reauthorization ofNTIA" 

additional spectrum efficiencies and potential opportunities to increase spectrum access for all 

users. 

ITS's funding, however, is too low to meet the need for its services. A 2015 National Academy 

of Sciences review of ITS found that its funding was "inadequate for keeping up with future 

communication, networking, and spectrum research and engineering needs" and that without 

additional resources, ITS "will not be able to effectively identify and perform research and tasks 

that are essential to furthering advanced communication technologics." 1 Although the lab can 

and does contract with other agencies and enter cooperative research agreements with the private 

sector, and universities, it needs the base fund to be able to get ahead of the science, to have 

updated propagation models, and to get down to granular levels to understand spectrum usage, 

sharing capabilities, and other needs. ITS has served as a valuable resource for NTIA's efforts to 

manage federal use of the radio spectrum and should receive the full support of Congress. 

Bolstering NTIA 's position vis-a-vis other agencies: In an area like technology policy, where 

there are many agencies with overlapping jurisdiction, it is critical to have an agency like NTIA 

to shepherd interagency activities and bring some thought and rigor to priorities and interagency 

coordination so there is less duplication of effort for the private sector. Furthermore, NTIA has 

the unenviable role of overseeing the federal agencies' spectrum use and urging them to divert 

resources away from their primary missions to review their use of spectrum. Therefore NTIA 

needs all the support it can get for these efforts. Congressional committees can bolster the 

NTIA's efforts by conducting oversight hearings and meetings to ensure that agencies are 

accountable and working with stakeholders as necessary. 

Continuing Multistakelzolder processes: NTIA should continue to usc multistakeholdcr 

processes to address policy issues raised by today's fast-paced, innovative, technology 

environment. Multistakeholder processes involve bringing together all interested stakeholders to 

address particular issues. When appropriately structured, they can address Internet policy 

challenges in a more timely- and flexible fashion than traditional regulatory processes. 

NTIA's process on privacy and cybersecurity have already generated a number of best practices 

and codes of conduct and delivered results in months, rather than years. 

1 National Academy of Sciences, Telecommunications Research and Engineering at the Institute of 

Telecommunication Sciences of the Department of Commerce: Meeting the Nation's Telecommunications Needs 4, 

18 (2015). 

3 
82 


24883.036

ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Questions for the Record from the Feb. 2, 2017 Subcommittee on Communications and Tecilnology Hearing: 

"Reauthorization ofNTIA" 

The Honorable Kevin Cramer 

1. What are the limitations of using the internationally allocated UAS spectrum in 

the United States? Or, approached another way, what other types of spectrum 

could be approved for use in the United States as an acceptable means to fly 

beyond visual line of sight? 

Thank you, Congressman, for raising the issue of spectrum allocation to serve the needs of the 

rapidly-expanding UAS industry. 

The International Telecommunication Union, via the World Radiocommunication Conferences, 

has played an important role in securing internationally allocated aeronautical bands- the 960-

1164 MHz band (L-Band) and the 5030-5091 MHz band (C-Band)- that can be utilized for 

unmanned aircraft command nonpayload control. These allocations, however, are not adequate 

to meet the forecasted growth ofUAS technology. Furthermore, it is unnecessary to use these 

safety-of-life allocations for many low-altitude operations. Use of these internationally allocated 

bands should be reserved for long-range, higher altitude operations, where the risk tolerance is 

lower than with short-range, lower altitude operations. The FCC should initiate rulemakings to 

develop the service rules to enable licensing for these spectrum bands. 

For shorter range, lower altitudes operations, other spectrum, such as cellular spectrum, can be 

utilized. The FCC has, for more than two decades, allocated spectrum for commercial use on a 

flexible use basis. Under this policy, the FCC adopts broad service and interference rules and 

places very few limits on the licensee's use of the spectrum. This licensing policy has made 

possible commercial networks with minimal use restrictions in low, mid, and high band 

spectrum. There are also various spectrum bands that are available for unlicensed use that could 

be used for commercial drone operations, including LTE-U in the 5 GHz band. The FCC should 

continue its flexible use policy and, when setting technical parameters for spectrum use going 

forward, should consider the immense economic and consumer potential of commercial UAS 

technology. 

2. Beyond visual line of sight may be beneficial for short range flights, less than 5 

miles. Therefore, will unlicensed bands be available for these types of flights? 

And, in this scenario, what is considered a longer range flight? 

Licensed spectrum is capable of providing connectivity for beyond line of sight over longer 

range flights. Unlicensed spectrum is at least theoretically capable of similar use. As is the case 

with a call from a mobile phone, the network design is the key component to achieve coverage 

for expanded operations like beyond visual line of sight flights. Nevertheless, whether spectrum 

for unlicensed use is usable for beyond visual line of sight will depend on a number of factors, 

including the frequency and power used, the height of the aircraft and the ground station 

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ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Questions for the Record from the Feb. 2, 2017 Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Hearing: 

"Reauthorization ofNTIA" 

antennas, the interference environment, and the terrain at issue. As a general matter, unlicensed 

spectrum is more likely to function adequately in visual line of sight rather than beyond visual 

line of sight operations. 

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ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Questions for the Record from the Feb. 2, 2017 Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Hearing: 

"Reauthorization ofNTIA" 

The Honorable Susan Brooks 

1. Does, or should, NTIA play a role in the security of the FirstNet network? 

Please explain. 

Thank you for your questions about our public safety infrastructure. 

There are multiple agencies involved in ensuring the security of the FirstNet network, and NTIA 

plays a limited, but important, role. Specifically, if a state decides to deploy its own Radio 

Access Network, that state, after securing the Federal Communications Commission's approval, 

also must seek NTIA's approval to enter into a spectrum lease with FirstNet. NTIA's review of 

that lease is subject to specific criteria set forth in the Act, including that the state has "the ability 

to provide RAN security, coverage, and quality of service comparable to that" which FirstNet 

will provide in the Nationwide Public Safety Broadband Network (''NPSBN"). 

NTIA will have a framework against which to compare any opt-out state plans because FirstNet 

has integrated cybersecurity from the beginning of its plans for the NPSBN. FirstNet sought 

comment on the security of the network, and both its draft Request for Proposals ("RFP") and 

final RFP had entire sections dedicated to security. FirstNet's Chief Technology Officer Team 

also includes cybersecurity experts, ensuring that the NPSBN will implement security from the 

ground up and end-to-end. 

2. NTIA performs two important and related functions in support of the nation's 

emergency communications systems: (1) support FirstNet's efforts to deploy an 

advanced mobile broadband network for use by first responders; and (2) in 

cooperation with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, work to 

support the National 911 Office's efforts to advance the nation's 911 systems. 

These initiatives address important national goals that will protect and secure 

the American public, but I've heard that progress in each of these areas has been 

slow. For example, while Next Generation 911 technologies are widely available 

and some states have effectively implemented NG911 systems, the vast majority 

of the country continues to rely on outdated technology for access to emergency 

services. Now, I recognize that funding is important, but funding alone isn't 

enough to ensure success. Aside from more money, what should Congress and 

the Administration do to ensure that the nation's 911 systems are not left behind 

as communications technologies continue to rapidly advance in the marketplace? 

Do you have any thoughts on why the transition has not happened more 

quickly? 

The transition to Next Generation 911 ("NG911 ") technologies in federal, state, and local public 

safety answering points ("PSAPs") has been very slow. As you noted, the large capital 

investment necessary to make the transition to NG9!1 has been a major impediment to adoption, 

but the slow adoption is not solely because of the funding issues. 

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ANNA M. GOMEZ 

Questions for the Record !Tom the Feb. 2, 2017 Subcommittee on Communications and Technolog)' Hearing: 

"Reauthorization ofNTIA" 

Historically, PSAPs have been decentralized and disconnected from one another. NG911 

fundamentally changes this model and causes PSAPs to interconnect and interoperate with one 

another. This means that both technical issues, such as cybersecurity and adoption of industry 

standards-based solutions, as well as non-technical issues, such as governance, planning, 

coordination, and training, are all critical elements in the successful implementation ofNG911. 

Additionally, to truly enable NG911, there are many activities at the national-level that need to 

occur, such as the national database of PSAP IP-addresses, national coordination of cross-border 

interconnection issues among states, and ongoing cybersecurity requirements. Finally, it is 

important to note that there has been little focus on the federal PSAPs, such as military bases and 

national parks, to ensure that they have the necessary resources and support to transition to 

NG911. Congress and the Administration have important roles to play in all of these ongoing 

NG911 efforts. 

Moving forward, NTIA should encourage states and localities to be flexible in their approach to 

RFPs and to look beyond traditional providers as potential options for NG911 contractors. 

3. You note that the NTIA can be helpful in shepherding interagency activities, as 

proven through its work on IOT and obviously on spectrum management. The 

Broadband Opportunity Council was a useful inter-agency coalition that helped 

to identify ways to point the government's' resources toward broadband 

deployment. Do you think that NTIA would be a useful point to coordinate 

federal permitting? Or do you think this function should be located elsewhere in 

the federal government? Please explain why or why not. 

Thank you for this question. 

As principal advisor to the President for communications and information policy, NTIA plays an 

important convening role among federal agencies to develop the Administration's 

communications policies. NTIA should play a role in convening federal agencies to coordinateand speed up- federal permitting. For example, NTIA can help spearhead efforts to establish 

designated personnel or points of contact within each agency responsible for broadband 

deployment and encourage agency commitment at executive levels to promote and facilitate 

broadband deployment. The Broadband Interagency Working Group co-chaired by NTIA and 

the U.S. Department of Agriculture should be leveraged to make further progress to improve 

permitting on federal lands and further reduce barriers to deployment. 

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