Rep Bob Latta (R-OH)

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR), Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH), and Republican subcommittee members wrote to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting an audit of and asking several questions about the Rural eConnectivity Pilot Program within the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA). The representatives say they have concerns about overbuilding, interagency coordination, and the mismanagement of appropriated funds.

House Commerce Committee Republican Leader Greg Walden (R-OR) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Republican Leader Bob Latta (R-OH) urged Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) and Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle (D-PA) to hold a hearing on bridging the digital divide:

In today’s interconnected world, making spectrum available for the private sector to deploy and advance new technologies will not only benefit American consumers, but will also allow our nation to continue to lead on the global stage in 5G and Internet of Things. After hearing from many stakeholders, the FCC made its decision to grant Ligado’s application. This application has been tested, reviewed, revised, and tested again.

Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-VT) introduced the bipartisan Broadband Mapping After Scrutiny (MAPS) Act. The legislation would require the Federal Communications Commission to establish a challenge process to verify fixed and mobile broadband service coverage data. Current FCC broadband maps are inaccurate, showing coverage where it doesn’t exist. This leaves consumers without access to broadband and directs funding to the wrong areas.

As the FCC prepares to rightfully restore internet freedom with Title I internet rules, it’s good to know that these powerful commissions are working together to protect consumers from any unfair or anticompetitive practices. The FTC has successfully provided those essential protections for decades, and we are confident they will continue to do so. Today’s announcement from the FTC and FCC is a positive move for consumers and the internet ecosystem.

[Commentary] It’s often the regulation you’ve never heard of that costs you real money. One such rule increases Americans’ cable and energy bills. This regulation from the Federal Communications Commission is known by the unwieldy name of the “integration ban.”

We believe that it’s time to repeal this outdated technological mandate. As of 2014, the nation’s largest cable companies have supplied 45 million of their own CableCARD-enabled set-top boxes to their customers. How many CableCARDs have been deployed for use in third-party retail devices? Only 606,000. That means that less than 1.4 percent of customers are choosing to purchase their set-top boxes through the retail market. Like so many other regulations, the integration ban has quickly become outdated.

Today, there are myriad avenues for consumers to access video content without using a set-top box supplied by a cable company or a CableCARD. Roku, Google, Amazon and Apple all offer streaming set-top boxes.

Consumers can now access cable programming through mobile applications, personal computers and tablets, and gaming consoles. The growing ubiquity of broadband can directly connect creators and consumers (think YouTube channels) without the need for any video distributor at all. In a market with so many options for video delivery, and so many unique market players, there is simply no need for an integration ban.

Competition has developed in the video market organically in ways that regulators did not envision. The CableCARD didn’t spur any of this progress. If anything, the FCC’s rigid technological mandate has inhibited innovation in this space.

[Rep Bob Latta, Ohio Republican, is vice chairman of the House Commerce communications and technology subcommittee]