The House Commerce Committee will delve into a slate of nine bills aimed at securing wireless networks. The bills focus on changes to the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration related to both tech and cybersecurity policy, with an eye toward Chinese dominance in telecoms. Four of the bills would affect the FCC, including two that would establish a council to make recommendations on the security, reliability and interoperability of communications networks — H.R. 4067 (117), as well as a task force to look at standards and limitations of 6G, in addition to how governments can best use that technology — H.R. 4045 (117). Another bill, H.R. 4029 (117), would formalize an existing interagency review process at the NTIA to address national security concerns over certain FCC applications from foreign entities. And the last bill, H.R. 3919 (117), would call for an FCC rulemaking aimed at ensuring the agency doesn’t approve radio-frequency devices that pose a risk to national security.

In addition to the interagency review for FCC applications, one bill, H.R. 4046 (117), would establish an Office of Policy Development and Cybersecurity at the agency. Another, H.R. 4032 (117), would task the NTIA with outreach and technical assistance for small providers related to Open RAN networks — part of a push to make the U.S. less dependent on Chinese hardware giants like Huawei and ZTE. Another bill, H.R. 4055 (117), calls for a cybersecurity literacy campaign, aimed at teaching Americans about phishing emails, proper password etiquette and the dangers of public Wi-Fi networks. Another, H.R. 2685 (117), asks the NTIA to report on the cybersecurity of mobile service networks, as well as their vulnerabilities to cyberattacks and surveillance from foreign adversaries. The last bill, H.R. 4028 (117), is aimed more broadly at the Commerce Department and asks Secretary Gina Raimondo to lay out a strategy to boost the U.S.’ economic competitiveness in the information and communication technology supply chain.

The Emergency Connectivity Fund to subsidize broadband connectivity and devices for schools and libraries in response to the coronavirus pandemic will begin accepting applications for funding starting June 29. This Federal Communications Commission program is designed to help narrow the digital divide and homework gap that has left out millions of Americans, including school-age children and other vulnerable populations, who have traditionally relied on public libraries for internet access. Unlike traditional federal E-rate dollars, which are provided to schools and libraries through the FCC's Universal Service Fund, the Emergency Connectivity Fund money can be used to serve students, school staff or library patrons who are off-campus. Applications will be accepted from the June 29 start date until August 13; if accepted, schools and libraries must use their funds between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.

The decades of US redlining represent a form of systematic racism that has denied generations of Black communities the kind of opportunities many other Americans enjoy, and the fear is it's happening again with broadband internet service. Big providers, when deciding where to invest the money to upgrade their networks, often focus on wealthier parts of cities and shun low-income communities. Fiber connections are expensive, and internet service providers are hesitant to expand unless they expect a return on their investment. As a result, poorer communities often have no internet or are stuck with slow, legacy networks that can't meet today's demands--even though they usually pay as much as their wealthier neighbors who have gigabit fiber connections. There is hope that the situation will change with Biden's infrastructure plan, as the funds could incentivize companies to build in areas they previously avoided. In the meantime, state and local governments, along with nonprofits, low-cost internet providers and other organizations, are finding ways to bring internet access to underserved communities. Some organizations point to reclassifying broadband as a telecommunications service to enforce digital equity, but this can only be done once President Biden appoints a fifth commissioner to the Federal Communications Commission.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Biden administration have taken significant steps to fill the broadband gap in the United States, but bridging the divide is not easy. Figuring out where the broadband gaps are is no small task, and current mapping efforts fall short by overstating the amount of broadband in given locations—a product of relying on industry-reported data which is inherently incomplete. While efforts like the Broadband DATA Act, passed last year, will improve mapping issues, it takes time— both for the actual work and for bureaucratic snafus. The biggest challenge for broadband deployment remains politics and lack of knowledge, which affects all future broadband plans. Political allocation of broadband dollars has always resulted in the money being used for political favors rather than additional broadband, and current government proposals have failed to research why people who can buy broadband choose not to. The studies that do exist find that price has not been a primary barrier to adoption, and that targeted efforts by private broadband providers have been best at encouraging adoption. The most effective approach for filling the broadband gap would be to add money to the FCC’s process for allocating funding. Its subsidy auctions are transparent and economic and hold money recipients accountable for their results. Using the FCC should effectively eliminate political waste and provide the best economic incentives.

[Mark Jamison is a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and is concurrently the director and Gunter Professor of the Public Utility Research Center at the University of Florida’s Warrington College of Business.]

A bipartisan pair of Colorado lawmakers want the Justice Department (DOJ) to investigate T-Mobile's plans to shut down a network used by Dish customers. T-Mobile agreed to help Dish stand up its own 5G network as a condition of obtaining approval for the Sprint merger, but Dish argues that T-Mobile is putting its customers at risk with its shutdown plans. Rep Ken Buck (R-CO) and Rep Joe Neguse (D-CO), both on the House antitrust subcommittee, said it is "critical that parties live up to the commitments provided to regulators" in a letter to acting antitrust chief Richard Powers. If the DOJ concludes T-Mobile's plans are contrary to the commitments the company made as part of the merger, or would raise competitive concerns likely to harm consumers, the lawmakers encouraged "prompt remedial action."

A district court in DC dismissed the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust complaint against Facebook, saying the agency had failed to offer enough facts to prove Facebook has monopoly power in the social media industry. The court said the FTC could file an amended complaint with more details to bolster its case, but the judge voiced outright skepticism that Facebook is a monopoly. “It is almost as if the agency expects the Court to simply nod to the conventional wisdom that Facebook is a monopolist,” District Judge James E. Boasberg wrote in his opinion. The decision immediately sparked reaction from both sides of the dispute, with those favoring action against Big Tech calling for a rewrite of antitrust law, which requires a showing that a company is a monopoly before a case can be pursued. The court also dismissed a similar lawsuit brought by a group of state attorneys general against Facebook that challenged the company’s acquisitions of photo-sharing service Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp, ruling that the states waited too long to challenge Facebook’s acquisitions. It was a major victory for Facebook, which has long argued that it was just one option in a burgeoning universe of social media companies.

In 2016 Columbus, OH beat out 77 other small and midsize US cities for a pot of $50 million that was meant to reshape its future. The Department of Transportation’s Smart City Challenge was the first competition of its kind, conceived as a down payment to jump-start one city’s adaptation to the new technologies that were suddenly everywhere. Five years later, the Smart City Challenge is over, but the revolution never arrived. According to the project’s final report, the pandemic hit just as some projects were getting off the ground. The discrepancy between the promise of whiz-bang technology and the reality in Columbus points to a shift away from tech as a silver bullet, and a newer wariness of the troubles that web-based applications can bring. Still, Columbus officials insist the Smart City project was not a failure, and want to rethink the initiative and its goals. Five of the eight launched Smart City projects will continue, including a citywide “operating system” to share data between government and private entities, the smart kiosks, and the parking and trip-planning apps. Smart Columbus will also focus on providing broadband access to all of its residents who lack it—a gap that officials say became even more problematic during the pandemic.

Mayo Clinic Health System unveiled its new mobile health clinic on June 28th as a way to improve health care access for those in rural communities. The mobile clinic includes two exam rooms and an onsite laboratory bringing health care directly to patients, for in-person care or virtual care via the onsite telehealth equipment. Mayo says the unit will travel to communities across southern Minnesota and provide a variety of services including vaccinations, pediatrics, preventative services and more along with a variety of virtual options. The mobile health clinic will also be offering high-speed internet connections so that patients can come and access their patient online service account, do express care online, and even conduct their own video visits with their provider or other providers within the Mayo Health System. Additionally, the mobile clinic will add more stops when need is identified in rural communities.

Acting Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced a twelve-month extension of the original three-year term of the Federal Communications Commission’s current Native Nations Communications Task Force. The term, which was set to expire on October 24, 2021, will now expire on October 24, 2022. This extension takes into account the expansion of the Task Force during its current term from 20 to 25 Tribal members. The Task Force is intended to provide an effective means for Tribal leaders to exchange ideas and develop recommendations to the Commission on, among other things, the availability of communications facilities and services–including broadband–on Tribal lands. Additionally, the FCC seeks Tribal nominations to fill three vacancies on the current Task Force. Applications should be submitted in accordance with the procedures outlined here, and no later than August 27, 2021. Members selected by the Acting Chairwoman to fill the vacancies will serve through the end of the Task Force’s now extended term.