communications and technology. [inaudible conversations]

[inaudible conversations] good morning, everyone. to give our digital teams

[inaudible] the subcommittee on communications and technology will come to order. the committee on communications and technology is holding a hearing entitled 5g and beyond, exploring the next wireless frontier. through the covid-19 public health emergency members can't participate in today's hearing either in person or remotely online video conferencing. in accordance with the updated guidance by the attending physicians, member staff and members of the press present in the hearing room are not required to wear a mask although you can do so if you want. for the members participating remotely, your microphones will be set on mute for the purpose of eliminating inadvertent background noise. members participating remotely will need to unmute your microphone each time you wish to speak. please note once you unmute your microphone, anything that is said will be heard over the

loudspeakers in the committee room and subject to be heard by the lifestream and c-span. since members are participating in different locations at the hearing, all recognition of members such as questions will be in the order of subcommittees and you're ready. the documents for the record can be sent at the e-mail address that we've provided to the staff. all documents will be entered into the record at the conclusion of the hearing. if someone doesn't have themselves muted, please mute your microphone until you are recognized. the chair recognizes himself for five minutes for an opening statement. welcome and thank you all for being here today. a special welcome to the witnesses and i thank them for the contributions of the discussion. i'm glad to be holding the hearing on such an important issue as the subcommittee with jurisdiction over spectrum and

federal and commercial spectrum management, i am heartened that the communications and technology subcommittee has shown such bipartisan leadership and interest on this issue. spectrum policy is not an issue on the top of the average consumer's mind but it plays a significant role in their everyday lives. the average u.s. household has 25 connected devices, smart phone penetration is above 80%, and wireless device subscriptions outnumber the u.s. population. we use baby monitors and garage door openers, listen to the radio and watch tv using our mobile devices and our factories, farms and transportation systems are ever more connected, and many of them wirelessly. although users are dependent on spectrum and the american economy is dependent on spectrum. as we push toward 100% broadband connectivity at home, spectrum will be necessary for customers

regardless of whether they have a wired or fixed wireless connection. so, it is our job as members of the subcommittee to make sure the spectrum policy continues to enable the uses and opens up new opportunities for the next generation technologies and innovations. fundamentally, we need to use the airways as efficiently as possible. with an eye on the exponential growth of the data usage, we know more spectrum will need to be made available for consumer use. the federal government that still holds a majority of the spectrum needs to use the spectrum allocations more efficiently. recognize the spectrum sharing as a viable opportunity and work cooperatively with neighboring commercial spectrum users. for congress, we should recognize the demands of the federal government and give agencies the tools they need in this process. with our commercial spectrum, we must achieve a balance of both

licensed and unlicensed spectrum. it's important to make spectrum available to sustain the deployment of 5g, and to pave the way for 6g. at the same time, we need to identify spectrum for the unlicensed use to sustain the explosive traffic we have seen in wi-fi and fuel the next generation of wi-fi. i believe the lower three gigahertz band has an enormous opportunity for making additional oriented spectrum available. the spectrum innovation act strikes the right balance between federal and incumbent users needs and of the importance of the missions and maximizing spectrum for consumer use. with additional spectrum reallocated to the private sector, new opportunities will arise for additional uses in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum bands and i want to take a moment to thank the ranking member and his staff for the work they've been doing with

my team to find a bipartisan path forward on the bill. i'm looking forward to moving it with their support. another item that meets with action is the extension of the fcc's ability to conduct spectrum options and i think that it would be a mistake to let this authority lapse. in addition to how spectrum is used, we also must look at how the spectrum allocation decisions are made and that we reevaluate the management policies. congress is taking steps such as with the spectrum coordination act and the fcc is acting as well as the announcement on increased cooperation democrats. i recently laid out some principles that should help guide us. it must be recognized throughout the federal government as the entity tasked with balancing the needs and concerns of the federal government. the rules and expectations for

all spectrum users will lead to better outcomes. these processes should be based on science and engineering and lastly, the federal government needs to speak with a unified voice when making spectrum decisions. recommitting ourselves to these principles will lead to better management policies and ultimately, better outcomes for both of the federal and nonfederal users of spectrum and while these are weighty topics, how we approach them will affect the constituents greatly and also how the economy can function and grow. so, i look forward to hearing the witnesses expert testimony and their thoughts and concerns and now thank you to the panelists and i will yield to my friend the ranking member for his opening statement. >> thank you mr. chair for holding today's hearing and i also want to thank the witnesses for being with us today.

it's great to look out and see your smiling faces, so it's wonderful to be in the same room together. we've pioneered innovative ways to reach one of the valuable resources, access to the airways. decisions on how best to utilize the airways and maximize the potential with wi-fi, multiple generations of mobile technologies from 2g to 5g, the economy and so much more. the massive benefits of the technologies have have been truly transformational to the economy and way of life. the recent report estimates that unlicensed spectrum generates over $95 billion per year in the connected technology market. i am a cochair of the caucus and when wi-fi was created and no one could have predicted the impact it would have on the economy. to auction off the portion of

the airways since then the fcc has held over 100 options for the airways to power everything from 3g to rail. in addition to the new way of harnessing the efficiency of the free market, the option authority has played a critical role in paving the way for new innovative services. to invest tens of billions for the airways being interfered with. the last two options alone have netted over $100 billion in the u.s. treasury. however, as more and more of the spectrum is being used, it's become more complex. as new commercial uses are introduced, the possibility of those cases raising the potential for the harmful interference has put a spotlight on how they make such a decision. this is magnified when the

agencies are using advantages for the commercial user. over the years we have seen challenges with how the agencies coordinate the plans for introducing the services and studying the potential for the harmful interference. as the energy and commerce committee continues to build on its work to improve the spectrum management process, we should be looking at how these decisions will build trust in the engineering and certainty in the licensing process. with the authority to conduct an option and issue licenses it's important for the commerce committee to provide necessary direction to the fcc as they become more difficult. i want to thank my friend of the

chair man for holding the hearing today and yield the remaining balance of my time to my good friend. >> thank the gentle man for yielding. when you look over the years, congress and especially this subcommittee and the energy and commerce committee led the way bringing forth bipartisan process to assert the leadership in wireless innovations. one of those times we do come together to get some good things done and it starts right here in this room. under the leadership of the chair man with president trump they auctioned off several spectrum band for commercial use. with of the most recent option generating a record of more than $80 billion in revenue and by

the way that $80.9 billion that was generated far exceeded the congressional budget office estimates of 20 to 35 billion, so they thought it would generate 20 to 35 billion and with the private sector stepping up and putting forth their own capital of $80 billion generated, we want to see that continue so it's critical the nations spectrum management process work efficiently. for the authority action it is important to complete the pending options as well. for more opportunities to build out the networks and moving forward it's imperative and we also need to allow providers to alternate in the spectrum.

so america can continue to lead the world while also heading off the threat posed by china to help address that as well so i look forward to hearing from the witnesses and thank you again and i will yield back the balance of my time. >> the chair now recognizes mr. prolong the chairman of the full committee for five minutes for his opening statement. >> thank you. the committee has a long tradition of working together in a bipartisan fashion to lay the groundwork for technological innovation in the country and this hearing is no exception. today we begin exploring the next frontier of wireless technology and it's more important than ever that we lay the foundation for the nation to continue to lead and critical in criticaltechnological advanc. there's no question they are the engine that's power to so much technological growth and our family wouldn't have wireless emergency alerts, messaging

services, the internet of things and of course drones so just imagine that for a moment of soo much of this technology we rely on every day simply would not exist. these are remarkable achievements but the past success doesn't always dictate the present or the future. such as wi-fi seven. the states couldn't be hired to replenish the commercial spectrum pipeline risk the united states falling behind the counterparts across the globe including china and producing cutting-edge consumer innovation and enhancing the national security capabilities. and since transitioning the airways to allow for the new uses takes time we have to start to put the necessary pieces together so the u.s. can be ready for the wireless technologies of tomorrow.

they've made as much for 5g compared to the united states. the spectrum develops the best of both worlds when it comes to wireless broadband, faster speeds, less buffering and access to the single and these are the airwaves that the advancements in telehealth services and public safety, manufacturing and supply chain management. we must have the ability to place these on the hands of innovators who can put them to good use for the public's benefit. since 1994, the federal communications commission accomplished this to the spectrum option program and a truly remarkable and innovative unlicensed spectrum policy. the program has been a resounding success, raising 230 million since its inception and now the authority and must

be extended or it will expire in about six months and without an extension it may not be able to complete at least one spectrum. to extend the authority once again we must do this before they began the option of the 2.5 gigahertz. otherwise it will be disrupted and congress would also be able to put the proceeds to good use like promoting digital equity the replacement of suspect communications equipment. so we must also ensure the federal government speaks with its own place when it comes to the airwaves and that is why the chair man and the ranking member and the spectrum innovation act it will help to clarify how important the spectrum options are on the horizon should they operate to keep the process

streamlined. instead of the head way to ensuring the agencies both announced the spectrum coordination initiative and reported to the house back in november and this initiative will produce the strategy that i strongly support in creating this position in tia to meet the current and future spectrum demand of consumers and federal agencies alike as we explore the next wireless frontier and i welcome the panelists and look forward to hearing from them and i will yield back. >> the chair recognizes the ranking member of the full committee for five minutes for her opening statement. >> before i begin we heard from president zelenskyy, the strong courageous leader for the

freedom loving people of ukraine. america must stand and support ukraine's call. of the attacks by ending his ability to use energy to fund this war by flipping the switch on for energy dominance in america. it's the opportunity to lead and answer president zelenskyy's call to do more and i continue to urge us to do that. >> now to the topic of today the success of the nations wireless future depends on good management of the spectrum resources. the world leader in wireless technology, we lead in deploying and today our witnesses and our wireless carriers are working to make sure we lead in the generational technologies. i just claimed 180-foot tower with the commissioner and made

the first call in eastern washington. 5g is going to be a game changer for the communities. to promote innovation and keep up with the demand for the wireless technologies. for the spectrum resource it will be essential to keep up with the demand of the devices. for the spectrum available to the commercial use including over 3400 megahertz of licensed millimeters spectrum, 280 megahertz of licensed spectrum and an additional 100 megahertz of the viable made amanda spectrum in the 3450 to 3550 megahertz band. this brought over 100 billion. wireless carriers also work with federal incumbents and the gigahertz band known as a citizen broadband radio service

it licenses while protecting the frequencies. it made 1200 megahertz available in the six gigahertz band and we are starting to see the next generation technologies developed to utilize the spectrum. the certainty to both industry and government agencies for the spectrum reallocations and to ensure options such as the three dot 45 and two dot five band and aresuccessfully and able to be completed. and making sure costly fights like we've had between the fcc and faa and industry do not become the norm. without that certainty we can't expect the industry to invest the billions needed to clear the spectrum bands in the future.

to maintain u.s. leadership in wireless technology we need a spectrum strategy that outlines the goals, objectives and actions that can be taken by federal agencies and industries to ensure the most efficient use of spectrum. even with a national strategy progressing it is becoming even more difficult. it's crucial that the agencies and stakeholders work together. it doesn't keep pace with commercial technology. it's a difficult and many federal agencies have resorted to public fear mongering during recent high-profile spectrum disputes we have seen agencies such as the department of transportation attempt to assert its authority where the agencies do not hold licenses.

to lead the world in the next communications we must have trust in the expertise and confidence in the process as we continue to push the pipeline. adversaries like china and russia try to undermine the leadership and actively use the standard-setting institutions to set the standards. we must work together to enhance the participation by u.s. companies in setting international standards. leading legislation that requires to do just that and support during the candidacy to become the secretary-general of the international telecommunications union and they are running against a candidate from the russian federation given recent

atrocities by russia it is essential that we stand behind and help keep the internet open and safe. i look forward to hearing from all the witnesses. >> the gentlewoman yields back into the chair would like to remind members pursuant to the rules all members have opening statements shall be made a part of the record. it gives me pleasure to introduce the witnesses for the hearing starting with the director of government affairs, public knowledge, chief executive of the corporate strategy and analytics. the regulatory affairs ctia and mary brown, senior director of government affairs systems inc. you will have five minutes for

your statements and the little box in front of you we have one minute left will turn yellow and then at the end of five minutes it will turn red and if you speak longer than that, a trapdoor opens under your chair and you are whisked down to the rayburn subway and out of here. with that, i want to thank everyone and you are now recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, chairman, ranking member and member mcmorris rodgers. thank you for inviting us here to testify today. i'm the director of government affairs and public knowledge. dedicated to promoting freedom of expression and open internet and access to affordable communications and creative works. as members of the committee are aware we are in the midst of the conductivity resolution with

more services, demand spectrum resources, proceed to satisfy the demand has become increasingly challenging. to meet the challenge we must first use all the tools in the toolbox to provide access to the licensed, unlicensed, open access sharing, second is the committee just recognized, we have to insist on expert coordination led by the fcc and the end tia and third emphasize the public interest first and foremost in the spectrum policy. supporting the structural components will allow the policymakers to address the spectrum needs to secure opportunities for all americans and to maintain the collective global competitiveness. as the ranking members mcmorris rodgers noted the demand for the devices to meet that demand means that there are a few opportunities remaining. everyone has to work to enhance and policymakers need to focus on issues such as the spectrum

utilization, incumbents and tightening of the technical parameters including receivers. in addition we need to use all the tools in the toolbox when it comes to access. back in 2009 and 2010 when i was honored to serve as counsel on the committee under then chairman waxman, representative doyle and a number of other folks on the committee made the case that we do not need the policy between licensed and unlicensed but rather they were calling them for what we now know as the sound framing, and exit access regimes that promote spectrum efficiencies and a healthy, vibrant, wireless sector. ..

. >> rules.

>> as this committee explores new spectrum opportunity we must ensure every allocation serves the public interest with necessity but but this means moe than simply making it available for use in services. it includes ensuring the numbers of our society all members including rural communities low income communities and communities of color and get the benefits of the spectrum technologies as consumers and creators. simply put policy should serve the public interest. i want to spend time discussing access regime interagency coordination coordination and the need to focus on public interest because those elements

are key to the next phase of exploring the frontier. in my written testimony by go over five opportunities in detail but to briefly mention them here in closing to advance the public interest congress should renew the fcc's auction authority and should support public interest needs with those auction revenues for the committee should consider how auction revenues advanced public interest like individual equity something that was just recognize and public knowledge and other interest groups joining coalitions on her airways for equity campaign. it does mean dedicate awareness funding another public airways can't be set aside as well. sharing opportunities committee should look at the spectrum innovation act is a. opportunity to do that work and we look forward to working with you on this committee. we also hope this committee will

encourage the fcc to think about opening up the 12 gigahertz band for a variety of reasons that protect the satellite opportunities but also allows for greater use of data so we can legalize out and buy me think this committee should support technologies and advances in performing capabilities in remote sharing is hoping thank you for your consideration and i'd be pleased to answer any questions. >> i was just going to say your chair was looking lower as he were speaking. mr. todd you are recognized for five minutes. chairman dole republican leader latta members of the kennedy thank you for the opportunity to testify. and please represent hbc and served on this order of directors. htc is the nations largest telecommunications cooperative. our local subscribers we called

them are members. for over 70 years htc has been a leading communications provider for coastal apps share. i'm excited about the role the wireless place in our future and the efforts to bring the latest communication service to our members. while the potential of wireless services including 5g and beyond the key input needed to make that potentially reality is spectrum. it depends on sustainable a predictable access to spectrum to find that resource. congress can support efforts to ensure that all americans have access to the latest wireless services in three ways. first by extending the d.c. spectrum auction authority. second i bring the additional spectrum to the market for licensed commercial use and third making sure winning auction bidders can swiftly and

efficiently with their special resources to use to serve consumers. htc was formed in 1952 and has over 700 employees working to provide the latest services for over 100,000 members. we support local economic development and community and educational programs and even further htc returns excess revenues earned back to our members in the form of capitol credit. currently over $153 million today. we work hard to meet the needs and provide a high level of service to all of our members preserving a geographically and demographically diverse region that stretches from urban destinations to rural farming. during a pandemic we practiced -- and as a cooperative htc made efforts to make connectivity is part of her covid response is participating in the ebb program now the

affordable connectivity program. appreciate the members of committee the committee for creating and maintaining this important connect to the to keep within reach for our communities. htc provides a full range of communication services to our members and balkan activities important tool in our portfolio it depends on our villages to access special resources. wireless services are particularly important to reach a rural area especially when larger companies will not expand to provide service as well as more urban areas where larger companies have a broadcast. spectrum is needed to provide reliable wireless connectivity. it typically obtained through secondary market transactions. fcc actions allow for things like smaller license apps. this is critical for smaller companies like ours.

we continue to bring the latest services to market. means no additional spectrum will be made available in ready me to make sure congress extends the fcc spectrum auction authority. this all makes racial availability and market aiming access to this spectrum would provide increased confidence in our ability to make defeat -- meet the future data needs of our subscribers and enhance our ability to compete. expansion of auction authority will ensure hbc has what they need to participate in the 2.5 gigahertz auction. we strongly encourage congress and the ftc to make a sufficient supply of spectrum to meet growing wireless demand. anyways that allows smaller carriers to meet. while the fcc should make additional spectrum available for it was use the interagency spectrum court-martial process should be improved.

i think numbers of this committee for working to enhance and restore faith in the process including efforts to date the memorandum of understanding. in closing 5g and other next-generation wireless technology will rapidly expand connect to the date and improve many aspects of everyday life to ensure networks can expand and meet the demands of the next wireless frontier with better access to spectrum. thank you and i welcome your questions. >> thank you mr. todd. the chair recognizes ms. stancavage for five minutes. >> members of the subcommittee thank you for inviting me today to provide a global perspective on spectrum policy to enable 5g next-generation wi-fi in six g.. i'm responsible for global policy efforts related to digital infrastructure including connectivity by g. wi-fi and 68

i, a.b. and i/o g.. including -- i've extensive experience working at the regional and global level in putting the world to radio communication conference. intel is one of three semiconductor manufacturers in the world. intel products are foundational for personal cloud quantum and high-performance computing a v.'s and most importantly 5g and wi-fi. eiji runs on intel. we are leading provider for infrastructure and intel as a leader in bluetooth technology solutions. intel plays a role in developing wireless standard to enable infrastructure. with respect to spectrum pipeline considerations it's

crucial to replenish the west pipeline for mobile broadband technologies to low mid-and high band in near-term and long-term deployment for consumers and a wide range of businesses. as ftc chairwoman recently stated for 6g would need to start planning now to identify its lead from in the gigahertz range. 6g may be light bans of 95-acre hertz as well as low band. replenishing the spectrum pipeline requires not just deciding which bands that have been ensuring the timely results about of that study and commercial availability of the spectrum including bands for example such as the three gigahertz band. making decisions on spectrum is crucial to enabling your u.s. leadership role in wireless locally preferred sample the ftc's decision to open the six gigahertz spectrum for wi-fi has

been transformative with over 60 countries following the u.s. lead. so what is a timely manner? it provides -- to provide perspective the itu targeted completion of 5g high band spectrum process in november of 2019. we enable commercialization the intel team completed our internal analysis of the status of availability as well as technical characteristics for years prior to of 2015. the fcc issued its first report in and order of making high band spectrum available over three years before the target date. over the next two years other leading countries also took steps on i've g. spectrum. as a result of the fcc's early action when the international treaty deliberations of occurred much of the u.s. high band spectrum was harmonized for use for mobile broadband to elegies at the worlds radio

communication conference of 2019. for 6g the process is scheduled to be completed in 2030 and looking back at the previous timeline the question i have is do we think the u.s. is on track to make spectrum available for 6g diet around 2026. unless we move rapidly now the u.s. will not be in a position to be a leadership role in defining the spectrum ranges will be utilized. moving onto the interagency cooperation and tia must be empowered to represent the federal agencies to ensure together with the fcc the nation spectrum resources are managed in the public -- additionally the spectrum auction authority will be important for continued u.s. broadband deployment efforts. finally despite the crucial nature of semi conductors underpinning all of this

technology america's lost significant semiconductor production over the last 30 years with his cost disadvantage for chipmaking in the u.s.. federal investment urgently needed to reverse this erosion by leveling the playing field for america's semi conductors or congress to first step by authorizing the chips for america after early last year and while intel is doing its part to invest in american technology leadership congress must finish the job by conferencing the bill to affect affect funding as soon as possible. this investment will foster capacity that underpins the deployment of 5g another digital infrastructure. thank you for holding this hearing on this important topic a with a roar to working with the committee by tc -- fcc and other federal agents to enter the spectrum pipeline continues to flow to support u.s. broadband for development and deployment. >> thank you very much.

chairman doyle ranking member latta thank you for the opportunity to be with you. i am scott bergmann and i want thank to thank you for your focus on creating smart spectrum policy 5g in our country's future. in particular i commend the committee for its long-standing practice of identifying specific dams for auction could for example the 2020 5g and the act of 2018. 5g wireless broadband works in transforming the way we live and work. 5g is helping to protect our climate. according to a recent study 5g will enable the 20% contribution towards the nations targets helping the country to meet her climate change goals. and 6g with the expanded

capability in bridging the digital device in bringing bringing competitive choices to the home broadband market. of course every benefit we are experiencing with 5g in the u.s. and the digital inclusion job creation and improvement of public safety health care in our environment predicated on the availability of spectrum. the demand for fixed and mobile 5g service is increasing exponentially to free up additional spectrum especially licensed amid van. chairman wars wessel -- in a recent announcement from the 2005 gigahertz auction is a welcome sight. after this auction spectrum pipeline goes empty. in the meantime nations understand global leadership in wireless depends on access to the spectrum. on average apartments etc. 50 megahertz of licensed broadband more than twice do we have in the u.s. today.

but the right policies we can maintain our global wireless leadership. we offer to the committee today more recommendations for the global leader in wireless. the ftc -- fcc auction authority as is slated to expire in september and to ensure the licensed spectrum will deliver 5g to consumers and businesses auctions are proven to be the that rock of 5g and u.s. networks. since 1993 congress established our first in the world spectrum auction authority and never allow that authority to lapse. congress is granted broad option authority in the short-term one-year extension. this usage opportunity drax auctions in advance. we the congress to do the same. second it's in our national interest to identify his spectrum pipeline to the option

for exclusive licensees. this band is adjacent to the existing full power spectrum offers the ability to provide large channels making it an ideal fit for 5g and congress can streamline this access. we support the spectrum innovation acts to enhance the process to bring back critical ban to off schenn. congress should identify and set clear deadlines at the same time it expands auction authority. congress has long leverage congressionally directed spectrum including deficit reduction. we deferred to the committee held auction procedure be in welcome the opportunity to collaborate. chair one woman rosenworcel proposed -- and that's an important goal worthy of our support. such an approach would provide a

much-needed list touring nations system in wireless leadership. third ctia supports a national spectrum strategy that can help lead the challenge and provide a guidepost for advancing u.s. 5g leadership. finally there is much we can do to revitalize spectrum management for lowliest government spectrum process generally works well it broke down in debate. we commend the recent fcc spectrum court nation initiative as a nation we can must do better. thank you again for the opportunity to testify a net look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much. thank you cherundolo ranking member latte and members of the subcommittee. many missouri brown hair provide you with systems views on the future of wireless. thank you for the notation.

cisco systems symptoms systems is an ip-based networking equipment solutions and services located in san jose california customer base scans enterprise customers and service providers and wireless cisco offers wi-fi in private 5g solutions. spectrum is vital to all of our customers. thanks to the leadership from congress the united states finds itself in the enviable position of being a technology leader in unlicensed and licensed technology. not only does this mean the u.s. consumers get the rest and get it first accompanies see the u.s. as a place where dance to elegies are developed and applied. it's a prime example of a technology that the benefited from congressional and fcc leadership in here are three reasons to prove it. no u.s. revenues for the sale of unlicensed devices are approaching $100 billion

annually while the total economic value of wi-fi in the united states reaches as much as 1.6 trillion by 2025. the dollars are big at the number of devices are even larger for comcast reported last fall its customers are connect things nearly 1 billion devices on its network alone. in the 2018 mobile mobile now act congress declared as a matter of federal policy the fcc must provide for unlicensed spectrum. in 2020 the fcc opened 1200 megahertz licensed spectrum in the six gigahertz bands paving the way for gigahertz generation of ip and broadband networks increase their speed whether 5g cable fiber or satellite so too must wi-fi. wi-fi is the most widely deployed spectrum technology and american business. 5g will soon become part of that enterprise and its cisco we are

looking for to enabling a convergence of wi-fi and 5g for enterprise customers. for 16 telecommunications industry solutions and north american standards organization we will launch the next g alliance enabling the u.s. to develop a consensus position on what it hopes 6g will uniquely accomplish. to the question of spectrum court nation and government agencies disagreement there is probably one unfortunate issue upon which we can all agree. we have not found that happy place in spectrum policy decision-making where collaboration rains over confrontation. on my written testimony i have several suggestion head here are two points that are most important. congress should make clear to ntia in the executive branch generally what it wants to ntia to be the lead in the agency on specter matters and second the recently revised memorandum of understanding in an important

development that we should all celebrate underscoring the importance of agencies working together. on auction rasterization congress has maintained fcc auction authority when it was first adopted in 1993 and it should renew that authority this year as congress and the fcc continue to work on more spectrum for 5g and ultimately 6g rate many continued think auctions are simply of budget reconciliation tool. it's true over the decades $175 billion have been the bright of important public interest programs however thinking about auctions narrowly as a vehicle that to put cash in the federal legit atm misses the mark. far more important is the economic value measurable and hundreds of billions of dollars in contributions created by the networks as a result of auctions productions serve other important services. in 2012 congress authorized the worst incentive auction.

this new form of auction provide a much-needed tool to the fcc as it began its work of transitioning spectrum allocations from 20th century technology to 21st century. ankle boots and renewing auction authority remains highly relevant. 5g and 6th g. networks to send the authority itself is to transition efficiently from old allocations to new ones. ntia needs to be the lead agency on spectrum within the executive branch and policy should continue to enable the advance of unlicensed and licensed to elegy. thank you for the opportunity to testify a net look forward to your questions. >> thank you very much. we have concluded opening statements. we are now going to move to member questions for each member will have five minutes t .. our witnesses and i would ask all my colleagues to adhere to the five-minute rule

unless you share my gavel. they'll start by recognizing myself for five minutes and try to set a good example. as we have heard from our witnesses today and is demonstrated by the strong demand for recent auctions advanced spectrum is vitally important for wireless connectivity. spectrum innovation act seeks to maximize the amount of spectrum available for consumer use to the primate band spectrum. mr. guice is an advocate for spectrum usage can you discuss how you see the spectrum innovation act producing greater utilization of the band? >> it's a. question and the act itself sets up opportunities for sharing. as we learned in the cprs process if we engage with dod we engage with ntia and fcc can structure a path forward that will result in more spectrum

coming on line for utilization and if we lock ourselves into a -- >> mr. bergmann to believe this legislation can provide consumers with greater access to 5g in greater wireless technologies? >> thank you for your focus on this legislation. absolutely. 5g is mid-and in the critical band. we appreciate your leadership in the spectrum innovation act to focus on having ntia and the fcc in the room to focus on licensed spectrum, to focus on the timeline for auction critical in moving and harmonizing this to the advance market. >> at spectrum increases in her airways become more crowded we are increasingly in confrontations between incumbents and new users including even new users in the neighboring spectrum bands. i'm glad to get the witnesses

ran worst the importance of having federal government engage in a coordinated >> or management process. ms. brown you discuss your testimony how we manage the impact of new spectrum users on incumbent systems. could you expound on that and how that would shape the end-user experience? >> thank you for the question. i think the way in which we have equipped their agencies to resolve new and adjacency is not lending itself to a successful resolution to this issue at this point. my observation around these issues that goes to see band and also transportation spectrum and elsewhere is that the decisions are often challenged by user communities who do not perceive there's a voice in the decision-making process that addresses their concerns. to be clear the user communities know a lot about their systems. they don't know a lot about

spectrum sharing. we have seen them strike a confrontational pose albeit a collaborative one so any to think about new ways to push new dynamics into the process that helps build consensus. in my testimony suggested a couple of ways to explore. one is to put the ntia boulder lab moore's front and center in the middle of these issues to help build engineering consensus. another might be to give the fcc the authority to conduct independent sharing research which is other regulators in other parts of the world do. the payout of course is enormous because by sharpening the tools that the regulators have and building consensus we can reduce the friction and get better use out of our airways which is a matter for them just because consumers it's a matter of

competitiveness. >> much of today's discussion has been about domestic spectrum policy. what what happens at the international level can have a direct impact to what happens here at home. i would like to mention the upcoming leadership elections at the un communications chairing. i went to second what ranking member rogers said. the us is nominated a well qualified candidate in lockheed martin and it is important congress and the administration advocate for her to be the secretary-general of that body. with these important considerations in mind and recognizing your experience in international forms i was hoping to hear from jayne stancavage on how this shapes international conversations and global policy and how that impacts american consumers and companies. share your thoughts with us in

ten seconds. >> i'm in big trouble with my colleagues. >> it is absolute the crucial, mister chairman. >> a great answer and with that i yield back my time and recognize my good friend mr. latta. >> you point out the general story licensing the use of spectrum expire september 30th of this year but the sec retains authority for the 3 ghz band in the jobs act. of congress considers whether or how to recognize this authority, the pipeline, how should congress extend the sec's authority to make spectrum available to commercial use? >> thank you.

it's one of the most important things for us. option authority and having a spectrum pipeline. in our 30 years this is new ground. it is important that move forward and we urge you to consider the spectrum pipeline. it is all about mid band spectrum, lower gigahertz absolutely critical. there is work getting started on that. congress can work to advance of that and it is internationally harmonized throughout mid band that is important too. the 7 ghz band is something in tia has looked at. we urge the committee to look at. for gigahertz is used internationally as well and delighted to talk to you about that but the focus is the mid band spectrum. >> miss brown, i am cochair of

the wi-fi caucus focusing on the benefits unlike spectrum providing for the economy had new emerging technology recently the sec made a significance amount of spectrum available for wi-fi use. could you speak to how americans use licensed and unlicensed spectrum and what will you see in terms of licensed and unlicensed spectrum? >> thank you for the question. the demand for any wireless technology can continue to rise. wi-fi today, unlicensed spectrum introduces more than half of all internet traffic because we are consuming most wireless traffic when we are indoors whether at work or at home. that's not to say 5g is an important. it's vitally important and we will be using a lot more of it in the future. from a consumer perspective

what we are going to cei think is more of a convergence of the two ecosystems as we go forward and one example is the fixed 5g offerings that are in the marketplace where the traffic is hard for your 5g to a base station but in the home the connections to the actual devices are wi-fi. more examples like that coming and more convergence and it is going to be to the benefit of the american consumer. >> thank you. both urban and rural environments for the licensed and unlicensed spectrum. would you speak about how you identify your spectrum needs for a rural provider? >> thank you for the question. mid band spectrum means choice,

critical for propagation and speed and scalability and markets both rural and urban so consumers would lose out without access as the increase for broadband continues to grow and those needs occur across our service area. >> jayne stancavage, if i heard you correctly, the us may not be in the lead. how do we wake people up to make sure we stay in the top and what happens if we are not? >> thank you for the question. i would like to say we expected a good reception in ohio but it is far exceeded that so many thanks for that on behalf of my colleagues. in terms of 6g, it is really important which i described the gap where we had to intercept

that with product development so when we look at the 6g horizon trying to complete the process internationally by 2030 i don't see the urgency i think we need to have to make sure we are in position. anything to initiate those discussions and make sure they happen in a timely manner to make the us well-placed, to make sure when those discussions happen globally the us positions are taken into account and we can coalesce countries around our position. >> the chair recognizes the chairman of the full committee for five minutes. >> our airways should be used for advance fundamental ideals like free speech, association, and democracy. authoritarian regimes like russia and china are using these resources to watch and track their people and spread disinformation and shut down free speech and that is why it

is important that the us and like-minded countries lead in the development of these technologies so our public-interest principles are at the center of any technological progress. can greg guice explain how we keep the public interest at the forefront of our spectrum policy. >> thank you for the question. it is a critical aspect, public-interest has been the driver of our spectrum policy for decades focusing on ensuring that low income communities, communities of color and others have the opportunity to get connected and make sure the technology is open so we all have a right and ability to speak on these networks. as we look forward to how we do that, making certain we address

digital equity concerns is an important step using auction revenues and it doesn't have to compete with other public-interest needs. a number of committee members are looking for it. >> thank you. i want to ask jayne stancavage, when it comes to getting our airways to promote this, coordination is the key so in tia and sec spectrum coordination initiatives help improve things and legislation out of the committee requiring something similar to last year. wise spectrum coordination important globally, how can we as the leading democracy in the world aid in this effort and whatever national spectrum strategy help? >> thank you for the question. in terms of making sure we are available and participating in those discussions when you move into new spectrum bands the

components you need to do that are not readily available so you need radios, filters, when you need those components if the us doesn't have bands forward and manufacturers are not aware of those what ends up happening is other countries go into the void and put other bands in other priority. of the us does want to be a leader here, early action allows us, signaling ideas of which bands are under consideration and starting that process is helpful for us to identify those and make sure that's happening at the international level as well. >> thank you. licensed use of our airways offers enormous social and economic benefits, unlicensed airways help kids compete or complete their homework as well as advances in healthcare and other things.

a recent report found unlicensed spectrum contributes $79 billion a year in economic value. with these benefits in mind, what is the impact to consumers and innovators if the us fails to free up additional airways? >> great question, thank you for the question. let me elaborate on what jayne stancavage said. consumers benefit when we lead inspector mall location and product development so in the 6 ghz band we were the first country to adopt that unlicensed band. we have 200 pieces of equipment that have been through the certification process ranging from television sets, access points, laptops, smart phones etc. and all of that is happening here first so we get the access to equipment and the innovation

and the innovative new uses of unlicensed and as we move forward we expect to see more deployment of augmented reality and virtual reality types of devices in that band because we now have the room to spectral he support those technologies so tremendously important. >> i yelled back, mister chairman. >> the chair now recognizes the ranking member for five minutes. >> beginning with mr. bergman, at our last hearing with nta administrator davidson i voiced my concern with the fia circumventing the spectrum management process and pressuring wireless carriers into accepting more conditions on spectrum licenses. congress designated the fcc as technical expert agency to make spectrum management decisions that are in the public

interests and with necessary authority to work through these types of concerns. how can we move forward from this incident and rebuild trust in the decision-making process. >> your focus on this issue is critical. nearly universal set of perspectives from the way the process broke down and it is unfortunate because we had the sec and in tia who are spectrum experts looking at this issue, planning for an option wireless carriers invest tens of billions of dollars to purchase the rights to use this spectrum and 11, 13th our objections to that, that is a tremendous challenge that undermines the option authority in our spectrum framework so i think some of the things we think

about our improving coordination, i applaud miss davidson for spectrum coordination initiatives, very positive step. we are encouraged coordination has improved and got more engineering focused. we need to make sure concerns are raised early and we plan for those concerns and think about a whole of government approach to not just identify concerns but plan for priorities. of course this is all about making sure we achieve the benefits of 5g, $1.5 trillion to the economy. thank you and appreciate your focus. >> over the last several years the committee has ensured communication networks are secure and to continue american

leadership in the wireless industry. harmonization of spectrum policy can play a role in encouraging trusted vendors to align with our economic and security interests. we been a leader in identifying what spectrum is coming down the pipeline but other countries like china seek to disrupt that leadership and offer additional vision of their spectrum interest in line. we can assure continued us wireless leadership internationally and continued economic growth and innovation by our trusted allies and partners. >> we need to keep doing more of it. this hearing is a great example. as my colleagues have said to identify spectrum pipeline, advance our spectrum allocations into our largest technology ecosystem detailing 5g and leading into 6g and as a result of that, by taking

action, building consensus here, we have enormous weight when we turn to face the international community. we see that in the 6 ghz decision when we have dozens and dozens of countries following the fec's lead. moving quickly, paying attention to it, getting the work done is very important and we need to keep doing more of it. >> thank you. jayne stancavage, one of the major successes under the trump administration was bringing together the dod to establish america's mid band initiative team to identify and make one hundred mhz of spectrum for 5g. how does the us compared to its international counterparts in terms of spectrum availability and what areas of spectrum policy should we be thinking about to better position the

united states at the international level? >> thank you for the question. i would characterize it as different amounts, that is happening, it sort of started in the leading markets and countries that wanted to make sure they were playing leadership roles, moving forward and the us was the first in terms of the spectrum we made available. we then saw the international community at the world radio conference come together on which bands were going to be targeted globally and used and they are following the us lead. we expect to see more 5g deployments and countries that have not made to date. looking at the bigger picture we have to see, 5g is not a point in time. the standard was created to continue to evolve as we move

toward 6 g and we want to make sure we have spectrum available in the near term so we can think what can we put into the spectrum pipeline for the near term and look at that over the long-term for 6 g, how are we going to make sure we've identified which pieces of spectrum may be viable in the us and which flaunt the international markets? i would say near-term making sure we have the pipeline longer-term. >> i yield back. >> the gentlelady yield back. the chair recognizes mr. mcnerney. >> this is really important thing and i'm glad you held it. thank the witnesses, ranking member and i cochaired the caucus, advocating expanding unlicensed spectrum on a national strategy.

how do we ensure it does not overlook commercial interests to push for more spectrum availability? >> thank you for the question. the main way to do it is to recognize the successful way to effectuate spectrum policy is to make a variety of access regimes available. has has been noted here the southern gigahertz band is a great opportunity to expand on our unlicensed work with openings that band up particularly the lower, 125 mhz could be an opportunity to advance and evolve into wi-fi 7. keeping the mix of access regimes available is critical. >> thank you. the artificial intelligence network fabric was identified by the alliance fertility medications industry solutions

and this goes to miss brown that using ai has been identified by the alliance of telecommunications industry solution is the goal for 6g technology. how does that availability of licensed and unlicensed spectrum affect the united states's ability to compete with other nations in ai? >> thank you for the question. it is widely expected ai will be used in 6g networks to a greater extent than it is today. it's already used in networks today but to a greater extent than by leading in 6g, in terms of what the vision and use and understanding how it affects spectrum allocations, paying attention to spectrum allocations and getting that work done in a prompt away is going to ensure that us

innovation will be first in these new 6g networks to come so this benefits paying attention to the spectrum allocation process and getting that work done as quickly as possible. >> thank you. jayne stancavage. can ai be used to enhance the innovation spectrum efficiency? >> thank you for the question. i think most of the ai we see right now is in terms of network, increased network performance to make sure the network is operating as well and it can be and to continue to improve it. as you move toward edge computing and pushing the computer aspect closer we will see increased ai applications and allowing the benefits of

the connectivity with the computer and the ai to maximize the overall benefit. >> what are the real world problems with building the next generation of wireless networks that ai can address? will be o network performance but i would not underscore, looking at ai looking at the factory floor to make sure it was done correctly, no person could see the images. that ai will encourage connectivity but the near-term in terms of the network performance, enhancing the overall performance. >> looking at the factory

floor. scott bergmann, the united states should furnish the spectrum pipeline. china has implemented in the midst of frequencies of the four gigahertz band, how will american consumers be affected if other countries innovate their spectrum offerings while the us lags? >> thank you for the question. it provides capacities that we need for new capabilities of higher capacity, lower latency and what that enables is to address concerns about the digital divide of new services like 5g, enables us to address climate change goals as we integrate 5g for the highest emitting sectors in our economy and enables us to be a home for

innovation by bringing topics like the one you were raising, virtual-reality, innovation and those industries so that is why it is critical to have the spectrum to continue that. >> i yield back. >> appreciate the recognition. we are pushing against the september 30th deadline and i'm the co-chair of the spectrum caucus and making more spectrum available to nonfederal users is critical as 5g and other technologies are deployed in the united states so my first question, making more spectrum available for commercial use bolstered efforts to close the digital divide? >> thank you for the question. as a cooperative we are focused

on serving all our members. to expand into markets where larger carriers may not have broadband available, bridging the digital divide can improve opportunities in rural communities. we've seen them allow households without access access to broadband, to connect. for us it is all about availability of the spectrum to make sure as we continue to expand out that folks have access as soon as they can. >> expanding broadband areas that are underserved. the son focus, the population

is served by people who have the ability to recover their investment and are we focused on areas that don't recover investment? >> our expansion is in areas we've been unable to recover investment through traditional maintenance, different programs whether state, federal and funding programs for access to grants to expand into those areas and those have been beneficial for us. >> we have been working on legislation to reauthorize beyond the 3 ghz band, we are continuing our due diligence to determine what additional bands may be like so my question is what are the benefits for congress reserving its authority to direct the fcc to conduct certain options?

>> congress has played a leadership role for three years in identifying spectrum bands and direction to the fcc about what should happen next and that is an invaluable policy direction that helps drive consensus across the fcc and other agencies. i can't stress enough how important it is for you all to help the spectrum community to direct the fcc on this program. we have a long time, what spectrum should be up next. >> thank you. i appreciate the importance of making spectrum available for

exclusive use especially the mid-band, spectrum. >> licenses to commercial uses and coordination around the department of defense. we've seen the 3.5 ghz auction granting flex w's licenses, spectrum coordination is key for successful operation sharing regimes. i introduced the smart spectrum act which requires an cia to establish an incumbent informing system for federal and nonfederal use so some lessons learned from the previous auctions like 3.45 ghz the need to take into effect as we look at the next spectrum. >> it is important we be thinking about all tools we have available to us, so we

appreciate the focus of their. for us, when we think about spectrum access it is about certainty. our companies made investments of $30 billion per year in license access spectrum and having that certainty is critical. when we look at different spectrum sharing arrangements, one of the challenges in this framework is complexity. it's more complex in that critical area and the power levels that are used, so for us the market tells the story. in comparison to the sea band option above it and the band below it, you see the market

valued greater certainty, so a value of 4:one when you adjust the spectrum. >> my time is expired. >> thank you. before we go to the next question i want to recognize the former chairman, joe barton from texas and the republican manager of the congressional baseball team. that is why i love you so much. glad to have you here, mr. chairman. >> thank you. miss clark recognized for five minutes. >> thank you for joining us today.

the need for accessible broadband connectivity in urban and rural areas is critical for under utilized to stay essential to online resources like education, remote learning, employment, remote work, healthcare services, telehealth and narrowing the digital divide. many of these communities participate in online activity like virtual learning which often requires high-speed network connections that are not always accessible or available. my first question is for greg guice. you noted the primary focus on public interest needs is necessary to fulfill the growing demand for spectrum resources between competing ideas for public interests are at play how can we ensure

spectrum policy decisions made in the public interest are not entrenched in equitable spectrum access for historically underserved communities? >> great question and thank you for your leadership in this area. we worked on a number of efforts, it is critical that we focus our policies on ensuring we don't leave folks behind the traditionally get left behind. to advance those initiatives we suggested digital literacy as a way to reach those communities making sure they had skills to get that access, looking at the money congress has put forward on a bipartisan basis to drive investment into lower and rural urban areas to address that. and to look at the authority the sec gave -- congress gave

the sec on a bipartisan basis to look at past digital discrimination. >> quick question, how do we do that? one shot deals, it wanes over time. these communities have been systemically discriminated against, how do we get the dynamic before us? >> that is a great question as well. in one context we have a universal service program providing continuous context. we should look at auction revenues. this is a source of funding that is pretty substantial to end our foundation with some of these revenues and say to them here is your mission. makes certain that we focus on the efforts so we would love to work with your office on trying to bridge that. >> as a follow-up you explain

revenue could support public-interest needs. should we also be looking at how we might, spectrum reallocation deconstructed for the most digital inclusion and increase access for the affordability of 5g connectivity in underserved communities? >> absolutely. that is the gate, we need to make certain we are getting everybody, all americans connected. >> i thank you. as the world goes wireless, the demand for wireless connectivity continues to increase rapidly. and recently years the us made in on his progress unleashing spectrum allocated for licensed and unlicensed use. in your testimony you stated the united states finds itself

in the position of being a technology leader in licensed and unlicensed technology. as we replenish spectrum lifelines is a critical we use available spectrum band as efficiently as possible recognizing what considerations, what considerations should policymakers take into account when evaluating the best methods? >> the short answer is yes, we should and i would point by way of example to the sec's flexible spectrum licensing program which allows operators to continually upgrade and change out the technology they are using in the spectrum they have, that's a huge advantage the united states has globally, not all regulators do it and we should encourage it. >> the chair recognizes mr. kendig are for five minutes.

>> i wish i could be with you and i appreciate the witnesses for being here. most for stated the united states has a vested interest in being a world leader in 5g but the coordination of spectrum policy which is vital to the efforts to lead in 5g and beyond, don't get me wrong, the sec has been a major success bringing in millions of revenue to the federal government and allowing each efficient uses of commercial spectrum but in the past 5 or 6 years we've seen numerous disputes which hamper overall efforts and they have been embarrassing. how can the us be expected to lead when it has to grapple with turf wars and the government.

and to reauthorize spectrum auction authorities to remove unnecessary obstacles to spectrum organization and efficiency. first question, scott bergmann, with the demand hi, what does congress need to do to direct toward 5g and 6g and the spectrum needs of the industry? >> thank you, i think i can answer both your questions with one answer which is to say the key is for this committee to extend the auction authority to a defined set of spectrum because that is critical for advancing 5g and it is critical for addressing the coordination issues you referenced. i mentioned earlier the fcc and in tia are spectrum regulator experts.

and a tremendous advantage. with back end programs of coordination. >> are you still with us? there he is. are you able to hear us? the wonders of modern technology. >> i'm going to recognize adam

if he needs it. are you there? if you can hear me, i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back, the chair recognizes you for five minutes. >> thank you very much. as many of you know, the dallas fort worth area is experiencing growth in technology and we want to make sure we are working together to make sure rural income communities and communities of color across the metroplex can benefit from the economic opportunities made possible as we explore the next wireless frontier. my next question for greg guice. can you determine how this approach is foreign spectrum opportunities, benefit low

income communities and communities of color as new technologies emerge. >> thank you for the question. a mix of access regime, it ensures entrepreneurs and minority businesses have the opportunity to explore getting access to spectrum technologies, unlicensed networks without a huge upfront payment so it creates those kinds of opportunities. in addition the sec has a policy given to it by this congress under section 309 structuring its options in a way that encourages minority and women owned businesses. as the sec looks at this, we encourage them to think about how the design of that auction particularly with spectrum service areas may hinder that capability or opportunity on what women and minority owned businesses.

we hope you will push them but a mix of access entrepreneurs and innovators, can obtain market without having to go through spectrum acquisition costs and minority and women owned businesses, the sec should structure to encourage that participation. >> what can congress do to prioritize that and make sure anyone who wants and needs to be connected has equal access to technology? >> congress took a substantial step in bringing connectivity to these communities. as they roll the program out, it needs to be rigorous in insuring states pursue those opportunities where there are urban and rural divides that need to be bridged. this is a once in a generation investment and we are

encouraged enough to make certain through the mapping and other efforts they are targeting these things with those investments. >> jayne stancavage, i wanted to ask you a question as we work together to secure the next deployment, we should be intentional about advocating and creating a robust workforce pipeline. i wanted to ask about intel and what initiatives intel has taken on the benefits of 5g and other cutting-edge technology but also to recruit high school students and college students of diverse backgrounds to join the technology workforce. >> thank you for the question.

intel takes its workforce development very seriously. we have a variety of programs, making sure we are doing workforce development as part of our ohio rollout. one of my colleagues is active in program, explaining technology in helping, and at the community college level, i believe the first lady was at one of the sites to look at that as well in arizona to see what we are doing in that respect as well. for college students, younger students and what we are doing with workforce because we see it as critical to make sure we are prepared now and over the longer-term. >> thank you. and with that i yield back. >> the gentleman yields back.

5 minutes to my fellow suffering pittsburgh pirates friend and fan. >> we have the number 3 farm system in baseball and it is a bright future. i guarantee it. in 2019, the idea of a national 5-year spectrum plan. at that time i said this is a good idea to ensure unified strategy among all agencies and federal partners to understand the goal. since it than there have been well-publicized instances that prove federal agencies are not on the same page when it comes to spectrum strategy and this disharmony is an inventors - a function of the government. in my research i found the

country of australia has maintained a 5-year spectrum plan since 2017. their plan is publicly updated biannually with their successes, failures and status reports which are then rolled into an updated plan. what would you say is the status of a unified strategy, what a minimum at minimum should be included in us strategy on spectrum and should we use australia's spectrum plan as a model? >> your description focuses on spectrum, really critical and that is something we can benefit from and incorporate here. national spectrum strategy is a way to do that, to have that

pipeline of spectrum. you can make sure you are taking your most highly valued assets talking about spectrum, we see government is overweighted, dod has access to two thirds of the mid-band spectrum and out locations between licensed and unlicensed, 1900 mhz of the mid-band spectrum from 270 and 450 today for licensed spectrum in that range but it is important to make those strategic decisions so we have enough assets coming to market and encourage this committee as our spectrum experts to help with that when you consider the sec's auction authority to provide that direction.

>> >> getting the in tia and fcc memorandum of understanding on spectrum coordination, this committee passed my bill, the spectrum coordination act that would do that. i would love to see it in the house of representatives as soon as possible. prior to our last hearing these agencies put out a press release that they would be working to update the mou on their own. mr. bergman -- have we heard anything beyond the press release on the status of this update? do we have a timeline for an updated agreement? do we know what they are seeking to address to make this process better and as a

follow-up, we all know intimately problems around federal agencies at the last spectrum auction and licensing so let's get that response from you first. >> you are right to focus on coordination between agencies. we support your legislation and efforts to move that forward. do you think it's critical that all agencies appreciate and recognize the national spectrum strategy, and other agencies thinking about those goals, and we plan for them. >> is there a better way to incorporate any federal agencies with shared spectrum or adjacent spectrum in the pre-auction process, that is important. what do you think?

>> we have existing processes through intergovernmental coordination and those processes broke down the in the instance of oc band. we need to have a recommitment to those coordination policies so those concerns are addressed early. how to bring 5g to market and bring it home to bear for the digital divide or other rural areas pushing innovation in the us so it is critical to get the see band spectrum online in july and we encourage this committee through your oversight role to make sure those agencies get that feedback as soon as possible. >> the chair recognizes, >> thank you for convening today's hearing.

i would like to note when we did the development of broadband services in rural communities we found it was critical to ensure we knew what areas are served and what areas are not and that is why we were privileged to help with the passage of the broadband act last congress which was intended to improve how we collect data for wireline providers for broadband. as you know it is trickier with wireless providers. how do we make sure we have accurate maps of which wireless providers and why is it important to get it right? >> thank you for your leadership on trying to secure support to get folks in low income communities - the mapping question is a good question.

when we talk about wireless mapping it is more difficult than a wire line map. unfortunately our maps have often relied on the theoretical propagation characteristics which leads a lot of communities unserved but reported as served. as we look at the rollout of 5g and small cell technology it relies on, it is critical that we get that information right because the opportunities to miss communities in urban sectors and rural sector are vastly increased so lets take a look at the actual technical opportunities and make certain the crowdsourcing of data we present is available to consumers as well but can't be a state led effort or professional effort, we need true crowdsourcing because the

opportunities to miss are pretty great. >> thank you for that. mr. bergman. i would like to talk about the last mile if we can. the way things stand currently, the last mile option for rural communities, how to ensure spectrum remains available as we move forward? >> thank you for the question. as we think about trying to meet our biggest challenges, connecting 100% of the option, mobile wireless is particularly well-suited to make those connections and applied this committee for its focus on technological neutrality, with the success of programs like the emergency broadband benefit, 2 of 3 consumers

choosing wireless and we think about six wireless for home broadband, we see nationwide regional providers investing in wireless connecting tens of millions of homes already and with the right spectrum they plan to connect together 200 million homes. we know that this can be a critical part of the equation because it can be deployed quickly and more affordably and it will bring choice to the broadband market. we are excited about broadband for wireless and appreciate the focus on making sure we have the right spectrum to do that. >> i thank all the witnesses. i yield back. >> the chair recognizes bill

johnson for five minutes. >> mr. todd. as co-chair of the 5g caucus i'm focused on finding additional spectrum opportunity so the 5g network can be swiftly deployed. i'm pleased the fcc chair announced they plan to start an auction for the 2.5 ghz band this july that will make more spectrum available for 5g expansion in rural parts of the country but the auction party is set to expire september 30th. something like that has never happened since the auction authority was first enacted in the mid-90s. walk us through how this might impact the preparation of smaller carriers. >> thank you for the question.

from a small prospective not continuing auction authority would hinder our participation because we don't have the resources larger national providers have. >> mr. bergman. >> recently a technical disagreement in the see band spectrum made national news. spectrum repurposed thing has become more difficult. we need to make sure the licensing system provide certainty to encourage investment in wireless technology and federal agencies are communicating, collaborating and cooperating to ensure safety issues are addressed without disrupting the auction process. the see band spectrum that was off - a nonfederal band. can you explain how the faa inserted itself into the process and whether they had a formal role in the reallocation process?

>> thank you for the focus on the issue. we can all agree the process broke down in those discussions causing unnecessary friction. we saw that when we look at how the rest of the world uses the band safely and has 5g and safelite so it is critical we learn from this lesson, we have companies that are willing to invest tens of billions to solve the digital divide to bring jobs, absolutely could call that process happen smoothly and the keys are making sure there's early agency input. do you have a process where they share proposed decisions and circulate those? the challenge is some of those

aviation equipment is outside of its band. in the 5g world we stay in our lane. we are focused on aviation equal and outside of that so when i think about early planning, not just raising concerns but how to plan for the future so there are technology upgrades? >> back to those operative words, cooperate, communicate, collaborate to make sure we address these questions up front. continuing with you the fcc was established by congress to be the authoritative technical expert on spectrum matters. the faa stakeholders did not like the outcome of that proceeding what's the long-term impact to the public's trust when americans see federal agencies raising last-minute concerns after the auction? once concerns were addressed by

the so-called expert agencies how can the american people trust what we are doing if we miss something this big? >> in the aviation industry for consumers or the wireless world, we know every six month delay in 5g cost us $25 billion in benefits to achieve from it. >> one last question and i will ask it quickly. one of the biggest auctions the sec ever conducted is the see band spectrum, the first one hundred megahertz of the full 230 megahertz has been made available, the remaining 180 mhz will be made available in phase 2 of the transition. as congress examines how to extend fcc authority to issue permits and licenses what would be the impact if the sec is unable to complete processing

the phase 2 licenses? >> it is critical to bring the first phase available in july and move forward with phase 2 as well. that is key to those benefits 5g will bring. >> you are aware of it. the chair recognizes mr. soto. >> americans rely on cell service internet, social media, gps and that helped the music and that is why i was excited about the 5g role. this was determined us accomplishment. there was balancing that had to happen with cellular it aviation and those issues continue to be resolved. it is key that we work together through cellular and aviation and other areas as we go forward on see band concerns that have been around four

years especially representing central florida, terrorism capital with so much air traffic. we happen to do this because we work together. government as well as private industry and that is why is key for us to do the same thing, we open up on do spectrum for option which is why we are here today to make sure we educate the american people on why it is key to extend the fcc's auction authority set to expire on september 30th of this year and what is at stake, mid band spectrum which is good signal, good signal range, helps with increased capacity, faster speeds, latency, so many things that are key to make sure we have the crisp cell phone connections so we continue this as we march toward 6g, next, to

those who are catching up with 5g, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, machine learning and other technological advances, 6g is critical to the economy, national security, finance, entertainment. i'm glad it was brought up about the america competes act, all of this is together without the supplies and other technological advances, we won't be able to let this happen. with the infrastructure law and the recent budget, this committee and this congress will come together to pass the america competes act, we are excited to make microchips in central florida and continue to keep going forward on that. i'm also concerned about commercial spaceflight. ..

one, to help achieve global harmonization. two to make make sure the best position to capitalize on what the next generation of wireless technology has to offer, three to ensure timely commercialization of products for the u.s. market. ms. stancavage why is it important for u.s. economic and security interests to play a leadership role and engaging the international community in spectrum policy? >> thank you for the question. it is absolutely critical. as i described we have to be early in the process to make sure that we have the components around it so we are able to intercept the product and investment cycle to make sure that there's timely access. that's true for licensed and

unlicensed technology. when the u.s. does act quickly what you see is the bands you select, we do have the equipment to support those and were able to provide that equipment and able to capitalize on the economy's of scale when other countries do as well. so rather waiting at the back of the queue we were at the front and able to make sure we have the equipment and we have it in a more cost effective manner. >> like it so many issues it's critical for america to lead and appreciate that. mr. bergmann, much of the mid-spectrum is occupied by federal government agencies. this is a sensitive very world have kept careful balance. do you have any recommendations how we can determine what spectrum the government needs and what can be reallocated? >> absolutely thanks for the question. you're absolutely right the federal government is overweighted. are absolutely important missions. the key is to find ways to be

more efficient with the spectrum that we use. in the commercial wireless industry with strong incentives to constantly have new generations of new technology that are more efficient especially we've increased our efficiency by 42 times the last ten years. we need to find a way to make them more efficient so they can do their important missions and we can reallocate spectrum for commercial use. >> the time of the gentleman has expired. the china recognizes mr. long for five minutes. >> allright folks from but he gathered around here about to begin the auction hey, hey beautiful day for the auction you all know it never rains on the billy long auction. always a cool breeze at about 40°. very happy today we have here today selling that 2.5 gigahertz band, and you've had your credit reproved and everything so everyone is free to bid at will. allright 25, 25?

give 15? 15? ten. $10 billion. 2.5 2.5 -- come on now. allright. six, seven, eight, now nine. 11, $10 billion. 11, 12. 13, 131 half. sold at $13 billion to chairman doyle at 13 billion. if you'll pay your bill at the door before you leave that would be greatly appreciated. folks, i have 31 year come had a 31 year career as an auctioneer before coming to congress and so i know a little about auctions and it is the place that things happen. it's transparent, fair and all equal to everyone. everyone is free to bid. auctioning spectrum benefits the american taxpayer and the federal government. in fact, it has the potential to raise significant fines as you just what is here paying 13 billion for that band. to the u.s. treasury and for the

congressional priorities such as rural broadband opponent in places like my district in southwest missouri. it's important for the auction authority to be extended with language required some auctions even for short term. switching gears, ms. brown i would like to ask you upon identification of federal agencies the fcc is required to auction spectrum on the lower three three gigahertz band within the next seven years as ntia looks to potentially relocate incumbent federal systems or to find a technical solution to sharing peer what is the viability and the visibility into broadband range for spectrum assignments and their use and how important is it that ntia gets this information? >> thank you for the question. it is critically important that ntia get information about federal use in that band because three gigahertz is the most important 5g band notches to the

united states but in the world. because they can get put to work immediately to deliver 5g services. so i think one of the things the spectrum innovation act as well is it does give a timeline to ntia and ftc to make up the mice but also get some flexibility in the decision-making, depending on what they find in the band and whether it can be moved or changed, modified or whether it needs to stay put. so i think congress is on the right track. >> and i'll go to ms. stancavage next. under chairman faisal tenure the fcc started the spectrum horizons proceeding to see, and how to unleash innovation and new technologies in spectrum above 95 gigahertz. how do you envision the future of these terahertz frequencies being used and how is the rest of the world looking to possible uses for the spectrum? >> thank you for the question

congressman long. so basically when you look at this it's about the capabilities that are enabled. when you look at 4g, very human centric what you did on your phone. with 5g we added ultra- reliable low latency computing and also for massive machine tech communication or iot. those extra capabilities are enabling businesses to get the same types of benefits. and now as we move into 6g there is research and development going on for some of those that would require very, very large bandwidths but very short range which would be consistent with those bands for things like positioning, very high accuracy positioning and sensor usage. you want to take advantage of the capabilities that the technology brings and what is able to be deployed there. there is definite interest in a lot of different research areas to look at those. >> i just want to make a note

that if this 5.2 into bring in less than 13 billion they should hire me as their auctioneer next time. being an auctioneer i did my five minutes or two and have been so mr. chairman, i yield back. >> i thank the gentleman. i'm going to need an installment plan, billy. the chair now recognizes for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate it. as we consider the future of the nation spectrum and american leadership in this frontier, i want to recognize that while making more spectrum available it's important for american leadership in 5g 5g deployme. it is also critical for closing the digital divide in rural america. spectrum decisions made, and hope we get this done by september, in the september,

d.c. has the potential to vastly improve connectivity in arizona and across rural america. excess spectrum is a key part of unlocking the potential of wireless broadband in rural america and indian country broadband is a lifeblood of the 21st century economy. it is critical to economic development, telehealth and education education in rural areas, ensuring our world and tribal communities and the providers the serpent of access to the spectrum resources necessary is essential to closing the digital divide and making sure our rural schools, hospitals and businesses are not left behind. ike the most recent 2.5 gigahertz, the fcc creates a tribal player ready window to the spectrum to be reallocated to ensure eligible federally recognized

tribal governments as well as tribal communications providers are able to connect the communities. this presented a landmark opportunity for the nations to gain access to spectrum to better serve their communities. can you discuss what else congress should be considering to make sure the communities can get the best services possible? >> thank you, congressman for the question and it was an honor to serve how difficult the challenge of bridging the divide in the tribal communities. what congress can do is what you did. promote the opportunity for

tribal windows with the spectrum becomes available. make certain there is sufficient time for the communities to apply so we appreciate your leadership on that. but as congress looks at spectrum opportunities, it needs to recognize the sovereignty of the nations and that sovereignty means that they should have some input into the destiny of the wireless spectrum that runs over the lands. that is what the tribal window created and as we move forward on the spectrum bands we think that is a good policy to look through. looking at the credits and how to reform those to better utilize them as well as this aggregation of the spectrum license areas so the tribal communities can build the networks on their land is where a provider has the area but not to the will to build. so, i look forward to working with your office on these issues and public knowledge is an advocate for the tribal communities to make certain that

they have affordable access because as you know, they are some of the least served communities in the country. >> thank you very much. in the collection for the video service more than 200 bidders, one over 20,000 licenses including many entities like wireless internet service providers. why so many were able to win, what lessons can we learn from it and how can we ensure they are able to meaningfully produce and participate in the future options? >> thank you for the question. so, as a small provider, having access to this is critical to the providers to be able to participate. as i mentioned earlier as a small provider we have limited

resources. we don't have the resources to provide in the options on a larger scale as well as the sizes of spectrum. so, for us, having the usable spectrum that's available that has the equipment that we can roll out recognizing mr. carter. relying on the work so many other things i was reading a book the other day that said the average was five hours a day more during the pandemic than

they were before. it's unbelievable to me that that is true that we are on the internet so much but what i wanted to ask you is it plays a crucial role and under the last administration they made an unprecedented amount available for commercial use. do you think that is going to be enough all of us are on the internet. i'm hunkered down now. do you think that's going to be enough to accommodate all of us? >> over the long term it won't be enough but i think for the immediate term of the industry is rolling out new innovative

technology on the six gigahertz band and we are looking forward to a second generation of technology coming into this band of technology in about two years time. that said if it continues to go up and we expect it will with other technologies over time we do need to look for other opportunities including perhaps spectrum at the very low end of the second gigahertz range or other places we could expand the wi-fi technology. >> let me ask you something else. there is little known research in boulder colorado and i believe this facility is being underutilized given the level of expertise it had. i recently introduced a bill the

telecommunication fund. this would give statutory authority to continue its work with a focus on establishing an initiative to support the development of emergency communication technologies or conventional radio communication is limited. would you elaborate on what makes the people in boulder so uniquely positioned for the spectrum technology? >> the boulder lab is a national treasure. it's the place radar was invented in world war ii and it has a long and distinguished career in the spectrum sciences. i think innovations like your bill that would enable the lab to work on commercial issues around sharing and adjacencies would be welcome. it struck me as very astonishing we got so far down the road

without having facts on the ground about what they could or couldn't do and the degree to which interference might arise. it wasn't until this fall we started seeing the facts and i noted this week there was an article in one of the newspapers about boulder getting involved in actual measurements of dod funding so yes more flexibility in funding for the lab i think would help us with mitigating the kind of issues we've seen in the spectrum allocation. >> i have the honor and privilege of representing the first district of georgia and also included a lot of rural areas. getting broadband in those parts of the state is important for a

number of reasons. learning, entertainment, whatever. understand the future of 5g there will be a fixed component your members will have with 5g. can you tell me what it will mean for rural americans, will they have access to these broadband services? >> thank you for the focus on the wireless for 5g homes. it is a an absolutely key growth area and the companies national and regional are all investing in it. we see them covering tens of millions of homes and together they will cover over 200 million homes over the next couple of years. the key for this committee you've all made an enormous investment making sure everyone is connected to the infrastructure legislation. it can play a key role by going faster and providing the full complement of services the committee is looking for and can

provide 100 megabits down and is key for connecting everyone faster and more cheaply into bringing the choice to the broadband market. >> thank you and i will yield back. >> the chair recognizes congresswoman rice for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chair man and i just want to thank our colleague for raising the issue of the importance of the mou between the end tia and fcc and i think it is important that it be fixed and acknowledged maybe it's not where it needs to be and i think that's really important. the government and industry working together has allowed the u.s. to be the global leader in new and emerging technology. we were the first nation with widespread coverage leading to countless innovations in the

u.s. including the development of the economy. now with the emergence of the next generation wi-fi capabilities, the u.s. can build on this leadership record to grow the economy and to be on the forefront of technological innovations for the goods of communities everywhere. you mentioned the importance of coordinated to spectrum management. it seems the recent disputes involved parties that questioned the finality of the fcc's decisions. how can congress ensure they are able to have their voices heard early in the process and at the same time allow them to reach a final decision everyone can count on on making that investment decisions? >> thank you so much. that is a great question and as this committee and the chairman and ranking member have highlighted, reinforcing that interagency process and

insisting on it being followed is the best step and the oversight of the committee on the process is helpful in producing that finality so i encourage the committee to stay active on that. with numbers around congress that quite often approach by private entities and on behalf of some of the federal agencies they regulate to get involved in the process. it is a difficult one to fix into that said there is a process that is run and these entities, the government agencies should all participate fully in bringing that information to the record so we can make them evidence-based decisions. as testified, it is a sad fact that at the end of the process and in fact after the process was done that we learned that there are these concerned. that is just inexcusable. there was an opportunity for the record and the data to be submitted and to take into

account those concerns. so that is sort of how we fix it. we have to insist not only on the public participation but at the end when the decision has been made in coordination with an tia and the fcc to go forward in these options that that finality is insisted upon and that there is given no quarter for those that come in after the fact to try to disrupt it. >> can you explain how the disputes over spectrum are delayed in the deployment of new technologies? >> yes. probably the principal case of delay involves the transportation spectrum at the top end of the five gigahertz band which has lingered now for some years. the fcc a few years ago, a couple of years ago decided that some of the spectrum should be made available for wi-fi and cut

cutback the amount of transportation. that continues to be disputed by the transportation industry which would like more spectrum available for communications networking of the vehicles on the road and for safety purposes et cetera. that's a prime case where the community and the transportation sector and the fcc had different divisions for the same spectrum so now we are waiting around for a court case that will be resolved soon that will tell us what the future of the band is. and i certainly hope that once that is resolved and if it is resolved in the favor that the fcc can promptly go forward and the dot can probably go forward with implementing transportation solutions in the spectrum that is left. >> thank you to all the witnesses and i will yield back.

the chair recognizes the congresswoman for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chair man for r holding the hearing. let me begin by addressing something to mr. bergman. i thought mr. carter asked you a good question and i was very anxious to hear your answer, but i didn't hear it. the most recent annual test found that verizon and at&t's speeds in several cities are comparable or sometimes even slower than the 4g speed and to make matters worse, consumers sometimes have to pay more by upgrading the device through the plan. i do understand there are

reasons speeds are not optimal yet relative to 5g, but this process of faster speeds and yes, i did watch the super bowl along with millions of others with one and after another about complete 5g across the country. all that advertising and charging for it while delivering lower speeds, it seems to me like a highly misleading process to make. so my question is simple. why are they paying more for slower speeds and if you could be, you know, condense your answer. >> absolutely. thank you for the question. i'm glad to have the chance to answer it. thank you for saying thank you to a tough question. >> i would highlight a couple things.

one, we continue to see the wireless speeds go up year after year. they are up 85 times, 360% since 2018. >> 2010 was 12 years ago. so i don't know -- let me ask you this did you read this article? >> i've not seen that article but i know they continue to go up year after year end prices continue to go down year after year and the wireless market so we think it is critical consumers have accurate information about what they are purchasing so i would agree about that. we are incredibly excited about the advancements in the speed that we see from competition and increasing value for consumers. >> i appreciate your words, but you're not answering the question that i posed.

there is heavy advertising, but what's being advertised is not so. it just isn't so. and it can be documented that it's not so. consumers are being told the advertising simply is misleading but i understand why you don't want to acknowledge it because it is uncomfortable to but i think the problem remains. i appreciate your views and congress that they should ensure the spectrum proceeds are used in the public interest. one of the issues that i've been on for a decade and a half is nexgen 911. is there anyone on the panel

that thinks that nexgen 911 should not be a part of the proceeds of the future options? is there anyone that doesn't think that? you can raise your hand. to remind everyone this is our public safety system and i think that once and for all we need to address this and make sure that every community whether they are rural, suburban, urban, that we have a solid system for law enforcement, firefighters. we owe that to the american people. they dialed 911, they need someone to answer, so i look forward to making sure the spectrum funds are part of those funds actually going to 911.

it's music to my ears to hear so many members and witnesses talking about it. they've been on that for a long time so i would rather spend time on that and ask questions because i just want to highlight that it's a delight that everyone knows especially members that i value. >> the gentle ladies time has expired. >> mr. curtis, welcome. you have five minutes. >> thank you. i'm going to climb up on a soapbox for half a second and then ask questions with the rollout. i think we all understand the stakeholders need to be

involved. i like to laugh at my colleagues back east and invite them to utah and my definition of rural his drive three hours without seeing the structure and that is how my district is with the vast amounts of utah at the navajo indian reservation and to touch on that for a second currently the tribes have been given priority in the spectrum rollout and i'm glad. we've got to help these people imagine -- i have some people without running water and electricity let alone broadband in parts of the district. and we all know the supply chain

issues that can be the layout to the tribal nations. the committee to move forward with the option of already we need to be creative and funding the committee made available through the infrastructure.

will it expire and what will that do? to have the authority heading into. let me ask about the national spectrum strategy the challenges of the spectrum coordination we need to have the agencies

coordinated. can you touch on balancing the commercial interest? >> absolutely. we need to find ways to be more efficient. it's come about and how we use the spectrum and in the wireless industry we invest tens of billions of dollars every year to have the generations more efficient and do the same thing

on the government side. >> how can congress be supportive and how do we continue to show american leadership? >> thank you for the question, mr. congressman. >> following through to the commercialization process so that it's very clear where we are going with this and anything the congress can do to support the spectrum early with opportunities and then making sure that would be welcomed. >> the time is expired. >> the chair now recognizes you for five minutes. >> i want to thank you for

holding this important hearing. the competitive edge in the 21st century it's important with one voice to move forward. coming up in the band beyond that it becomes clear i believe the seven gigahertz band could have a meaningful opportunity to keep pipeline strong. we need to proceed carefully with the whole of government approach and looking to the

administrator daily urging him to commit to finishing a study. can you describe? >> thank you, congresswoman for your leadership on the spectrum issues. an asset for everybody to have on these issues. what i would say is this is another example where the mixed excess ratios would be beneficial to the outcome. what we learned is based on the coordination over a period of years, four to five years of coordination hearing the agencies out and working through the inner agency process only after that period taking in their prospective did we get to

a situation we could utilize the most of that van and in the seven gigahertz a need for dod. only by doing that can we really utilize to the fullest potential. it is an opportunity for the unlicensed but we do see that it might be licensed opportunities. but that a sort of open mind for a variety of access regimes can we get the federal agencies to focus on what the realm of the possible is.

1300 megahertz and as you heard there are important systems and opportunities to be more efficient with how we use the spectrum. we would encourage and follow the lead in terms of asking the federal government policy makers to look at how we can make some of that spectrum available. we know that it's been under study since 2019 and there are real opportunity. so thank you for your leadership on that and we would love to continue working to see that it concluded in the spectrum pipeline bill. >> with indications for the next

2.5 gigahertz. the option revenue to invest. what we have seen is they can be substantial and should be put to use is a critical need. let's also think about the digital equity.

>> i would say quickly they are the bedrock of our networks including 5g. the chair recognizes the congressman for five minutes.

>> do you agree with the chair's proposal to use the proceeds near the 9/11 deployment is there much precedent for the proceeds to fund public interest project is like that? >> thank you, congressman. we think it could be a >> thank you, congressman. we do support it. we think it can be a nice complement to our drive to make certain auction revenues agree for public interest need asre opposed to flow into the general treasury and leaving the sector. t the congress designated the revenues to fund that network.

it is in and out so i'm going to yield back. thank you very much, mr. chair mr. chairman and ranking member. the livelihood and the education and the health of people across america so i would like to ask it is the most heavily used of

consumer schools and businesses more now than ever before. thank you, congressman. to provide opportunities for wi-fi. it is a key connection point as recognized to make that a meaningful connection and as i mentioned earlier it offers a real opportunity to build on what we did in the six gigahertz and so we look forward to working with you and the committee to make sure.

>> you support it would give an opportunity to take 180 megahertz channel and increase it to 360 megahertz so we look forward to that as a real opportunity. >> what should we expect to do for the tribal land et cetera so they don't fall behind the current and future as they become available? >> it's a great opportunity for the committee to look at a mix

of policies and have the skills necessary and the tools to make the connection to broadband be wireless or wireline and pursuing the priority windows when we look at the spectrum options as a critical step and in recognition of their sovereignty just making certain we understand where the service is and is not available is critical. and the data to ensure they are operating delivering of the technologies are being delivered to the rural and urban corridors so that those communities have opportunities to get that access.

>> these are quite often communities that are highly dependent on the government making certain that their needs are represented in policy. is there a battle of the band is going after public safety et cetera i know that it was mentioned more than once about the large segment within the purview. >> the government needs the spectrum that it needs and we want to be respectful of that but we do believe with others on the panel there can be more efficient use. the key is going to be working through a collaborative process with those agencies and the directions of the committees that there are certain bands that need to be sought of.

if we approach it in a cooperative spirit and listen to the concerns i think we have an opportunity to open up more of the spectrum and accommodate the needs where the government agency needs to stay through sharing the opportunities. >> i see my good friend who is waving on.

especially the constituents in my district in pennsylvania. >> how would you have a national spectrum strategy or certainty to help increase participation by the regional providers? >> having a plan allows us to better prepare and plan and have an understanding of what spectrum could be allowed in the areas we serve so for us it means a faster expansion of access to the services. >> and that expansion is so important within the district in pennsylvania. they utilize low, mid and high band spectrum in many ways.

how do we best keep the pipeline full? >> that is right the focus for 5g right now is on the med band spectrum and we would urge the committee to move forward with the directive options to create a pipeline for 5g. there's the lower three gigahertz band. these provide the capacity to the coverage that we need to make sure we can connect everyone and continue to lead in the innovation. >> in rural america and adams county outside of gettysburg and bedford and huntington county.

we look at additional spectrum as the tool to be able to expand access specifically for us hotspots and mobility where the technicians were able to connect wirelessly in certain areas using wired fiber facilities and complete orders but we need mobility to be able to access and communicate back to ensure efficient operations. the chair recently and announces that it would begin an option of additional bands this summer. what benefits specifically for

rural america would these options make available? >> thank you. for us it is consumer choice and competition essential for the additional to be rolled out and having the availability and capacity for additional bandwidth is essential to achieve your objectives are. i would like to thank the chair for allowing me to wave on to this important hearing. thank you and i yield. >> the gentle man yields back and i see that we do have one more committee member so we will yield five minutes to the congresswoman. >> thank you, chairman, for holding the hearing today. as we have seen recently it is my hope including the ftc will

help ensure we don't have the usage in the future and as 5g continues in the planning for 6g and beyond, it is important the u.s. take the leadership position to deploy the advanced technology the government and private sector must work closely. you spoke about the spectrum bands to foster the technology leadership. can you walk us through the levels of a company like intel can begin investing to support the generations for the success of wireless technologies? >> thank you for the question,

congresswoman kelly. when we look through the process, what we look at is to determine when a new spectrum band comes online we need to have radios and filters et cetera. what we try to do is make sure that we understand the international environment and where the markets are typically the u.s. has been an upfront of that in terms of identifying the spectrum bands and then able to take that into determine when we would need to intercept and the product development timeline. when we look back at 5g we completed our analysis and started to intercept the product timelines in the september of 2015 for a decision that the international community did not make until november of 2019.

do you have anything to add to the leadership on the spectrum issues to a company? >> thank you very much. having spoken about the importance of identifying the spectrum bands early so that the industry can plan and have equipment available outside of the process, for example an unlicensed spectrum u.s. leadership plays a crucial role and we have seen in the last two years since opening up the six gigahertz band that an enormous number of countries are following suit so this is all

due to the fact that it was the first mover and people are paying attention and wanting the same kind of innovation and in theireconomies that we are gg here, so a very important issue to pay attention to and i thank you for the question. >> to connect more in the future we need to prepare for the increase and demand. we need to make more spectrum available for the licensed and unlicensed network demands. thank you for the question. the first issue is getting the 2.5 across the finish line. i think the panel here is in

agreement. by the end tia to be done in the van and how important the spectrum is. so anything we can do there is good. there are other bands in play potentially for the future. mr. bergman brought up the four gigahertz band that is being used and seven gigahertz depending could be a band of interest as well. >> thank you and my time is up. i will yield back. >> i can't tell you how happy we

are that you were able to join us at the last minute, and it is my great pleasure to yield five minutes to you. >> you are so kind and that is exactly why i came back to join you. i didn't think my amendments and the committee would take so long and cause disruption but we are trying not to do that here. today's hearing is named the 5g and beyond. future generations of the wireless networks and the 5g successors are not just blazing fast download speeds for the urban centers they will be key players protecting those like mine deploying the procedure and inagriculture, spurring better telehealth services and more. this is why i've directed my staff to begin reaching out to stakeholders so we as a caucus and a congress will continue to

march towards 5g and beyond. it's imperative that we stay on top of these issues both at home and abroad and personally whether we understand it or not. wireless leadership is ensuring the spectrum pipeline does not run dry after the upcoming 2.5 gigahertz option and i'm sorry. have you way to divide the spectrum bands that would be good candidates for future use and second what can congress do to help identify these additional bands? >> this is a place where dozens of countries around the world are using the spectrum so it is key that we put this to play and commend the committee.

there's a couple of others i would encourage you all to look at as well to the seven gigahertz that has federal users in it today with important missions and we think there are opportunities to be more efficient to make some of that available for the commercial licensed used and look at what other countries are doing internationally. for the 5g services as well so we need to be looking at the different candidates and looking at with the rest of the world is doing just as we did with 600 megahertz and do what congress has done before. >> we can't just get out of the way, we need to lead. thank you for looking beyond the borders leadership in the

national standard-setting rollout and multiple stir the deployment efforts of the adversaries. both organizations have been active at standard-setting bodies around the world. how can the u.s. participation in the regulatory process be improved to help us take the lead in expanding the spectrum going into 6g? it is industry >> we are very active there and other wi-fi lines, et cetera. those are industry led and those doing the technical innovation and have the expertise in wireless networks

and sort of of how to best increase the technical capabilities of those going forward. in the regulatory arena, we have the international telecommunications union and that's a place that i have gone as a spectrum policy expert. so that's the group that's looking more at which sort of intek spectrum bands are more important and that's where we are going and what we have in the pipeline in the near term and longer term. so we're able to make those priorities apparent and try to get other countries to coalesce around those. i want to differentiate between the two different ones. >> thank you, miss brown. >> i don't have much to add to stiz stan cavage's explanation.

they play out and leadership is crucial. in the wi-fi world we have an industry red let, we have i-triple-e. and for those that does standards is also the european communication standards and a significant portion of the world follows their standard. by leading here and leading in i-triple-e we have been able to lead. and it's important. >> thank you, the time has expired. seeing no more members, the chair requests unanimous consent to enter the following records and other information into the record, a letter from a broad range of 20 carriers and members of the wireless eco system urging congress to extend the spectrum authority. letter from digital liberty to

the house committee on communications and so ordered. and i want to thank the witnesses for their participation inned to's hearing and remind members pursuant to committee rules they have 10 business days to submit additional questions for the record to be answered by the witnesses, who have appeared and i would ask the witnesses to please respond promptly to any such questions that you may receive. at this time the committee is adjourned.

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