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 that in september 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 to ask questions of 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 happens at the international level certainly can have a direct impact on what happens here at home. for this reason i'd like to take the opportunity to mention the upcoming leadership election at the one international telecommunications union. i want to second what ranking member rodgers said the u.s. has nominated a well-qualified candidate as important as congress ended administration continue to advocate for her to be the next secretary-general. with these important considerations in mind and recognizing your experience within the international forum

ms. stancavage i want to know how that impacts consumers and companies so we please share your thoughts with us and 10 seconds? or for i'm in big trouble with my colleagues. [laughter] thing that gets absolutely crucial mr. chairman. >> that's the right answer. i yield back my time and recognize my good friend mr. latta for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman. mr. bergmann you point at your general authority to grant more licenses for the suspect from on september 30 this year however the fcc were gained authority to lower to a three gigahertz band in the jobs act.

what's spectrum bands are in the pipeline how should we continue to make spectrum available for commercial use? >> thank you ranking member for that question. you hit onto the most important things for us which is authority and having a spectrum pipeline. her 30 years it's never been tried before so this is new ground and wing congress does that they are really important tenets. the lower gigahertz band is critical for congress can work to get access to that band. there are other bands that are important as well. seven gigahertz band is something that ntia looked and we this committee to look at

that in four gigahertz as the band is internationally. the focus really is high band right now. >> ms. brown as you may know i'm cochair of the wi-fi caucus. recently the ftc made a commitment in making spectrum available for wi-fi use. could you speak to how americans use licensed and unlicensed spectrum and would expect to see in terms of licensed and unlicensed spectrum? and thank you for the question. the demand for anywhere less techality whether it's wi-fi or 5g continues to rise. wi-fi today and unlicensed spectrum represents more than half of all internet traffic because we are consuming most

wireless traffic traffic and we are indoors wether it work or at home. that is not to say that 5g isn't important. it's vitally important and we are going to be using a lot more effort in the future. from a consumer that what we are going to see is more of an urgency of the two ecosystems as we go forward in one example of that would be the 6g offerings that are in the marketplace where the traffic is the tua base station. in the home the connection to the devices are wi-fi. there are more examples coming in is more urgent and will benefit the american people. >> thank you very much. eight tc commercial serves -- could you speak about how you identify your

>> from needs with the tube went five gigahertz >> from auction? >> thank you for the question. hdv made band spectrum is critical for us for propagation of speed unimportant for scalability for both rural in urban areas. the increase for broadband continues to grow across the service area. >> ms. stancavage if energy credits the u.s. may not need taming 6g. >> thank you or question before you start i'd like to say we

expected a good reception in ohio. we far exceeded that. >> we appreciate it. >> in terms of 6g it is really important or that describe the five-year gap where we intercept that with product development caps. when we look out to the 6g horizon i don't see the urgency that i think we need to have to make sure we are in a position so anything we can do to initiate those discussions to make sure they happen in timely manner to make sure when we have those discussions the u.s. position to taken into account to coalesce with other countries around our position. >> the chair now recognizes the chairman of the full committee for five minutes. >> thank you chairman doyle.

our airways should be used to advance fundamental free speech association and democracy. they use it to spread disinformation shut down free speech. it's important that the u.s. unlike in the country lead in the development of these technologies so that are public and just is at the center of any technological progress. i want to ask you mr. guice how can we keep the public interest at the forefront of our spectrum policy? >> thank you chairman for that question. it is a critical aspect who we need to pursue the public interest has been the driver underneath our spectrum policy for decades focusing on ensuring that communities low-income communities and conducive color have the opportunity to get access and ensuring that technology is open so that we

all have a right in the an ability to -- as we look forward to how we do that making certainly addressed digital equity concerns that you raised in your opening statement as important using auction revenues to advance that is important and it doesn't have to compete. i know number of numbers -- >> thank you and i wanted to ask ms. stancavage coordination is the key so ntia and fcc spectrum coordination certainly helps improve things and we require legislation out of committee. my question to you is why a spectrum coordination important globally and how can we as a lead-in to box in the world leader in this effort and how

will would having a spectrum strategy in place help? >> thank you for the question. in terms of making sure we are available in continuing those discussions the components that you need to do that are not readily available. and when you need those components if the u.s. doesn't have bandwidth and the manufacturers are not aware of those would end up happening is what go into the boy and put the band of higher priority. if the u.s. wants to be a leader early action allows us to start that process. >> thank you and ms. brown and

licensees of our airways are benefits and unlicensed airwaves help complete the homework as well as health care and other things. a recent report found that unlicensed spectrum contributes over $79 billion per year in economic value so with these benefits in mind what is the impact to consumers and innovators to free up additional airways for unlicensed use? question and thank you for the question. let me elaborate on what my colleague said. consumers benefit when we can lead in spectrum allocation and lead in product development. for example in the recent band we were the ers country to adopt that unlicensed band and we now have over 200 pieces of

equipment that have reviewed the certification process ranging from television sets access to laptop smartphones etc.. all of that is happening here first so we get the access to equipment and the innovation and innovative new uses of unlicensed and as we move forward we expecting to see a lot more deployment of augmented reality and virtual reality types of devices and not an because we now have the room to spectrally support those new technologies so tremendously important. thank you. >> thank you for the yield back mr. chair. it the gentleman yields back for the chair recognizes the ranking member for five minutes. thank you mr. chairman. at our last hearing the nti administrator was concerned with the faa circumventing the

management process and pressuring wireless carriers on their spectrum licenses after the auction had concluded that congress doesn't the fcc as an expert agency to make spectrum management decisions in the public interest and with the necessary authority to work through these types of concerns. mr. sub -- mr. bergmann how can we rebuild trust in this process? >> thank you for the question. your focus is critical. a nearly universal if -- and it's really unfortunate because the fcc in ntia are experts and for an auction investing $80 billion to purchase the rights to use the spectrum and in the 13 tower rejections to

that. that's a tremendous challenge that undermines that auction authority and our spectrum framework for making spectrum available. some of the things we think about our improving coordination and i've flawed chairwoman rosen will serve for their initiative. we had taken a group positive step in where courage coordination will has improved and gotten more engineering focused. we need to make sure we returned to the race early and we plan for those concerned. the things we think about is as a whole of government approach where we don't just identify concerns that plan. they know 5g is a priority and we want to plan for that and of course it's all about making sure we benefit with 5g.

$1.5 trillion new jobs so i think you and appreciate your focus on this and dashed this issue. >> ms. round for the last several years the committee is taking action to ensure communication networks are secure and to continue american leadership in the wireless industry. the united states has been the leader in identifying what >> drum is coming down the pipeline. countries like china want to disrupt the leadership and offer different vision of their their spectrum in mind. what can we do to lead ashley? >> thank you for the question. i think we are a doing a way to keep doing more of it. this thing is a. example.

we need to identify the spectrum pipeline to continue to advance our spectrum allocation in support of our largest technology ecosystem in wi-fi and 5g and leading into six g. and as result of that by taking action and building consensus here, we have enormous weight when we turn to face the international community. the. >> and i unlicensed unlicensed space with the 680-hertz decision that the fcc made in 2020 where we have dozens and dozens of countries following the fcc lead. so moving quickly and paying attention to it getting to work done is very important and we need to keep doing more of it. >> thank you. ms. -- ms. stancavage reestablih america's mid-and initiative to

identify and make me and spectrum than spectrum for 5g. as u.s. compared international counterparts in terms of spectrum availability and what areas are we thinking about mystically to better position the united states? >> thank you for the question. i would characterize it as different use cases and that's happening -- it started leading markets and countries want to play a leadership role moving forward in the u.s. was the first in terms of the high band spread trombley 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 they are following the u.s. leads do we are expecting to see a lot more 5g deployment in countries.

from a look at the bigger picture we have to also -- 5g is not a point in time. the standard was created and that will continue to evolve as we move towards 6gn that happens once make sure we have spectrum available in the near term so domestically we should be thinking about what we can put into the spectrum pipeline for the near term and also be looking out over the longer term for 6gn how are we going to make sure that we have identified which spectrum may be viable in the u.s. and which ones are on the international international market so it's a near-term making sure we have the pipeline longer term. >> thank you and i yield back. senate the gentlelady yields back or the chair recognizes mr. mcnerney for five minutes.

>> thank you chairman. this is important. i think the witnesses and ranking member in by cochair the wi-fi caucus and long advocated the strategy. how do we ensure the unlicensed spectrum is not overlooked and there's more availability >> thank you mr. mcnerney for the question. the main way to do it is to recognize the successful way to it actually their spectrum policy is to make the right of access to regimes available as we look at spectrum bands. as as been noted here the seven gigahertz band is a. opportunity to expand on our unlicensed work until opening that hand up particular dalo for 125 megahertz could resend opportunities to advance not only wi-fi six. wi-fi seven keeping that access

regime available is critical. >> this question goes to ms. brown. using ai has been identified by the alliance of the telecommunications industry. how does that availability of licensed and unlicensed spectrum effect the united states ability to compete with other nations in ai? >> thank you for the question. it is widely expected that ai will be used in 60 networks to a far greater extent than it is today. it's artie is in the networks today but to a far greater extent. i think by leading and 60 in

paying attention to the spectrum allocations and getting that work done in the prompt way is going to ensure that u.s. innovation will be first in these new 60 networks to come. this is another benefit of paying attention to the spectrum allocation process and getting that work done as quickly as possible. thank you. >> thank you. ms. stancavage can ai be used to advance the term? >> most of the ai we see right now in terms of network performance to make sure the network is operating as well as it can be and we continue to

improve it. to move forward towards edge computing and pushing the computer aspect of the end-user we will see increased ai applications and allowing the benefit of the connect to the width compute and ai to maximize the overall benefit. >> what are some of the problems that ai can help address? >> mostly upon the network performance in the near term. i would not underscore what the applications will enable. when you can look at ai being able to for instance look at machine welds on the factory floor to make sure that the welds have been done correctly in a way that no person can see the images of the end-user

application that ai will and courage when you buy connectivity and for the near term it's mostly in terms of network or formants and enhancing that overall performance. >> thank you. that's a viewpoint haven't thought of on parts on the factory floor. mr. bergmann china has implemented a -- mid-to upper frequencies. how will american consumers and businesses be affected as other countries continued to innovate their spectrum while the u.s. lags? >> thank you so much for that question. 5g provides new extend capabilities from higher capacity to lower latency and what that enables is benefits

enables us to address concerns about the digital divide. new services like 5g for homes. it enables us to address our nation's climate change tools as we integrate 5g into the highest emitting sectors in our economy. enables us to be a home for innovation by bringing topics like the one you are raising ai or virtual reality and innovation in those industries so that's why it's critical that we have from. >> the omens -- the gentleman's time has expired for the chair now recognizes mr. top three for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chair. i appreciate the recognition i appreciate everybody being here today. we are pushing against the september 30 deadline and i'm the cochair with ms. matsui of the spectrum conference and i believe making more spectrum available is critical especially as 5g and other wireless to

colleges are being deployed in the united states. my first question mr. todd how is making more spectrum available through commercial use altered their effort to close the digital divide? >> thank you for the question. as a corporative hdc is focused on serving all of our members equally in providing equal access. broadband expansion has allowed us to be of the expanded markets where larger tiers may not have made broadband available so we've been able to see first-hand how urging the digital divide can improve opportunities in rural communities. we have seen old of hotspot in 20 centers to allow households without access to have access to broadband to come together and connect. for us it's all about the availability and usability of the spectrum to make sure as we continued to expand out folks

have access as soon as they can to broadband. we have co-ops that extend broadband areas that are underserved as well. if your focus mostly on areas that are underserved by the population have the ability to go and recover their investment in our new -- are you focused on area student haven't necessarily been able to -- they leave them unable to participate in different programs with the state federal funding programs to have access to grant an expanded in those areas and they have been very beneficial for us. >> thank you and then ms. round we have been working on legislation to reauthorize the fcc's outcome authorization authority and beyond the three gigahertz band in the five

gigahertz band we continue to do our due diligence to determine what the national bands they be like for auction so my question is whether what are the benefits for congress preserving its authority to direct the fcc to conduct certain auctions? >> congress has played a leadership role for 30 years in identifying spectrum band and providing direction to the fcc about what should happen next. that is an invaluable policy direction that really helps drive consensus across the fcc, ntia and other agencies. ..

that bands spectrum. one of the options was a cprs option that granted priority access licenses to commercial users. we've also seen the option that granted flexible use licenses spectrum coordination is key for successful operation sharing regime's and i've introduced the smart spectrum act that requires to establish an incumbent capability system between federal and nonfederal users. what are some lessons learned

that we need to take into effect as we look at the next spectrum? >> thank you, congressman. it is important that we be thinking about all tools that we have available to us to make more spectrum available and so we appreciate the focus there. i think for us when we think about the spectrum access, it's about certainty. the systems have made investments of about $30 billion per year in license access spectrum and having that certainty is critical when we look at the different spectrum sharing arrangements, one of the challenges is the complexity. it's more complex than deployed in that critical area. we think about things like the parallels that can be used. so, for us i think the market tells a story. if you look at the option and

compare right above it the three dot 45 you see that the market value the greater certainty and a value of about 4-1. >> i think my time is expired. he was about to gavel me. i heard him. >> joe barton from the great state of texas and the republican manager of the republican baseball team. good to see you. >> that's why i love you so much, joe. [laughter] >> glad to have you here, mr. chairman.

recognized for five minutes. >> i thank the ranking member for convening this important hearing and thank you to the witnesses for their testimony and for joining us today. greetings, everyone. as that covid-19 pandemic has laid bare the need for successful connectivity in both urban and rural areas is critical for underserved and marginalized populations to stay connected to essential online resources like education, remote learning, and employment, remote work, healthcare services, telehealth as well as narrowing the digital divide. many in the communities use devices to participate in the online activities such as virtual learning that often requires high-speed connections that are not always accessible and or available. the first question for mr. giese

you've noted that the public interest need is necessary to fulfill the growing demand of the spectrum resources. when competing ideas for the interest are at play, how can we ensure the spectrum policy decisions made in the public interest do not further entrench an equitable spectrum access for historically underserved communities? >> representative, it's a great question and thank you for your leadership now that we worked together on a number of efforts to ensure the communities get served. it's critical that we focus our policies on ensuring that we don't leave folks behind and we know the traditional get left behind. to advance the initiative, we suggested additional literacy as one way to reach those communities making certain that they have the skills and the tools necessary to get that access. we are looking at all the money the congress has put forth on a

bipartisan basis to drive investment into these lower income communities and our rural and urban areas as a way to address that, and we are also looking at the authority that the fcc and congress gave on a bipartisan basis to look at the past digital discrimination to make sure that we bridge the gaps. >> quick question how do we create a maintenance of effort because often times we do these one-shot deals then it wanes over time and these communities have been systemically discriminated against. how do we create within the dynamic before us the maintenance of effort? >> that is a great question as well. in the one context we have a universal service program that provides continued funding and in this context we should look at the option revenues. this is a source of funding that is pretty substantial where we could and now a foundation with

some of these revenues, a portion and say to them here is your mission. make sure the community's needs are addressed and we focus the efforts. so we would love to work with your office on trying to bridge that. >> as a follow-up in the testimony you explain the revenue generated code to support public interest needs. that being said, should we also be looking at how we might spectrum reallocation and the options themselves be constructed to promote the digital conclusion and increase access to the affordability of the 5g connectivity for unserved and underserved communities? >> yes. absolutely. that is the game here we need to make sure we are getting everybody, all americans connected in figuring out the tools that are most critical. as the world goes wireless, the use for the conductivity of the spectrum continue to increase

rapidly. in recent years the u.s. has made enormous progress unleashing spectrum which has been allocated for both licensed and unlicensed use. in your testimony, you stated that the united states finds itself in the inevitable to the niv enviable in both licensed and unlicensed technology. as we replenish the pipeline is it critical that we use available spectrum bands as efficiently as possible, recognizing that what considerations should the policy recognizing this what considerations should to the the policymakers take into account when evaluating the best method for allowing the new uses in the spectrum band. >> the short answer to the question is yes, we should. and i would point out by way of example the flexible spectrum licensing program, which allows the operators to continually upgrade and change out the

technology they are using in the licensed spectrum that they have. that's a huge advantage that the united states has globally. not all regulators do it and we should encourage it. the chair recognizes mr. kinsinger for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chair man. i wish i could be there with you all soon and i appreciate all the witnesses for being here. we can all agree as most of us have stated that the united states has a vested interest in being the world leader in 5g tech and service but it's safe to say the coordination of the spectrum policy which is absolutely vital to the efforts we have seen numerous disputes

in the governmental and industrial and government to industry disputes and they've been embarrassing frankly. how can the u.s. expect to lead when it has to grapple with turf wars and government to work together to overcome the challenges and reauthorize spectrum. first question with the demand for the spectrum reaching all-time highs, what does congress need to do to direct spectrum to 5g and 6g and what are the spectrum needs of the industry going to look like? >> thank you so much for the question, congressman. i think if i can answer both of your questions with one answer which is to say the key for the committee to focus on extending the fcc's authority is to find the set of spectrum bands

because that's what is critical for advancing 5g and for addressing the coordination issues that you referenced. i mentioned earlier the fcc and the spectrum regulator experts this committee is the nations spectrum expert and we look for this committee to lead in terms of defining those options that plays a tremendous advantage in terms of moving quickly and also helps reduce some of those backend problems of coordination we've seen more recently. >> adam, are you still with us? there he is. are you able to hear us? the wonders of modern

technology. are you there? >> if you can hear me i yield back. >> the gentle man yields backend of the chair recognizes for five minutes. >> mr. chair man, thank you very much. and as many of you know, like the rest of the country in the the areais experiencing a huge h and we want to make sure we are working to ensure the communities and communities of color across the points that we like to call it can benefit from these economic opportunities

made possible as we explore the next wireless frontier and that brings me to my next question. can you elaborate how using a mix of regime's for the spectrum opportunities benefits low income communities and communities of color as new technology and conservatism emerge? >> thank you very much. a mix of access regime, what it does is ensure that entrepreneurs, minority businesses have the opportunity to explore getting access to spectrum and spectrum technologies on unlicensed networks without a huge upfront payment on the acquisition. so it creates those kind of opportunities. in addition, here we have a policy given to it by this congress under section 309 that it should structure in a way that encourages the businesses

to participate and as they look at structuring the options, we encourage them to think about how particularly in terms of spectrum service areas may hinder that capability or opportunity for women and minority owned businesses. so, we kind of pushed them and hope that you will push them but it is that a mix of access that entrepreneurs and innovators and the unlicensed space can obtain without having to go through the spectrum acquisition cost and within the women-owned businesses that can't pursue opportunities in spectrum, the fcc should structure to encourage that participation. >> what can congress do to help prioritize that to make sure everyone who wants and needs to be connected has access to the next generation technology? >> congress took a substantial step in bringing connectivity to the communities.

the end tia as it rolls the program out needs to be rigorous and ensure that the states are pursuing those opportunities where there are urban and rural divides that needed to be bridged. this is a once in a generation investment, and we are certainly encouraging them to make certain that through the mapping and other efforts they are targeting the communities with those investments. >> as the government and industries work together to secure the next generation deployment, we should be very intentional about advocating in the public and creating a robust workforce pipeline. i wanted to ask you about the end -- in detail and the other

cutting edge technology but also to recruit high school students and college students with diverse backgrounds to join the technology workforce. >> thank you for the question, congressman. so, intel take the workforce development very seriously. we have a variety of programs. in ohio for instance, we are as a part of our initiative making sure that we are doing the work force development as a part of our ohio rollout, but in addition one of my colleagues is very active with ai where we are making sure that for the use it is really explaining the technology in helping. we also have programs at the community college level that we use and i believe that the first lady biden was just at one of the sites to look at that as well in arizona to see what we are doing in that perspective as well. so, we do have for college

students and younger students and what we're doing with workforce because that is critical to make sure we are prepared now and over the longer term. >> thank you very much and with that, i will yield back. >> the gentle man yields back and now five minutes to my fellow pittsburgh pirates fan and a friend. >> thank you. we have the number three farm system in baseball there's no question, and it's a bright future. i guarantee it, mr. chair man. in 2019, they unveiled of the idea of a national five-year spectrum plan. at that time i said this was a good idea to ensure the strategy among all agencies and federal partners to understand and achieve the goal. since then, there've been

well-publicized instances that prove federal agencies are not on the same page when it comes to the strategy and in some ways this harmony is an embarrassment for the functioning government. in my research i found that the country of australia has maintained a five-year spectrum grandsons at least 2017. their plan is publicly updated by biannually with their successes, failures and status reports which are then rolled out into an updated five-year plan. the question for mr. burke what would you say is the status of a unified american spectrum strategy and what at minimum should be included in a u.s. strategy on spectrum and should we use australia's spectrum

plan? >> thank you, congressman. your description of the focus on the spectrum option and planning is critical and that is definitely something that we can benefit from and incorporated. the national spectrum strategy is accumulated to do that and plan for actions to have the pipeline. you can make sure you are taking the most highly valued access. we talked about the mid band spectrum and when we look at the portfolio, we see that the government is overweighted and has access to two thirds of the advanced spectrum. we also look at the allegations between the licensed and unlicensed anywhere between 270 or 450 for licensed spectrum in that range so it's important that you make those kind of strategic decisions and that we have enough of the right assets coming to market and i would

again encourage the committee as our spectrum experts you all can help with that pipeline when you consider the authority to provide some of that direction as well. >> thank you very much. one issue i have been pounding the desk on and i'm not going to pound the desk on this, i'm just getting the end tia and fcc to update the memorandum of understanding on the spectrum coordination. this committee unanimously passed my bill, the spectrum coordination act, which would do just that and i appreciate you putting that on the agenda. i would love to see it before the house of representatives as soon as possible. prior to the last hearing, the two agencies put out a press release that they would be working to update on their own. mr. bergman, again, have we heard anything beyond the press

release on the status of this update, for instance, do we have a timeline for an updated agreement and do we know what they are seeking to address to make this process better and as a follow-up again, we all know the problems surrounding federal agencies with the last option and license. so, let's go ahead and get that response from you. >> you are right to focus on coordination. we want them to be the lead so we support the legislation. we do think it is critical that all agencies appreciate and recognize the goals that you talked about with of the national spectrum strategy so we have both the end tia and other agencies thinking about how to support those goals.

>> is there a better way to incorporate the federal agencies with shared spectrum or adjacent to spectrum in the process to avoid these wonders without, because that is important as well. what do you think? in the coordination the key is the process broken down. we need a recommitment so the policies are addressed early and how quickly can we bring them out to bring them home to bear for the digital divide or connecting the rural areas and how do we push innovation faster in the u.s. we definitely encourage the committee to make sure that the

agencies are getting that back as quickly as possible. >> the chair recognizes you for five minutes. >> thank you mr. chairman and thank you for convening the hearing. i would like to start with you and note we found that it was critical to ensure that we knew what areas were served and what areas were not and that's why i was privileged to help with the passage of the broadband data act last congress that was intended to help for the broadband maps. as you know it's a little trickier with the wireless providers. how do we make sure we have an accurate map of which wireless providers in which areas and why is it important to get it right? >> thank you, congressman, for

the question and for your leadership on trying to secure the support for the devices so we can get folks in the low income communities connected. we will continue that work. the mapping question is a good question when we talk about wireless mapping it is different and more difficult than a wireline map. unfortunately too often they relied on the theoretical propagation characteristics that raise a load of communities unserved but reported as served. as we look at the rollout of 5g and the technology that that technology relies on it's going to be critical that we get that information right because the opportunities to miss those in the urban sectors as well as the rural sector are just vastly

increased. it can to be just a state led effort or a professional effort. we need to true crowdsourcing because the opportunity for them to miss the communities are pretty great. >> thank you for that. i would like to talk about the so-called last mile if we can. where do we stand in terms of the effectiveness of a last mile option and how do we ensure that the spectrum remains available as we move forward with options? connecting 100% of the population which is the right goal for the committee i think

it is particularly well-suited to make those connections so i would applaud the programs you've adopted and we've seen with the programs like the emergency broadband benefit into andthe affordable connectivity program two out of every three are excited as we think about now six wireless and regional providers connecting tens of millions of homes already in over 200 million homes. we know that this can be a critical part of the equation because it can lead to be deployed quickly and in many cases deployed more affordably and it's going to bring choice to the whole broadband market so we are excited about the home of her wireless and appreciate the

committees focus on making sure we've got the right spectrum to do that. >> the chair recognizes my good friend for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. todd, as the cochair of the 5g caucus, i'm focused on finding additional spectrum opportunities are that the nation's 5g network can be swiftly deployed. i'm pleased that the fcc chair recently announced the plans to start an option for the 2.5 gigahertz band this july that will make more spectrum available for the expansion especially in rural parts of the country but unfortunately, the fcc's authority is to expire september 30th. something like that has never happened since the authority was

first enacted in the mid-90s. please walk us through how this might impact the preparation of smaller carriers. we need to ensure the spectrum licensing provides certainty with collaborating and fully cooperating to ensure safety issues are addressed without

disrupting the option process. the spectrum that was optioned see nonfederal ban. 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 question and focus on the issue. i think we could all agree the process broken down in this discussion caused unnecessary. we saw that when we looked at how the rest of the world uses it and safely and has both 5g so i think it is absolutely critical that we learn from this lesson when we have companies willing to invest tens of billions of dollars to the digital divide to bring jobs it's critical that process happen smoothly and i think the keys are making sure there's

agency input. the fcc and mti has a process where they share proposed decisions and circulate those. i think the challenge here is that some of those aviation equipment glistens outside of the ban. in the 5g world, we stay in our lane. we are focused on providing equipment and listening outside of the van. so, what i think about early planning i think about not just raising concerns but how do we plan for the future so that there are technology upgrades more efficient on the spectrum. >> back to those operative words, cooperate, communicate and collaborate across the agencies to make sure we address the questions up front. continuing with you, established by congress to be the authoritative technical expert on the spectrum matters, the stakeholders did not like the outcome of that proceeding.

what is the long-term impact to the public's trust when americans see federal agencies raising last-minute concerns after the option? once the concerns were already addressed by the so-called experts agencies. how can the american people trust what we are doing if we miss something this big? >> absolutely agree. we saw unnecessary friction in the industry for the consumers and certainly in the wireless world as well. we know that every six months delay in 5g it costs us $25 billion in the benefits that we hope to achieve from it so it is critical that we solve these issues going forward. >> one last question for you and i will ask it quickly. one of the biggest options ever conducted is the option of the spectrum while the first 100 megahertz of the full 280 megahertz has been available, the remaining will be

made available in phase two of the transitions. as congress examines whether and how to extend authority to issue permits and licenses, what would be the impact to your industry if it is unable to complete the processing to the phase two licenses? >> absolutely. it's critical that we bring the spectrum to the first phase available in july and that we move forward with of these as well. we know that is key to the benefits that 5g will bring to us. >> so you are aware. the time is expired into the chair recognizes you for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. in central florida and throughout the nation, americans rely on spectrum for service internet, social media, gps, various apps. that's why i was so excited about the rollout. this is a tremendous accomplishment.

we know there was balancing that had to happen between cellular and aviation. and those issues will continue to be resolved. and it's key that we work together both through cellular and aviation and other areas as we go forward on the concerns that have been around for about four years especially representing central florida, a tourism capital with so much air traffic. we happened to be able to do this because we worked together in a public-private partnership as well as private industries and that is why it's okay to do the same thing as we open up the do spectrum which is why we are here today to make sure we educate the american people on why it is key to extend the auction authority currently set to expire september 30 of this year. and what's at stake particularly the madman spectrum which is a good signal range and is better

and worse and helps with increased capacity, faster speeds, so many things that are the key to make sure that we have that crisp sulfone connection. so to continue the work together as we march towards 6g and of those that are just catching up with 5g, artificial intelligence, virtual-reality, machine learning and other technological advances. it's critical to these for the economy, healthcare, national security, finance, entertainment, so many others. i'm glad it was brought up before about the america competes act into the act that is included because all of this is together without the supplies for cell phones and so many other technological advances. we won't be able to let this happen so i'm hopeful like with the infrastructure law and particularly the recent budget the committee and congress will come together to pass the america convenience act and we are excited to make the microchips in florida and we are

going to keep going forward on that. i'm also concerned about the commercial spaceflight and streamlining telecommunications with regards to the rockets that go up literally every week multiple times a week by space x and so it is something we are looking forward to a longer discussion on them in the future but for now we know it is critical to work together to develop a position on the international spectrum issues. one, to help achieve the global harmonization and to make sure the best position to capitalize on what the next generation of wireless technology has to offer and ensure timely commercialization of products for the u.s. market. why is it important to the u.s. economic and a security interest to play a leadership role in the spectrum policy? >> thank you for the question,

congressman. it is absolutely critical as i described we have to be early in the process to make sure we have the components around it so that we are able to intercept the product and investment cycle to make sure that there is timely access and that is true for licensed and unlicensed technologies and when the u.s. does act quickly, what you see is we have the equipment to support those and we are able to provide that equipment and then are able to capitalize on the economies of scale so rather waiting at the back of the qbr at the front and then we are able to make sure we have the equipment and in a more cost-effective manner. >> it is critical for america to lead and i appreciate that. much of the mid-spectrum is occupied by federal government agencies and obviously this is an area we have to have careful balance. do you have recommendations how

to determine what spectrum the government needs and what can be reallocated? >> absolutely. you are right the federal government is overweighted in the portfolio they are absolutely important missions. the key is to find ways to be more effective in the spectrum that we use. in the industry we have the strong incentives to constantly have new generations of technology that are more efficient and we've increased efficiency by 42 times in the last ten years. the same incentives don't always exist for the same government so we need to find a way to make them more efficient so they can do them and we have the commercial use. >> the time is expired. the chair recognizes mr. long for five minutes. >> everybody gather around to hear about the auction. a beautiful day for an auction. you all know it never rains on a long auction there is a cool breeze at about 40 degrees.

but what we have here today selling the two dot five gigahertz band and you've all had to your credit preapproved and everything so everyone is free to bid at will. 25 billion, 15, ten, $10 billion. 2.5 -- come on now. all right. eleven, 12, 13, 14.5, sold at 13 billion to the chairman. if you will pay your bill out at the door that would be greatly appreciated. and folks, i have a or had a 31 year credit.

everyone is free to bid. it benefits the american taxpayer and the federal government infected has the potential to raise significant funds as you just witnessed to the u.s. treasury and to the congressional priorities such as rural broadband deployment in places like my district in southwest missouri. it's important for the authority to be extended with language requiring some even for short-term. switching gears i would like to ask you the fcc is required for spectrum within the next seven years as they look to potentially relocate the systems or to find a technical solution. what is the viability and

divisibility with the respective assignments and how they are used. one of the things the innovation act does well it gives a timeline to make up their mind but also flexibility in the decision-making depending on what they find in the band and whether it can be used, changed, modified, whether it needs to stay put. so, i think the congress is on the right track. >> and i will go next under the ten year, the fcc started the

spectrum horizon proceeding to seek comment how to unleash above 95 gigahertz. how do you envision the frequencies being used and how do they look at the possible uses for the spectrum? also for the massive machine, 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 bandwidth of the very short range which would be consistent with those bands for things like

positioning, very high accuracy positioning and sensor uses. so you want to take advantage of the capability that the technology brings and what it is able to be deployed. so, there is a definite interest in a lot of different research areas. >> and i just want to make a note that. mr. chairman, i yield back. >> i'm going to need an installment plan. [laughter] i want to recognize while making more spectrum available is

important for american leadership in 5g deployment, it is also critical for closing the digital divide in rural america. the spectrum decisions made, and i hope we get this done by september to closing the digital divide and making sure the schools, hospitals and businesses are not left behind.

the spectrum options like 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 nice complement to the drive to make certain that the revenues are being used for the public interest needs as opposed to flowing into the general treasury sector. so yes and there is precedent

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 led and the intel representatives we are very active and others are industry led and when you look at those we send our technical experts the ones doing the technical innovation and who have the expertise and wireless networks and sort of how to best increase the technical capabilities of those going forward into the regulatory arena we have the international communications union. not as i've gone as a policy expert and so it is looking more at sort of which spectrum bands and it's really important that as the u.s. we understand where we are going, what we have in the pipeline in the near term but also over the longer term so we are able to make those priorities apparent and try to get other countries to coalesce around those. so i did want to differentiate

between the two standards. >> ..