7/16. Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA) introduced HR 5125 [LOC | WW], the "Wi-Fi Innovation Act".

This is the companion bill to S 2505 [LOC | WW], the "Wi-Fi Innovation Act", introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) on June 19, 2014.

Outline of this Article:
 • Introduction.
 • Wi-Fi v. ITS.
 • Bill Summary.
 • 2012 Spectrum Act.

Introduction. The bill would require that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) write rules "to provide additional unlicensed spectrum in the 5850-5925 MHz band under technical rules suitable for the widespread commercial development of unlicensed operations in the band". It specifies the process to be followed by the FCC, including deadlines.

Rep. Latta (at right) stated in a release that "Demand for wireless spectrum is growing rapidly as smartphone and tablet users increasingly use Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet ... To accommodate this demand and support future mobile development and innovation, we must utilize spectrum more efficiently. The Wi-Fi Innovation Act paves a pathway to maximize the use of spectrum and examine ways to expand the deployment of wireless networks and services across the country, so all can benefit from this next-generation technology."

Rep. Eshoo stated in this release that "For three decades unlicensed spectrum has been the invisible backbone to myriad wireless technologies, ranging from Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to garage doors and cordless phones. But in order to unlock the next generation of wireless technology we need to optimize our finite amount of available spectrum".

She explained that this bill "directs the FCC to determine the extent to which unlicensed spectrum can be shared and utilized in increasingly innovative ways to benefit consumers and our economy."

The four sponsors of this bill also sent a letter to the FCC on July 24, 2013 on this subject. See also, June 20, 2014 release of Sen. Rubio and Sen. Booker.

This is spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band. Currently, most Wi-Fi is in the 2.4 GHz band.

Wi-Fi v. ITS. There is debate over allowing the 5.9 GHz band to be used for Wi-Fi. The cable industry, in its capacity as a provider of internet access, as well as groups that advocate deployment and availability of internet access and services, support this bill. They want unlicensed uses, and especially Wi-Fi, to be able to share this spectrum with existing users. However, these users do not welcome the idea of shared use, citing the problem of interference.

The spectrum that is the subject of this bill has already been allocated or authorized for use by both federal and non-federal users. The non-federal use is the Dedicated Short Range Communications Service (DSRCS) operating in the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) radio service.

This is both vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure communications that is currently being used in a small pilot program. However, it is planned for use in all new cars.

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) wrote in a January 2013 study that "DSRCS systems are used to transfer data over short distances between roadside and mobile units, between mobile units, and between mobile and portable units to perform operations related to the improvement of traffic flow, traffic safety, and other intelligent transportation service applications in a variety of environments."

The auto and ITS industries are concerned about this bill. Scott Belcher, head of the ITS Society of America, stated in a release on July 16 that "I cannot think of a more appropriate, innovative and important use of spectrum than saving tens of thousands of lives each year and reducing the nearly $1 trillion cost of crashes and congestion to American families and our nation’s economy".

He added that the FCC's process "should be allowed to proceed without arbitrary deadlines, restrictive parameters or political pressure that could influence the outcome".

The Department of Transportation (DOT), which is tasked with road safety responsibilities, also has concerns about opening this spectrum to unlicensed use. Geoffrey Winfrey, a DOT Assistant Secretary, testified at a hearing of the House Science Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Research and Technology titled "The Future of Surface Transportation" on June 18, 2014. See, HSC web page for this hearing.

He wrote in his prepared testimony that "We believe that the FCC and the NTIA must ensure that unlicensed devices do not compromise safety through harmful interference to the ITS architecture, operations, or safety critical applications if permitted to operate in the 5.9 GHz band. We have very serious concerns about any spectrum sharing that prevents or delays access to the desired channel, or otherwise preempts the safety applications."

Winfrey concluded that "At this time, the Department is unaware of any existing or proposed technical solution which guarantees interference free operation of the DSRC safety critical applications while allowing WiFi enabled devices to share the 5.9 GHz spectrum."

Similarly, Kristen Tabar of Toyota Technical Center, wrote in her prepared testimony that the federal government "should preserve and protect the short- to medium-range wireless spectrum that is necessary to support vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication in the U.S."

"Unfortunately," she wrote, " as part of a legitimate desire to find additional spectrum that can be opened up to unlicensed use in order to support the proliferation of wireless devices, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking last year soliciting comments on the possibility of opening the 5.9 GHz band up to use by unlicensed devices. For the auto industry and those who have been involved in the development of this technology, the use of the spectrum allocated for vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure communication by unlicensed devices raises significant, and possibly insurmountable, concerns about the potential for harmful interference. Interference that results in delayed or missed driver warnings will undermine the connected vehicle system’s entire foundation, rendering it essentially useless and putting the entire future of vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology in the United States at risk."

On the other hand, the cable industry supports this bill. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA) stated in a release that "We applaud Reps. Latta, Issa, Eshoo, and Matsui on the introduction of the Wi-Fi Innovation Act. This bipartisan legislation would take important steps to secure more unlicensed spectrum in the 5 Ghz band. With the demand for Wi-Fi enabled devices -- along with the spectrum required to use these devices -- continuously rising, we need to assure that our country can establish a future where ultra-fast Wi-Fi is everywhere."

Harold Feld of the Public Knowledge (PK) also praised the bill. He stated in a release that Sen. Rubio's and Sen. Booker's bill "provides a great example of how bipartisan leadership on spectrum issues can work. If passed, the bill would resolve an ugly traffic jam between the FCC and the Department of Transportation (DoT) that is needlessly delaying the next generation of Wi-Fi technology. This bill provides a road map for agencies to move forward that respects both the need for wireless capacity for safer ``smart cars´´ and the need for more open spectrum for the internet of things."

Cathy Sloan of the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) stated in a release that this legislation would " ease ``last mile´´ mobile access congestion by making other parts of the 5 GHz frequency band publicly available on an unlicensed basis for Wi-Fi, while avoiding harmful interference with other spectrum users".

The Consumer Electronics Association (CE) also supports these bills.

Bill Summary. First, the bill would require that the FCC's Office of Engineering and Technology (OET) issue a Public Notice (PN) within three months of enactment that requests public comments on "interference-mitigation techniques and technologies, and potential rechannelization, that would accommodate both incumbent licensees, including Dedicated Short Range Communications Services licensees, and widespread commercial unlicensed operations in the 5850-5925 MHz band" and "deployment timelines" for these technologies.

Next, the bill would require that within six months the FCC "shall ... develop and publish a test plan, including a timeline, for the use of unlicensed devices" in this band, which "shall be designed to allow the Commission to evaluate technologies for allowing unlicensed devices to utilize the 5850-5925 MHz band without causing harmful interference to incumbent licensees, including Dedicated Short Range Communications Services licensees."

Then, within fifteen months of enactment, the FCC "shall ... conduct testing in accordance with" this test plan" and "publish a summary of the results".

Then, within twenty-four months, if the FCC "determines that a mitigation technology, rechannelization, or other approach would allow unlicensed operations in the 5850-5925 MHz band that will not cause harmful interference to existing licensees of that band", the FCC shall modify its Part 15 rules "to adopt technical rules suitable for the widespread commercial deployment of unlicensed operations" in the band, or, if the FCC "determines that no mitigation technology, rechannelization, or other sharing approach would prevent unlicensed operations in the 5850-5925 MHz band from causing harmful interference to existing licensees of that band", the FCC shall so notify the Congress and others, and it "may not modify" its rules until it "can ensure that such operations will not cause harmful interference".

Also, within this 24 month time frame the FCC shall modify its Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) rules and its rules relating to dedicated short range communications service on-board units if it "determines that such a modification would maximize the utility of the 5850-5925 MHz band while protecting existing licensees from harmful interference."

Finally, the bill would require that the FCC "conduct a study to evaluate the availability of broadband Internet access using unlicensed spectrum and wireless networks in low-income neighborhoods".

2012 Spectrum Act. Section 6406 of the 2012 spectrum act imposed some requirements upon the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the FCC regarding making additional spectrum available for unlicensed technologies in the 5 GHz band.

The spectrum act is Title VI of HR 3630 [LOC | WW], the "Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012", enacted in the 112th Congress.

That Act required that with one year of enactment the FCC "shall begin a proceeding to modify" its part 15 rues "to allow unlicensed U-NII devices to operate in the 5350-5470 MHz band", but that the FCC shall modify its rules "only if" it "determines that (A) licensed users will be protected by technical solutions, including use of existing, modified, or new spectrum-sharing technologies and solutions, such as dynamic frequency selection; and the primary mission of Federal spectrum users in the 5350-5470 MHz band will not be compromised by the introduction of unlicensed devices."

The FCC adopted and released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), as required by Section 6406 of the 2012 Act, on February 20, 2013. It is FCC 13-22 in ET Docket No. 13-49. The FCC adopted its First Report and Order on March 31, 2014. It released it on April 1, 2014. It is FCC 14-30 in ET Docket No. 13-49. However, that R&O does not pertain to the 5850-5925 MHz band.

The 2012 Act also required that the NTIA "shall conduct a study evaluating known and proposed spectrum-sharing technologies and the risk to Federal users if unlicensed U-NII devices were allowed to operate in the 5350-5470 MHz band and in the 5850-5925 MHz band."

The NTIA release a study titled "Evaluation of the 5350-5470 MHz and 5850-5925 MHz Bands Pursuant to Section 6406(b) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act" of 2012 on January 25, 2013.

The House will not meet. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

The Senate will meet at 2:00 PM.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The Mobile Transformation: The Extraordinary Legal Implications of Billions of Mobile Devices". The speakers will be Lori Chang, Damier Xandrine, Stephen Wu, Lucy Thomson, and Ruth Bro. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

6:00 - 8:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "Where Was It Made? Legal Analysis of "Country of Origin" for Government Procurement, International Trade, and General Commerce". The speakers will be Myron Barlow, Don Luther (19CFR Trade Consulting), and Kimberly Welch (Meridian Law Group). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. No webcast. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. The House will consider HR 5035 [LOC | WW], a bill to reauthorize the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and remove the NSA from the NIST information systems standards setting process, and HR 4572 [LOC | WW], the "STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014", under suspension of the rules. See, story titled "NIST Authorization Bill Would Remove NSA's Statutory Role in Setting Computer Security Standards" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,676, July 17, 2014. HR 4572 is the bill approved by the House Commerce Committee (HCC) on May 7, not HR 5036 [LOC | WW], the "Satellite Television Access Reauthorization Act", which the House Judiciary Committee (HJC) approved on July 10. See, story titled "House Judiciary Committee Approves Satellite Television Access Reauthorization Act" 2,674, July 15, 2014. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

8:50 AM - 12:00 NOON. The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) will host an event titled "Who Governs the Internet? A Conversation on Securing the Multistakeholder Process". The speakers will be Jeffrey Eisenach (AEI), Danny Sepulveda (Department of State), Steve DelBianco, (NetChoice), Laura DeNardis (American University), David Gross (Wiley Rein), Shane Tews (AEI), and Larry Strickling (National Telecommunications and Information Administration). Free. Open to the public. No CLE credits. Webcast. See, notice. Location: AEI, 12th Floor, 1150 17th St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a panel discussion titled "CLS Bank and the Future of Patent-Eligibility for Computer-Implemented Inventions". The speakers will be Erika Arner (Finnegan Henderson), Michelle Holoubek (Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox), Michael Kiklis (Oblon Spivak), and Jeffrey Fougere (Hewlett Packard). The price to attend ranges from $25 to $35. No CLE credits. No webcast. No reporters allowed. For more information, call 202-626-3463. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast presentation titled "iPad for Lawyers". The speakers will be Thomas Mighell and Paul Unger. The price to attend ranges from $150 to $195. CLE credits. See, notice.

6:00 PM. The National Press Club (NPC) will host a discussion of the book titled "Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government". The main speaker will be Aneesh Chopra, the author. The price to attend is $10. No webcast. See, notice. Location: NPC, 13th floor, 529 14th St., NW.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM. The Heritage Foundation (HF) will host a panel discussion titled "Alliance Challenges in Northeast Asia: Perspectives on U.S.-Japan-South Korea Relations". The speakers will be Takeo Kawamura (Member of the Japanese House of Representatives), Bruce Klinger (HF) and Walter Lohman (HF). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. See, notice. Location: HF, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

12:00 NOON - 1:30 PM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "The Social Impact of Open Data". The speakers will be Maureen Ohlhausen (FTC Commissioner), Sandra Moscoso (World Bank), Laurie Actman (Penn Center for Innovation), Daniel Castro (ITIF), Brian Rayburn (Symcat), and Emily Shaw (Sunlight Foundation). See, notice. Location: ITIF/ITIC, Suite 610, 1101 K St., NW.

1:00 - 4:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host a program titled "Copyright Law and Litigation". The speaker will be Kenneth Kaufman (Manatt Phelps & Phillips). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. CLE credits. No webcast. For more information, call 202-626-3488. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from its events. See, notice. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will meet in executive session. The agenda includes consideration of no technology related items. Webcast. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for morning hour, and at 12:00 NOON for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

9:30 AM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing titled "The Federal Trade commission and Its Section 5 Authority: Prosecutor, Judge, and Jury". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

10:15 AM. The House Commerce Committee (HCC) will hold a hearing titled "Legislative Hearing on the Anti-Spoofing Act, the LPTV and Translator Act, and the E-LABEL Act". The witnesses will be __. Webcast. See, notice. Location: Room 2322, Rayburn Building.

10:15 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Judicial Nominations". See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

12:00 NOON. The Cato Institute will host a discussion of the book titled "Licensed to Lie: Exposing Corruption in the Department of Justice". The speakers will be Sidney Powell (author), Ronald Weich (University of Baltimore law school), Judge Alex Kozinski (USCA/9thCir), and Tim Lynch (Cato). Free. Open to the public. Webcast. Lunch will be served after the program. See, notice. Location: Cato, 1000 Massachusetts Ave., NW.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The Future of Bulk Data Collection". The speakers will be Yael Weinman (Information Technology Industry Council), Todd Hinnen, Shirin Sinnar, and Elizabeth Goiten. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a webcast panel discussion titled "The Fundamentals of Antitrust Economics". The speakers will be David Weiskopf, Donald Stockdale, Laila Haider, Joanna Tsai (advisor to FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright), and Aditi Mehta. Prices vary. CLE credits. See, notice.

24 2:00 PM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee" will hold a hearing titled "Copyright Remedies". The witnesses will be __. See, notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

EXTENDED FROM JUNE 9. Extended deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding whether to eliminate or modify the network non-duplication and syndicated exclusivity rules. The FCC adopted and released this FNPRM on March 31, 2014. It is FCC 14-29 in MB Docket No. 10-71. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 69, April 10, 2014, at Pages 19849-19860, and Public Notice (DA 14-525) extending deadlines.

The House will meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Cantor's schedule.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to Part VI(B-H) of its Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FNPRM) regarding closed captioning of video programming. The FCC adopted this FNPRM on February 20, 2014, and released it on February 24, 2014. It is FCC 14-12 in CG Docket No. 05-231. See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 59, March 27, 2014, at Pages 17093-17106.

Deadline to submit to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) nominations for membership on the Patent Public Advisory Committee (PPAC) and the Trademark Public Advisory Committee (TPAC). See, notice in the Federal Register, Vol. 79, No. 118, June 19, 2014, Pages 35152-35153.

Day one of a two day event hosted by the Minority Media & Telecom Council (MMTC) titled "12th Annual Access to Capital and Telecom Policy Conference". See, notice. Location: Embassy Suites Convention Center Hotel, 900 10th St., NW.

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