Jonathan Make Discusses the Top Telecom Stories of 2019

Episode Summary

Executive Summary: The episode reviews major 2019 telecom developments and looks ahead to 2020, centering on FCC veteran Julie Knapp’s retirement, broadband mapping problems, net neutrality, state/federal preemption, municipal and utility pole-attachment rules, spectrum battles, and the C-band auction. The discussion argues that technical career staff are underappreciated, while telecom policy is increasingly shaped by competing agencies, evolving technology, and unresolved questions about privacy, neutrality, and federalism.

Main Topics: Julie Knapp’s retirement and the FCC’s career staff (Priority: 5/5): The hosts praise Julie Knapp as a model nonpartisan technical civil servant whose retirement symbolizes both a loss of expertise and a broader FCC brain drain among long-serving staff. Broadband mapping and measuring the digital economy (Priority: 5/5): The discussion explains how hard it is to build accurate broadband maps and broader digital-economy datasets, especially when different users need different definitions, geographies, and measurement methods. Net neutrality, privacy, and platform regulation (Priority: 4/5): The speakers connect net neutrality debates with privacy and platform power, suggesting future rules may focus on edge platforms, incumbent ISPs, and whether regulation should be platform-neutral. Federalism, state preemption, and local control (Priority: 4/5): The conversation examines how federal rules interact with state and local laws on net neutrality, privacy, pole attachments, and rights-of-way, highlighting ongoing conflicts over preemption. Pole attachments, one-touch make-ready, and 5G deployment (Priority: 4/5): They discuss FCC efforts to speed broadband and 5G deployment by limiting local and utility barriers, while noting that many municipalities oppose losing control over siting and access. Spectrum policy and agency conflict (Priority: 5/5): The episode covers the C-band auction, the 5.9 GHz and 6 GHz bands, and growing interagency disputes as multiple federal bodies seek influence over spectrum allocation.

Key Arguments: Career FCC technologists and administrators are essential to policy execution and often undervalued compared with political appointees. Broadband maps are only useful if the underlying data collection method matches the policy question being asked. Counting broadband lines like a census is an outdated method; survey-based approaches used by economic agencies may be better. Net neutrality and privacy are linked by broader concerns over platform power, non-market costs, and whether rules should be platform-neutral. The D.C. Circuit’s net neutrality ruling mainly affects public safety, Lifeline, and state preemption issues rather than core price regulation. Municipal resistance to FCC pole-attachment and siting rules is real, but smaller communities may support faster deployment if they lack bargaining power. Spectrum is becoming more contested because different agencies and users now perceive different values in specific bands. The FCC’s role is increasingly to choose the highest-value use of spectrum, but that choice is complicated by auctions, incumbents, and interagency disagreements.

Data Points: FCC spectrum support fund over 10 years: $30 billion - Mentioned as the amount the FCC will spend to spur broadband/5G deployment in underserved areas Broadband map project cost: $300 million - Referenced as the cost of the earlier national broadband map effort Public safety/Lifeline funding scale: about $1 billion per year - Annual spending described for the Lifeline program Potential Lifeline budget ceiling: up to $2 billion per year - A ceiling mentioned for possible annual spending Target support amount per subscriber: approximately $10 per month - Described as the subsidy amount poor consumers may receive through Lifeline FCC meeting retirements: easily a dozen, maybe closer to 20 people - Number of FCC retirements announced at the meeting Julie Knapp tenure estimate: closer to 50 years - Speaker estimates Knapp has been at the FCC for about half a century Number of spectrum bands discussed in the current proceeding: 3 - C-band, 5.9 GHz, and 6 GHz were named C-band satellite users' potential proceeds: $10 billion to $20 billion or more - Estimated compensation range for satellite companies in a C-band auction Frequency bands discussed for future wireless: 26 GHz and 30+ GHz - High-band spectrum cited as requiring aggregation of hundreds of megahertz Auction precedent revenue: $20 to $30 billion - Approximate amount the federal government raised in the TV incentive auction example

Pivotal Quotes: "We shouldn't take them for granted." — Sarah Oh: On the importance of FCC career staff and technical civil servants "What exactly is it we want to do with this?" — Sarah Oh: On the core problem with broadband mapping efforts and unclear data objectives "The demand there is getting bigger and bigger and bigger." — Jonathan Make: On increasing consumer demand for spectrum-intensive wireless services

Implications: Telecom policy in 2020 will be driven by spectrum auctions, data-quality disputes, and federal-state clashes. Industry should expect more pressure on incumbents, faster 5G deployment fights, and growing scrutiny of privacy and platform power.