    [Senate Hearing 115-644]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                         S. Hrg. 115-644

                       ADVANCING THE INTERNET OF THINGS
                                IN RURAL AMERICA

    =======================================================================

                                    HEARING

                                   BEFORE THE

        SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, AND THE
                                    INTERNET

                                     OF THE

                             COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,
                          SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                              UNITED STATES SENATE

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                                   __________

                                NOVEMBER 7, 2017

                                   __________

        Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
                                 Transportation

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                    Available online: http://www.govinfo.gov

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           SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

                         ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS

                                 FIRST SESSION

                       JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman
    ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi         BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking
    ROY BLUNT, Missouri                  MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
    TED CRUZ, Texas                      AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
    DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
    JERRY MORAN, Kansas                  BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii
    DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska                 EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts
    DEAN HELLER, Nevada                  CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
    JAMES INHOFE, Oklahoma               TOM UDALL, New Mexico
    MIKE LEE, Utah                       GARY PETERS, Michigan
    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
    SHELLEY MOORE CAPITO, West Virginia  TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
    CORY GARDNER, Colorado               MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
    TODD YOUNG, Indiana                  CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
                           Nick Rossi, Staff Director
                     Adrian Arnakis, Deputy Staff Director
                        Jason Van Beek, General Counsel
                     Kim Lipsky, Democratic Staff Director
                  Chris Day, Democratic Deputy Staff Director
                          Renae Black, Senior Counsel

                                     ------

        SUBCOMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION, AND THE
                                    INTERNET

    ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi,        BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii, Ranking
        Chairman                         MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
    ROY BLUNT, Missouri                  AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota
    TED CRUZ, Texas                      RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut
    DEB FISCHER, Nebraska                EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts
    JERRY MORAN, Kansas                  CORY BOOKER, New Jersey
    DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska                 TOM UDALL, New Mexico
    DEAN HELLER, Nevada                  GARY PETERS, Michigan
    JAMES INHOFE, Oklahoma               TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
    MIKE LEE, Utah                       TAMMY DUCKWORTH, Illinois
    RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin               MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
    SHELLEY CAPITO, West Virginia        CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO, Nevada
    CORY GARDNER, Colorado
    TODD YOUNG, Indiana

                                C O N T E N T S

                                  ----------
                                                                       Page
    Hearing held on November 7, 2017.................................     1
    Statement of Senator Wicker......................................     1
        Letter dated November 7, 2017 to Hon. Roger Wicker and Hon.
          Brian Schatz from the Competitive Carriers Association.....    53
    Statement of Senator Schatz......................................     2
    Statement of Senator Fischer.....................................    31
    Statement of Senator Gardner.....................................    34
    Statement of Senator Moran.......................................    36
    Statement of Senator Klobuchar...................................    38
    Statement of Senator Hassan......................................    40
    Statement of Senator Cortez Masto................................    42
    Statement of Senator Cantwell....................................    43
    Statement of Senator Udall.......................................    45
    Statement of Senator Duckworth...................................    46
    Statement of Senator Markey......................................    49

                                   Witnesses

    Michael P. Adcock, FACHE, Executive Director, Center for
      Telehealth, University of Mississippi Medical Center...........     4
        Prepared statement...........................................     5
    David L. Armitage, CEO/Founder, Cartasite........................     7
        Prepared statement...........................................     9
    Timothy Hassinger, President and CEO, Lindsay Corporation........    11
        Prepared statement...........................................    13
    Michael Terzich, Chief Administrative Officer, Zebra Technologies    14
        Prepared statement...........................................    16
    Angela Siefer, Executive Director, National Digital Inclusion
      Alliance.......................................................    19
        Prepared statement...........................................    20

                                    Appendix

    Hon. Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida, prepared statement..    57
    Response to written question submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to
      Michael Terzich................................................    57

                       ADVANCING THE INTERNET OF THINGS
                                IN RURAL AMERICA

                                  ----------

                           TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2017

                                   U.S. Senate,
           Subcommittee on Communications, Technology,
                          Innovation, and the Internet,
            Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
                                                        Washington, DC.
        The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m. in
    room SR-253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Roger Wicker,
    Chairman of the Subcommittee, presiding.
        Present: Senators Wicker [presiding], Blunt, Fischer,
    Moran, Capito, Gardner, Schatz, Cantwell, Klobuchar,
    Blumenthal, Markey, Udall, Duckworth, Hassan, and Cortez Masto.

              OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ROGER F. WICKER,
                     U.S. SENATOR FROM MISSISSIPPI

        Senator Wicker. Good morning. Thank you all for being here.
    Today, the Subcommittee meets to examine the Internet of
    Things. Our discussion will focus on how to advance the
    availability and accessibility of these technologies in rural
    America. I'm glad to convene this hearing with my good friend
    and colleague, Ranking Member Schatz.
        The Internet of Things encompasses a diverse market of
    Internet-connected devices, machines, and physical objects.
    Over the past few years, we've seen an increasing number of
    physical objects like refrigerators and washing machines take
    on smarter capabilities through Internet-connected sensors.
    Internet connectivity enables these things to collect data and
    share actionable insights to consumers and businesses alike.
    This information allows the user to be more productive,
    efficient, and cost effective. It's changing our economy.
        Beyond generating simple conveniences, IoT technologies are
    taking on more significant and vital roles in our lives. They
    are making us safer, improving our health, and opening up
    opportunities for economic advancement in both urban and rural
    communities. In our rural communities, in particular, IoT
    technologies, such as telemedicine, are making a big impact.
        In my home state, the University of Mississippi Medical
    Center, which is represented here today, is providing
    lifesaving healthcare services through innovative telehealth
    applications. Physicians are remotely monitoring and diagnosing
    patients. This remote access can offer specialty care that is
    not readily available in many rural communities.
        Our first responders are also using telemedicine to
    communicate and provide treatment in the field. For example,
    first responders can consult with emergency personnel in
    hospitals through video applications. This is accelerating the
    delivery of care and saving lives.
        Underlying these IoT technologies and their economic and
    societal benefits are reliable broadband connections and mobile
    broadband services. Internet connectivity is absolutely
    essential to the adoption of these technologies. As IoT
    technologies become smarter and increasingly sophisticated,
    they will require seamless and reliable Internet connectivity
    to achieve the promised health, safety, and economic benefits.
        To that end, it is vitally important that the Federal
    Communications Commission take steps to ensure that the
    Universal Service Fund program provides adequate and
    predictable support to help preserve and expand broadband in
    rural and underserved communities. It's also important for the
    Commission to collect accurate and reliable coverage data for
    programs, like Phase II of the Mobility Fund, before making new
    funding decisions. We should ensure the delivery of essential
    communication services to communities in need first.
        In addition to accelerating the deployment of broadband in
    our rural areas, cybersecurity will be key to advancing the
    economic success of the Internet of Things market. Large scale
    data breaches have understandably shaken consumers' confidence
    and trust. Fortified security measures will help strengthen the
    United States leadership role and competitiveness in the IoT
    market around the world. The Internet of Things marks an
    exciting space for digital innovation in this country. There is
    significant economic potential associated with these
    technological developments.
        Today, I look forward to learning from our witnesses about
    how the IoT is bringing vital services to rural America and
    creating opportunities for investment, innovation, and job
    creation. I welcome the testimony of the witnesses here today
    and thank them for their testimony.
        At this point, I will recognize my colleague, the Ranking
    Member of this Subcommittee, Senator Schatz.

                    STATEMENT OF HON. BRIAN SCHATZ,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII

        Senator Schatz. Thank you very much, Chairman Wicker.
        IoT brings great opportunity for everyone, regardless of
    their zip code. For instance, in Hawaii, we've already seen IoT
    technologies improve access to healthcare in rural communities.
    A few months ago, I visited the Island of Lanai and met the
    staff at the Lanai Community Health Center, who told me that
    they've been using telehealth in their practice for a few years
    now. Through IoT technologies, they're helping patients to
    manage diabetes remotely and connecting patients with
    specialists on Oahu.
        This has resulted in higher quality care with improved
    diagnoses and medication management and also substantial
    savings in travel costs. We should be making it easier for
    organizations like the Lanai Community Health Center to cut
    costs and improve care with these technologies. It is my hope
    that our Federal laws will enable patients and providers in
    every state to use telehealth.
        In this effort, I introduced the Connect for Health Act
    with Chairman Wicker, Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson,
    and others on this committee, including Senators Capito,
    Klobuchar, and Blunt. This bill lifts outdated restrictions on
    originating sites and geographic requirements and does so in
    ways that can better control costs for Medicare. Four
    provisions from the Connect for Health Act were included in the
    Chronic Care Act which passed the Senate and is being
    considered by the House.
        Telehealth is just one example of how rural communities
    across America can benefit from IoT. But this can only happen
    if they have the right infrastructure and resources. Right now,
    not everybody is able to take advantage of IoT for many
    reasons, but I'll list just three.
        First, there is a broadband gap. IoT in rural areas cannot
    fully take off without broadband connectivity. Some telehealth
    applications can succeed without full broadband access, and we
    should push ahead with those, but there are others the require
    the broadband. Unfortunately, one in four rural residences
    still does not have access to 25 megabits per second broadband.
        To close this gap, we need more accurate information to
    start. Right now, there are a number of issues with the way the
    FCC collects information on where broadband is and is not
    available. This needs to change. Senator Manchin's Rural
    Wireless Access Act takes a step in the right direction by
    asking the FCC to establish a consistent methodology for data
    collection. We need to know where the divide is, so we are
    taking steps to close it.
        Second, there is the cost of the physical infrastructure.
    Congress has a role to play in getting that infrastructure
    deployed. This can include public-private partnerships and tax
    credits. But it will take direct spending to get broadband
    built out where the private sector won't.
        Third, there is a gap in adoption. Naturally, much of our
    focus is on expanding availability, but we cannot lose sight of
    gaps in actual adoption of broadband. There are a number of
    reasons for the lack of adoption, including pricing, digital
    literacy, and other issues. Rural consumers' adoption of
    broadband will be essential for realizing the full potential of
    IoT.
        After this hearing, I look forward to working with Chairman
    Wicker and others on the Committee on some direct steps that
    can be made, removing barriers for broadband deployment and
    promoting innovations in unlicensed spectrum.
        Thank you again, Chairman Wicker, for holding this hearing.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you.
        Senator Schatz has a commitment at another committee, and
    we hope that you can be back shortly. We certainly appreciate
    the fact that you're spread mighty thin this morning.
        Our witnesses today are Mr. Michael Adcock, Executive
    Director, Telehealth Center, at the University of Mississippi
    Medical Center; Mr. David Armitage, Founder and CEO of
    Cartasite; Mr. Timothy Hassinger, President and CEO of Lindsay
    Corporation; Mr. Michael Terzich, Chief Administrative Officer
    of Zebra Technologies; and Ms. Angela Siefer, Director,
    National Digital Inclusion Alliance. We are thrilled to have
    all of these witnesses here.
        Mr. Adcock, you're recognized first for a summary of your
    testimony for approximately 5 minutes. Welcome.

                 STATEMENT OF MICHAEL P. ADCOCK, FACHE,

               EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR TELEHEALTH,

                UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER

        Mr. Adcock. Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Schatz, and
    members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
    appear here today. I am Michael Adcock, Executive Director for
    the Center for Telehealth at the University of Mississippi
    Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. I am honored to talk
    with you this morning about telehealth and the ways that its
    power can be harnessed to address healthcare needs across
    America.
        Telehealth has been a part of the healthcare landscape in
    Mississippi for over 14 years, beginning with an aggressive
    program to address mortality in rural emergency departments.
    Today, the UMMC Center for Telehealth delivers more than 30
    medical specialties across 200 sites of service across the
    state, including rural clinics, schools, prisons, and
    corporations. This network allows us to deliver world class
    care in 68 of Mississippi's 82 counties and provide access for
    patients who might otherwise go untreated.
        Over the last decade, we have conducted over 500,000
    patient encounters through telehealth. Maximizing our
    utilization of healthcare resources through the use of
    technology is the only way we can reach all of the
    Mississippians who need lifesaving healthcare and would not be
    available in local communities and homes without broadband
    connectivity.
        One program that has been very impactful for our patients
    is remote patient monitoring, which manages chronic disease in
    patients' homes. Our initial pilot with diabetes in the
    Mississippi Delta was a public-private partnership between
    critical access hospital North Sunflower Medical Center,
    telecommunications provider C Spire, technology partner Care
    Innovations, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, the Office
    of the Governor of Mississippi, and the University of
    Mississippi Medical Center.
        The results of the study showed a marked decrease in blood
    glucose, early recognition of diabetes-related eye disease,
    reduced travel to see specialists, and no diabetes-related
    hospitalizations or emergency room visits among our patients.
    This pilot demonstrated impressive savings, and the Mississippi
    Division of Medicaid extrapolated the financial data to show
    potential savings of over $180 million per year if 20 percent
    of the diabetics on the Mississippi Medicaid program
    participated. This pilot demonstrated how educating patients
    about their disease and empowering them to care for themselves
    is extremely beneficial and is best done in their home.
        Initially, wired broadband in the home was thought to be
    the easiest way to provide the connectivity needed. But because
    only one third of Mississippians have access to residential
    fixed broadband, this is not always a reliable option. To
    provide the most reliable connectivity, we partnered with C
    Spire, a regional telecommunications company, to connect our
    patients via mobile broadband. This worked during the pilot
    program and continues to be our solution for connecting
    patients to the resources they need for remote patient
    monitoring. However, as telehealth grows and additional
    services are available, a more reliable fixed solution will be
    necessary.
        While our center continues to find ways to connect patients
    to the care they need, too many Americans still lack access to
    broadband. Ten percent of all Americans and 39 percent of rural
    Americans lack access to adequate service. In Mississippi, the
    digital divide is even more pronounced. In our state, only 34
    percent of Mississippians have access to residential fixed
    broadband connections.
        Two-thirds of Mississippi counties are more than a 40-
    minute drive from specialty care. In order to deliver care in
    an efficient manner across our state, expansion of reliable and
    available broadband is essential. The Center for Telehealth has
    worked closely with local and national telecommunications
    providers to expand band width in sites across Mississippi.
    These partnerships, along with investments from FCC's Universal
    Service Fund program, have made broadband more available and
    more affordable in many regions of our state.
        More can and should be done. Legislation introduced by
    Chairman Wicker would improve the validity and reliability of
    wireless coverage and expand broadband to rural areas and
    communities that are truly in need. The Rural Wireless Act and
    SPEED Act of 2017 will help close the digital divide
    experienced by many, especially in rural and remote geographic
    areas where disease burden is greatest. It will do this by
    eliminating delays that often raise cost and slow the
    deployment of broadband to rural areas. It will also fast-track
    the deployment of next-generation broadband that is critical to
    advancing innovative technologies.
        The benefits of telehealth are not available to patients
    without access to high-speed Internet. As technology and
    healthcare services expand to meet patients where they live,
    broadband coverage must improve to make this care accessible.
        Thank you for taking the time to focus on how access to
    broadband in rural areas can help to close the digital divide,
    bring healthcare resources to remote communities, and create a
    connectedness that transcends location. Without broadband,
    healthcare cannot operate outside of America's hospitals and
    clinics and cannot harness the power of technology to better
    treat our patients.
        Thank you for inviting me to testify today and for your
    time and attention to this very important matter.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Adcock follows:]

      Prepared Statement of Michael P. Adcock, FACHE, Executive Director,
        Center for Telehealth, University of Mississippi Medical Center
        Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Schatz, and Members of the
    Committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I
    am Michael Adcock, Executive Director for the Center for Telehealth at
    the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) in Jackson,
    Mississippi. I am honored to talk to you this morning about telehealth
    and the ways that its power can be harnessed to address healthcare
    needs across America.
        Mississippi has significant healthcare challenges, leading the
    Nation in heart disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
    These and other chronic conditions require consistent, quality care--a
    task that is made harder by the rural nature of our state. In order to
    improve access to care and give Mississippians a better quality of
    life, it is clear that we need something more than traditional, clinic
    and hospital-based services.
        Telehealth has been a part of the healthcare landscape in
    Mississippi for over 14 years, beginning with an aggressive program to
    address mortality in rural emergency departments. In 2003, three rural
    sites were chosen to participate in a program that would allow UMMC
    board certified emergency medicine physicians to interact with and care
    for patients in small, rural emergency rooms via a live, audio-video
    connection. The TelEmergency program has grown to serve more than 20
    hospitals and continues to produce outcomes on par with that of our
    Level 1 trauma center.
        Today, the UMMC Center for Telehealth delivers more than 30 medical
    specialties in over 200 sites across the state including rural clinics,
    schools, prisons and corporations. The depth and breadth of this
    network allows us to deliver world-class care in 68 of our state's 82
    counties and provide access for patients who might otherwise go
    untreated. Over the last decade, we have conducted over 500,000 patient
    encounters through telehealth. Maximizing our utilization of healthcare
    resources through the use of technology is the only way we can reach
    all of the Mississippians who need lifesaving health care. These world
    class services would not be available in local communities and homes
    without broadband connectivity.
        One program that has been very impactful for our patients is remote
    patient monitoring (RPM), which manages chronic disease in a patient's
    home. RPM is designed to educate, engage and empower patients so that
    they can learn to take care of themselves. Our initial pilot with
    diabetics in the Mississippi Delta was a public/private partnership
    between critical access hospital North Sunflower Medical Center,
    telecommunications provider C Spire, technology partner Care
    Innovations, the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, Office of the
    Governor of Mississippi and UMMC. The purpose of the pilot was to test
    the effectiveness of remote patient monitoring using technology in a
    rural, underserved area. The results of the study showed a marked
    decrease in blood glucose, early recognition of diabetes-related eye
    disease, reduced travel to see specialists and no diabetes-related
    hospitalizations or emergency room visits among our patients. This
    pilot demonstrated a savings of over $300,000 in the first 100 patients
    over six months. The Mississippi Division of Medicaid extrapolated this
    data to show potential savings of over $180 million per year if 20
    percent of the diabetics on Mississippi Medicaid participated in this
    program. The benefits were not only financial and health related. Many
    of the patients who participated in this program did not have Internet
    connectivity in their homes and some had never accessed the internet.
    This program opened up a whole new world to them and has sparked their
    interest in staying connected.
        The pilot demonstrated how educating patients about their disease
    and empowering them to care for themselves is extremely beneficial and
    is best done in their home. Bringing this technology into the home
    requires access to reliable broadband coverage. Initially, wired
    broadband in the home was thought to be the easiest way to provide the
    connectivity needed, but because only one third of Mississippians have
    access to residential fixed broadband, this is not always a reliable
    option. To provide the most reliable connectivity, we partnered with C
    Spire, a regional telecommunications company, to connect to our
    patients via mobile broadband. This worked during the pilot program and
    continues to be our go to solution for connecting patients to the
    resources they need for remote patient monitoring. However, as
    telehealth grows and additional services are available in the home, a
    more reliable, fixed solution will be necessary.
        Given the success of the pilot, UMMC Center for Telehealth has
    expanded remote patient monitoring to include adult and pediatric
    diabetes, congestive heart failure, hypertension, bone marrow
    transplant and kidney transplant patients. Working closely with a
    patient's primary care provider, we continue to grow this program both
    in terms of volume and number of diseases that can be managed. It gives
    patients the knowledge and tools they need to improve their health and
    manage their chronic disease.
        While our Center continues to find ways to connect patients to the
    care they need, too many Americans still lack access to broadband,
    particularly the 23 million Americans living in rural areas. Ten
    percent of all Americans (34 million people) and 39 percent of rural
    Americans lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps service. FCC data shows that as
    many as one in three households do not subscribe to Internet service.
    In Mississippi the digital divide is even more pronounced. In our
    state, only 34 percent of Mississippians have access to residential
    fixed broadband connections, with only three counties showing greater
    than 60 percent residential broadband access.
        Mississippi spans 48,000 square miles, two thirds of our counties
    are more than a 40 minute drive from specialty care. When people live
    that far from specialty care, at best, care is delayed. At worst, care
    is never received. Telehealth allows us to deliver care in areas where
    it would not normally be available. In order to deliver care in an
    efficient manner across our state, expansion of reliable and available
    broadband is essential. The Center for Telehealth has worked closely
    with local and national telecommunications providers to expand
    bandwidth in sites across Mississippi. These partnerships, along with
    investment from the FCC's Universal Service Fund program, have made
    broadband more available and affordable in many regions. We were
    honored to have FCC Commissioner Clyburn in our state multiple times to
    see firsthand the importance of broadband access to improving health
    outcomes throughout Mississippi.
        More can and should be done. Legislation authored by Chairman
    Wicker would improve the validity and reliability of wireless coverage
    and expand broadband to rural areas and communities that are truly in
    need. S. 1621, the Rural Wireless Act, will help close the digital
    divide experienced by many, especially in rural and remote geographic
    areas, where disease burden is greatest.
        We also support S. 1988, the Streamlining Permitting to Enable
    Efficient Deployment of Broadband Infrastructure Act of 2017 (SPEED
    Act). This bill will eliminate delays that often raise costs and slow
    the deployment of broadband to rural areas. It will also fast-track the
    deployment of next generation broadband that is critical to advancing
    innovative technologies in telemedicine.
        The benefits of telehealth are not available to patients without
    access to high speed Internet across America. As technology and
    healthcare services expand to meet patients where they live, broadband
    coverage must improve to make this care accessible.
        Thank you for taking the time to focus on how access to broadband
    in rural areas can help to close the digital divide, bring health care
    resources to remote communities and create a connectedness that
    transcends location. Without broadband, health care cannot operate
    outside of America's hospitals and clinics and cannot harness the power
    of technology to better treat our patients. Thank you for inviting me
    to testify today and for your time and attention to this very important
    matter.

        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Mr. Adcock.
        Mr. Armitage.

         STATEMENT OF DAVID L. ARMITAGE, CEO/FOUNDER, CARTASITE

        Mr. Armitage. Good morning, Chairman Wicker, members of the
    Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me in today. I am David
    Armitage, Chief Executive Officer of Cartasite. I founded the
    company in 2004 to bring real-time operational intelligence to
    the oil and gas industry.
        During the fall of 2014, a response to precipitous declines
    in commodity prices, the oil and gas industry moved from
    ``drill baby drill'' to ``tighten the belt; the ride is getting
    rough.'' The domestic oil and gas industry is resilient and
    resourceful. In the past 20 years, horizontal drilling and
    hydraulic fracturing technologies have opened up resources in
    the U.S. that have us on a path to energy self-sufficiency.
    That reality would have seemed like a fantasy two decades ago.
    The implications for the U.S. economy and geopolitics are
    profound. The U.S. is on track to exceed the country's all time
    high of 10 million barrels a day reached in November 1970.
        Despite all of the success the industry has realized in
    reducing costs to find the next barrel of oil, we are still a
    relatively high-cost producer. The industrial Internet of
    Things is not hype or Silicon Valley's latest buzz word. IoT is
    helping to streamline business process, enhance safety, reduce
    environmental impact, and improve utilization of critical
    assets. Every aspect of energy production is being impacted by
    real-time remote monitoring, predictive analytics, cloud
    computing, smart sensors, advanced automation, and remote
    monitoring systems are pushing connectivity into remote areas
    to the benefit of rural communities.
        But there is no free lunch. The margin squeeze of the past
    3 years has been painful. Tens of thousands of workers have
    lost their jobs. The budgets of rural communities have been
    slashed, and many firms have been forced into bankruptcy. We
    have seen an upstream oil and gas workforce decline by over 20
    percent.
        The industry's rapid response to lower commodity prices
    provides an interesting Petri dish to study the implications,
    both good and bad, of the industrial Internet of Things on our
    society. In the past 3 years, the number of barrels produced
    per worker has increased by over 27 percent. We can find no
    other examples in recent history where an industry of such
    scale has managed such a dramatic increase in worker
    productivity. There may be several factors contributing to this
    remarkable increase, but there can be no question that the
    industry's embrace of industrial Internet of Things has played
    a significant role.
        Industrial IoT utilizes remote sensors to deliver data to
    cloud servers, where algorithms sift through the telemetry to
    identify actionable insights that streamline business process.
    The connectivity implicit in this architecture is bringing
    wireless high-speed networks to remote areas of our country
    where population densities would otherwise not provide
    sufficient economic incentive for cellular and broadband
    carriers.
        At Cartasite, we utilize real-time vehicle monitoring
    technology to help oil field workers get home safely to their
    families every night. Large corporations like Anadarko
    Petroleum, Encana, and ConocoPhillips leverage this IoT data to
    optimize deployment of field workers, resulting in reductions
    in crashes, traffic, fuel consumption, and emissions. These
    industry fleets traverse some of the nation's most remote areas
    and provide us with interesting insights.
        We see firsthand the negative impact on productivity and
    safety that comes from a lack of cellular coverage, off the
    highway and off the major road networks. These companies have
    worked closely with cellular carriers to enhance coverage, in
    some cases even funding the deployment of new cell towers. It's
    that critical to their business. While well site and pipeline
    monitoring technology has been available for over 30 years,
    penetration remains surprisingly low in some areas. The cost
    and complexity of legacy systems has placed the technology
    beyond the reach of many operators. This is changing quickly.
        Smartphones have accelerated the commoditization of
    sensors, GPS processors, and cellular modems. The industrial
    IoT is riding this wave and bringing to market simple tags with
    exotic capabilities. At Cartasite, we have a system in our labs
    which is able to detect unintended methane leaks from remote
    well sites and report on these fugitive gas emissions over the
    cellular network. This data feeds into worldVIEW, a real-time
    geospatial dash board that companies can use to dispatch
    inspection and repair crews.
        Methane is a significant greenhouse gas, some 80 times
    worse than CO2 for our planet. The industry has
    worked closely with the EPA to reduce these unintended fugitive
    emissions, and our Project Canary is an outstanding example of
    the industrial IoT technology which will help lessen the
    environmental impact of oil field operations.
        The digital oil field is ushering in a new era of
    efficient, safer, and more cost-effective field operations. The
    industry is rapidly moving from management by schedule to
    management by exception, driven by the real-time insight
    garnered from these remote monitoring technologies. The oil and
    gas industry is embracing these technologies to ensure the
    safety of their workers, the security of critical assets, and
    the economic viability of the industry.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Armitage follows:]

        Prepared Statement of David L. Armitage, CEO/Founder, Cartasite
        During the fall of 2014, in response to precipitous declines in
    commodity prices, the oil and gas industry moved from drill baby drill
    to tighten the belts, the ride's gettin' rough.
        The domestic oil and gas industry is resilient and resourceful. In
    the past 20 years, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing
    technologies opened up re-sources in the U.S. that have us on a path to
    energy self-sufficiency. The U.S. is on track to exceed the country's
    all time high of 10 MMbbl/day reached in November of 1970. That reality
    would have seemed like a fantasy two decades ago. The implications for
    the U.S. economy and geopolitics are profound.
    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Despite all the success the industry has realized in reducing the
    costs to find the next barrel of oil, we are still a relatively high
    cost producer. The Industrial Internet of Things is not hype or Silicon
    Valley's latest buzzword. IoT is helping to streamline business
    process, enhance safety, reduce environmental impact, and improve
    utilization of critical assets. Every aspect of energy production is
    being impacted by realtime remote monitoring, predictive analytics,
    Cloud computing, smart sensors, and machine learning. Advanced
    automation and remote monitoring systems are pushing connectivity into
    remote areas, to the benefit of rural communities. But there is no free
    lunch.
        The margin squeeze of the past three years has been painful. Tens
    of thou-sands of workers have lost their jobs, the budgets of rural
    communities have been slashed, and many firms have been forced into
    bankruptcy. We have seen the upstream oil and gas industry workforce
    decline over 20 percent.
    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        The industry's rapid response to lower commodity prices provides an
    interesting petri dish to study the implications, both good and bad, of
    the Internet of Things on our society. In the past three years the
    number of barrels produced per worker has increased by over 27 percent.
    We can find no other examples in recent history where an industry of
    such scale has managed such a dramatic increase in worker productivity.
    There may be several factors contributing to this remarkable increase,
    but there can be no question that the industry's embrace of Industrial
    IoT has played a significant role.
    [GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Industrial IoT utilizes remote sensors to deliver data to the Cloud
    servers where algorithms sift through the telemetry to identify
    actionable insights that stream-line business response. The
    connectivity implicit in this architecture is bringing wireless, high
    speed networks to remote areas of our country where population
    densities would otherwise not provide sufficient economic incentive for
    cellular and broadband carriers. At Cartasite, we utilize realtime
    vehicle monitoring technology to help oil field workers get home safely
    to their families every night. Large corporations like Anadarko
    Petroleum, Encana, and ConocoPhillips leverage this IoT data to
    optimize deployment of field workers, resulting in reductions in
    crashes, traffic, fuel consumption, and emissions. These industry
    fleets traverse some of the Nation's most remote areas and provide us
    with some interesting insights. We see first hand the negative impact
    on productivity and safety that come from a lack of cellular coverage
    off of the highway and major road networks. These companies have worked
    closely with the cellular carriers to enhance coverage, in some cases
    even funding the deployment of new cell towers.
        Remote worker safety is a critical issue for many industries,
    including oil and gas, utilities, forestry, agriculture, and rail. The
    lack of cellular coverage has led industry to seek out alternative
    systems, including private radio networks and satellite beacons. As
    coverage is enhanced we can anticipate more effective integration with
    state and Federal emergency response infrastructure.
        While wellsite and pipeline monitoring technology has been
    available for over thirty years, penetration remains surprisingly low
    in many areas. The cost and complexity of legacy systems has placed the
    technology beyond the reach of many operators. This is changing
    quickly. Smartphones have accelerated the commoditization of sensors,
    GPS processors, and cellular modems. Industrial IoT is riding this wave
    and bringing to market simple tags with exotic capabilities. At
    Cartasite, we have a system in our labs which is able to detect
    unintended methane leaks from remote wellsites and report on these
    `fugitive' gas emissions over the cellular network. This data feeds
    into worldVIEW, a realtime geospatial dashboard that companies can use
    to dispatch inspection and repair crews. Methane is a significant
    greenhouse gas, some 80 times worse than CO2 for our planet.
    The industry has worked closely with the EPA to reduce these unintended
    fugitive emissions and our Project Canary is an outstanding example of
    an Industrial IoT technology which will help lessen the environmental
    impact of oil field operations.
        The Digital Oilfield is ushering a new era of highly efficient,
    safer, and more cost-effective field operations. The industry is
    rapidly moving from `management by schedule' to `management by
    exception' driven by the realtime insights garnered from remote
    monitoring technologies. The oil and gas industry is embracing these
    technologies to ensure the safety of their workers, the security of
    critical assets, and the economic viability of the industry.

        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Mr. Armitage.
        Mr. Hassinger, have I pronounced your name correctly?
        Mr. Hassinger. Yes, you have.
        Senator Wicker. We're glad to have you with us.
        Mr. Hassinger. Thank you.

      STATEMENT OF TIMOTHY HASSINGER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, LINDSAY
                              CORPORATION

        Mr. Hassinger. Good morning, Senators. I'd like to thank
    Subcommittee Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Schatz, Senator
    Deb Fischer, and all the members of the Subcommittee for this
    opportunity to testify in today's hearing.
        My name is Tim Hassinger. I'm the President and Chief
    Executive Officer of Nebraska-based Lindsay Corporation, a
    leading manufacturer of center pivot and lateral move
    agricultural irrigation systems. For more than 50 years,
    Lindsay Corporation has been at the forefront of research and
    development of products and services designed to meet the
    world's rapidly growing agriculture and transportation needs.
    It's an honor and privilege to be here today representing my
    company and the agricultural industry. I'd like to thank
    Senator Fischer for inviting me to speak about the important
    role broadband access plays in the agricultural industry in
    operations of all sizes and in all regions of the country.
        As you might know, it's estimated that by 2050, the global
    demand for food will be 60 percent higher than it is today. To
    meet this daunting challenge, it's imperative that we develop
    and deploy technologies that will help growers produce more
    with less while preserving water and other natural resources.
    Broadband access is the key to unlocking the power of these
    technologies, and, respectfully, Senators, I ask the question:
    Would you be able to do your job without access to the
    Internet? Probably not, and neither can farmers.
        So like all business owners, farmers need to be online. The
    Internet fuels the innovative advanced technology that will
    help them meet the food, fuel, and fiber needs of the rapidly
    growing global population. With the touch of a button or swipe
    of a finger, farmers who have broadband access can receive
    commodity price information, monitor and respond to challenging
    weather conditions, get real-time data on soil moisture
    conditions, store and analyze data to increase sustainability
    and productivity.
        They can also take advantage of the many new technologies
    now available from Lindsay Corporation and other American
    manufacturers. Among other things, these innovations enable
    remote data collection, transfer and analysis from connected
    devices like soil moisture sensors, weather stations, and
    cloud-based support tools. Farmers are using this information
    to streamline their operations and maximize efficiency and
    increase productivity.
        We work with farmers every day, so we know the power that
    comes with the ability to leverage big data. We now offer
    technology that helps farmers decide precisely when, where, and
    how input to maximize yields while reducing overwatering, and
    then, ultimately, input costs and nutrient losses. In recently
    conducted field studies, our researchers found that remote
    telemetry streamlined growing operations in several key ways,
    including 3 percent increase in corn yield, a 17 percent
    reduction in water usage, $10 per acre reduction in energy
    costs, 75 percent reduction in time spent going back and forth
    in the fields.
        This combination of yield enhancement and resource savings
    can increase American farmers' profits by an average of $40 per
    acre, profits that can be re-invested in their operation and in
    their local economy. For farmers across the country, these
    technologies are no longer luxuries. Rather, they're critical
    tools needed to increase the overall operational efficiency and
    productivity needed to compete in the global marketplace.
    However, farmers can only employ these connected tools if they
    have reliable, high-speed Internet access, and for an estimated
    39 percent of the rural population, it's simply not available.
        While cities and municipalities typically have access to
    several high-speed Internet service providers, that access
    often ends at the county line. Those living in rural
    communities depend on radio network, satellite, or cell
    service, all of which typically operate at lower speeds,
    limiting connectivity. It's a competitive world, and many
    people living in rural communities feel like they're being left
    behind, that they're not operating on a level playing field. In
    order for those communities and our country to thrive and
    compete in the global marketplace, we must bridge that digital
    divide.
        With rural broadband access, business owners will have
    access to new markets and employees, healthcare workers will be
    able to access advanced equipment, students will be afforded
    new educational opportunities, and farmers will be able to take
    advantage of emerging technologies that will help them increase
    yields while conserving water and other natural resources.
        Thank you.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Hassinger follows:]

          Prepared Statement of Timothy Hassinger, President and CEO,
                              Lindsay Corporation
        Good morning Senators. I would like to thank Subcommittee Chairman
    Wicker, Ranking Member Schatz, Senator Deb Fischer and all of the
    members of the subcommittee for this opportunity to testify at today's
    hearing.
        My name is Tim Hassinger. I am the president and chief executive
    officer of Nebraska-based Lindsay Corporation--a leading manufacturer
    of center pivot and lateral move agricultural irrigation systems. For
    more than 50 years, Lindsay Corporation has been at the forefront of
    research and the development of products and services designed to meet
    the world's rapidly growing agriculture and transportation needs.
        It's an honor and a privilege to be here today representing my
    company and the agriculture industry. I would like to thank Senator
    Fischer for inviting me to speak about the important role broadband
    access plays in the agriculture industry--on operations of all sizes in
    all regions of the country.
        As you may know, it's estimated that by 2050, the global demand for
    food will be 60 percent higher than it is today. To meet this daunting
    challenge, it's imperative that we develop and deploy technologies that
    will help growers produce more with less, while preserving water and
    other natural resources.
        Broadband access is the key to unlocking the power of those
    technologies. Respectfully, Senators--could you do your job without
    access to the Internet? Probably not--and neither can our Nation's
    farmers.
        Like all business owners, farmers need to be online. The Internet
    fuels the innovative, advanced technology that will help them meet the
    food, fuel and fiber needs of the rapidly growing global population.
        With the touch of a button or swipe of a finger, farmers who have
    broadband access can:

       Receive commodity price information

       Monitor and respond to changing weather conditions

       Use GPS for planting and irrigation management

       Get real time data on soil and moisture conditions

       Connect with other farmers and agriculture experts, and

       Store and analyze data to increase sustainability and
            productivity

        They can also take advantage of a myriad of new technologies now
    available from Lindsay Corporation and other American manufacturers.
    Among other things, these innovations enable remote data collection,
    transfer and analysis from connected devices like soil moisture
    sensors, weather stations and cloud-based support tools. Farmers are
    using this information to streamline their operations, maximize
    efficiency and increase productivity.
        We work with farmers every day, so we know the power that comes
    with the ability to leverage big data. We now offer technology that
    helps farmers decide precisely when, where and how much to irrigate--
    maximizing yields while reducing overwatering and related input costs
    and nutrient losses.
        In recently conducted field studies, our researchers found that
    remote telemetry streamlined growing operations in several key ways,
    including:

       3 percent increase in corn yield (driving profit of $25 per
            acre)

       17 percent reduction in water usage (saving more than 9.25
            million gallons on a 130 acre field)

       $10/acre reduction in energy costs

       75 percent reduction in time spent going back and forth to
            the fields (another $5/acre saved)

        This combination of yield enhancement and resource savings can
    increase American farmers' profits by an average of $40 per acre--
    profits that can be reinvested in their operation and in their local
    economy.
        For farmers across the country, these technologies are no longer
    luxuries. Rather, they are critical tools needed to increase the
    overall operational efficiency and productivity needed to complete in
    the global marketplace.
        However, farmers can only employ these connected tools if they have
    reliable, high-speed Internet access--and, for an estimated 39 percent
    of the rural population (23.4 million Americans), it's simply not
    available.
        While cities and municipalities typically have access to several
    high-speed Internet service providers, that access often ends at the
    county line. Those living in rural communities depend on radio
    networks, satellite or cell service--all of which typically operate at
    lower speeds, limiting connectivity.
        It's a competitive world, and many people living in rural
    communities feel like they're being left behind--that they're not
    operating on a level playing field.
        In order for those communities and our country to thrive and
    compete in the global marketplace, we must bridge that digital divide.
        With rural broadband access, business owners will have access to
    new markets and employees; health care workers will be able access
    advanced equipment; students will be afforded new educational
    opportunities; and farmers will be able to take advantage of emerging
    technologies that will help them increase yields while conserving water
    and other natural resources.

        Senator Wicker. Thank you very much.
        Mr. Terzich.

      STATEMENT OF MICHAEL TERZICH, CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER,
                           ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES

        Mr. Terzich. Thank you, Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member
    Schatz, and members of the Subcommittee, for the opportunity to
    testify before you today.
        While many Americans may not recognize Zebra by name, they
    come into contact with our solutions every day. For example,
    the bar code labels that are prominently featured on airline
    bag tags, express delivery packages, and pharmaceutical
    prescription bottles are often generated by Zebra bar code
    label printers and tracked and managed by Zebra scanners and
    mobile computers.
        We are also global leaders in bringing enterprise Internet
    of Things, solutions to business-to-business and business-to-
    government markets. With revenues of approximately $3.6 billion
    and 7,000 employees in more than 40 countries, Zebra is a
    trusted business partner with more than 95 percent of all
    Fortune 500 companies. We work with companies all across
    America, including many in rural communities.
        Zebra leads the growing category known as Enterprise Asset
    Intelligence, EAI, which describes the ability of businesses to
    track critical assets within their operation and know exactly
    what they are, where they are, and their condition so they can
    make smarter, faster decisions that improve their bottom line.
    Zebra's customers recognize that people, asset, and devices--
    especially mobile devices--are becoming increasingly connected
    and that this trend is advancing at an exponential rate. A few
    key facts: By 2020, there will be 1.75 billion global mobile
    workers, accounting for 42 percent of the global workforce. By
    2020, there will be 21 billion connected devices in a global
    IoT.
        As a result, Zebra is working with companies across the
    U.S. to provide solutions that yield real-time visibility into
    their process, assets, people so that faster and more informed
    decisions can be made. Businesses, including those in rural
    America, are recognizing the transformational role of IoT
    solutions. These companies represent many sectors and deploy
    these solutions to address a variety of strategic and
    operational challenges.
        The following are some industry sector examples being put
    to use in companies across rural America. In the manufacturing
    sector, companies are adopting IoT solutions in the smart
    factory which are providing actionable visibility to the entire
    operation as well as to vendors who can help manage the supply
    chain.
        Whirlpool Corporation wanted to optimize mobile device
    management at its distribution centers. They needed a
    centralized management system to track device health,
    productivity, and ensure proper deployment. To solve these
    issues, Whirlpool began using Zebra mobile computers and
    vehicle mounted computers and Zebra's operational visibility
    service or OVS. OVS helps right-size equipment and understand
    site-by-site needs.
        For the retail industry, when it comes to the Internet of
    Things, stores are paying attention. Recent research indicates
    70 percent of retail decisionmakers are ready to make changes
    required to adopt IoT, and while 21 percent have implemented
    IoT, another 27 percent are planning to deploy within a year.
        The Bon-Ton Stores are a prime example of how retailers are
    using Zebra's IoT solutions to improve the in-store customer
    experience. Today, associates in more than 180 Bon-Ton retail
    department stores use Zebra's RFID handheld readers on a daily
    basis to streamline the display compliance process. Store
    audits revealed that with a previously used manual system, up
    to 20 percent of merchandise in certain categories might be
    missing from the sales floor during a given week.
        The RFID inventory system provides Bon-Ton with a deeper
    visibility into what merchandise is available at all times. It
    dramatically increases inventory management efficiencies by
    allowing store associates to scan and tag new merchandise as it
    first arrives in the store.
        For companies in rural America to successfully utilize
    these B-to-B IoT solutions, there is one universal and vital
    resource. They must have unfettered access to high-quality,
    high-speed broadband, both wireless and wireline. Without
    investment in broadband infrastructure in rural communities,
    companies, healthcare providers, and consumers will be left
    behind. Spectrum is the lifeblood of IoT, and that is no
    different for business IoT solutions.
        We applaud the work of this Subcommittee to examine the
    needs of companies in rural America, to ensure they reap the
    full benefits of IoT. We support infrastructure legislation
    that promotes the deployment of mobile broadband networks, as
    well as directs the NTIA and FCC to allocate more commercial
    licensed and unlicensed spectrum in a technology neutral way.
    Additionally, we urge Congress to advance policies that
    increase broadband investment and deployment in rural America.
        Zebra also supports coordination among government agencies
    to discourage overlapping government regulation of the Internet
    of Things which could impede innovation. We congratulate the
    Committee for your work to pass the DIGIT Act to help ensure
    the industry can continue to roll out new technologies to
    improve the lives of American workers.
        In conclusion, IoT presents a transformative opportunity
    for enterprise of all types and sizes all over the United
    States. The benefits of B-to-B IoT solutions are allowing
    companies to work smarter, enhance productivity, create jobs,
    and improve the overall economy. At Zebra, we are committed to
    bringing IoT solutions to companies to help them work better
    and smarter, giving them a performance edge.
        Thank you for the opportunity to share our story.
        [The prepared statement of Mr. Terzich follows:]

     Prepared Statement of Michael Terzich, Chief Administrative Officer,
                               Zebra Technologies
        Thank you, Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Schatz and members of
    the Subcommittee, for the opportunity to testify before you today. My
    name is Michael Terzich and I am the Chief Administrative Officer for
    Zebra Technologies. Zebra Technologies Corporation (``Zebra'') is a
    global leader in bringing enterprise Internet of Things (IoT) solutions
    to Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) markets.
    With revenues of approximately $3.6 billion and 7,000 employees in more
    than 40 countries, Zebra is a trusted business partner with more than
    95 percent of all Fortune 500 companies. We work with companies all
    across America, including in many rural communities.
        While many Americans may not recognize Zebra by name, they come
    into contact with our solutions every day. For example, the barcode
    labels that are prominently featured on airline bag tags, express
    delivery packages, and pharmaceutical prescription bottles are often
    generated by a Zebra barcode label printer, and tracked and managed by
    Zebra scanners and mobile computers.
        Zebra leads the growing category known as Enterprise Asset
    Intelligence (EAI) which describes the ability of businesses to track
    critical assets within their operations and know exactly what they are,
    where they are, and their condition so they can make smarter, faster
    decisions that improve their bottom line. EAI leverages and recognizes
    the fact that people, assets, and devices--especially mobile devices--
    are becoming increasingly connected and that this trend is advancing at
    an exponential rate. A few key facts help illustrate this point:

       By 2020, there will be 1.75 billion global mobile workers
            accounting for 42 percent of the global workforce.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Source: Strategy Analytics as cited in Visibility That's
    Visionary, Zebra Technologies Corporation (May 31, 2016, 11:15 AM),
    https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/campaigns/brand-
    campaign/zebra-visibility-vision-report-en-us.pdf.

       By 2020, there will be 21 billion connected devices in a
            global Internet of Things.\2\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Source: Gartner Group as cited in Visibility That's Visionary,
    Zebra Technologies Corporation (May 31, 2016, 11:15 AM), https://
    www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/campaigns/brand-campaign/
    zebra-visibility-vision-report-en-us.pdf.

       By 2020, there will be 44 zettabytes of data with 10 percent
            of it coming from the Internet of Things.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ Source: Digital Universe Study as cited in Visibility That's
    Visionary, Zebra Technologies Corporation (May 31, 2016, 11:15 AM),
    https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra_new_ia/en-us/campaigns/brand-
    campaign/zebra-visibility-vision-report-en-us.pdf.

        As a result, Zebra is working with companies all across the United
    States to provide solutions that yield real-time visibility into their
    processes, assets, and people so that faster--and more informed--
    decisions can be made. The key elements which enable this work
    include:\4\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \4\ Source: Zebra Technologies Corporation, Visibility That's
    Visionary, (May 31, 2016, 11:15 AM), https://www.zebra.com/us/en/cpn/
    visibility.html.

       Sense. The employment of unrivaled expertise in sensor and
            device connectivity enables companies to inter-connect devices
            to software and to mobile workers so that decision makers and
            workers alike have substantially more real-time visibility into
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
            operations.

       Analyze. Equally important, the provision of easy access to
            an unprecedented amount of data that EAI enables allows
            companies to plan more effective short-and long-term strategies
            by delivering real-time insights into the critical data
            captured by the sensors in connected devices.

       Act. The explosive growth of mobile devices across the
            private, public, and non-profit sectors enables management and
            workers at all levels to act on these visibility-driven
            insights in real-time, anytime and everywhere.

        Businesses, including those in rural America, are recognizing the
    transformational role of IoT solutions. These businesses represent many
    sectors, including retail, manufacturing, consumer products,
    transportation, healthcare, government, oil/gas, and hospitality.
    Companies deploy these IoT solutions to address a variety of strategic,
    operational, and business challenges.
        The following are some industry sector examples being put to use in
    companies across rural America:
    Manufacturing
        In the manufacturing sector, companies are adopting IoT solutions
    and the smart factory. Through the principles of Manufacturing 4.0, the
    smart factory calls for providing actionable visibility to the entire
    operation as well as to those vendors who can help manage the supply
    chain. Workers use a combination of RFID, wearables, automated systems
    and other emerging technologies to monitor the physical processes of
    the plant and enable companies to make decentralized decisions. In the
    factory and across the supply chain, firms are also capitalizing on the
    Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to achieve real-time visibility
    into their goods, assets, processes and places.
        Like other companies, Whirlpool Corporation wanted to optimize
    mobile device management at its distribution centers. Whirlpool was
    having problems with misplaced devices, battery life, the inability to
    update devices in a systematic way, and a lack of data metrics around
    device performance. They needed a centralized management system to
    track device health, productivity, location, and ensure proper
    deployment.
        To solve their problem, Whirlpool began using Zebra XT15 mobile
    computers, VH10 vehicle-mounted computers, and Zebra's Operational
    Visibility Service (OVS). The VH10 and XT15 are extremely rugged,
    reliable devices that suit the distribution center well. OVS helps
    Whirlpool and long-time Zebra partner, Industrial Service Technology
    (IST) right-size equipment and understand the needs of the pool as well
    as site-by-site needs. This combination allows Whirlpool and IST to
    sense when there could be a problem, analyze what it is, and act on a
    solution in real-time.
        As we see with the Whirlpool example, automation provides instant
    access to data which is essential to ensuring that the production
    process operates smoothly. Manufacturers are realizing the very real
    benefits of data connectivity: increased visibility into the entire
    manufacturing process; an accelerated pace in shipping and receiving;
    faster identification of points-of-failure; and deeper insights into
    the inner workings of their operations.
    Transportation & Logistics
        Companies within the Transportation & Logistics (T&L) sector
    literally deliver the U.S. economy. The movement of goods and people
    across America and the globe represents the backbone of the overall
    supply chain. In T&L, the challenge continues to be how to optimize
    delivery as the average floor-loaded trailer could carry 30 percent
    more cargo. With tablet-based, trailer load analytics software,
    warehouses and fleet managers are given a clear image and the load
    statistics of each trailer, allowing them to easily track fulfillment
    and ensure cargo loads reach their full potential.
        For the movement of goods, companies must leverage IoT solutions to
    maintain visibility that is critical to customer service as well as
    quality assurance and traceability. Adherence to regulatory compliance
    requires visibility often across a complex chain of custody, and that
    visibility is gained by transforming the reality of storage, transport,
    and delivery into systems of record. For the movement of people, their
    baggage, and cargo, IoT solutions offer real-time visibility across a
    complex chain of airports, planes, carts, and baggage claim centers. In
    each of these scenarios, workers use locationing solutions with a wide
    array of purpose-built mobile computing, conditioned labels, RFID, and
    other emerging technologies to maintain real-time operational
    visibility.
        For example, ArcBest Corporation, based in Fort Smith, Arkansas,
    ships high-value, time-critical freight anywhere in the world with the
    highest level of service in the industry. To fulfill its commitment to
    supply chain optimization and premium logistics, ArcBest uses robust
    analytics data and advanced technology to develop a supply chain
    strategy for its customers to minimize cost and improve the shipping
    and logistics process. Ultimately, the power of analytics gives ArcBest
    and its customers a competitive advantage.
    Retail
        The shift to IoT technologies is an industry imperative to keep
    step with the shopping habits and expectations of consumers reshaped by
    the tech revolution that's still unfurling. Digital disruption--most
    profoundly, online shopping and smartphones--has birthed ever
    connected, savvy shoppers who have the globe's grandest mall at their
    fingertips. And retailers, whether they realize it or not yet, are now
    largely catering to Millennials--who have eclipsed Baby Boomers as the
    world's largest shopping group and will comprise 75 percent of the
    global workforce by 2025. The key takeaway here: this group born
    between 1980 and 1995 marks the first generation of digital natives,
    for whom technology is second nature.
        When it comes to the Internet of Things, stores are paying
    attention: nearly 70 percent of retail decision makers are ready to
    make changes required to adopt IoT. Already, 21 percent have
    implemented IoT and another 27 percent are planning to deploy within a
    year.\5\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \5\ Source: Zebra's 2017 Retail Vision Study
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The Bon-Ton Stores, which operates Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston
    Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's and Younkers stores, is a
    prime example of how retailers are using Zebra's IoT solutions to
    improve the in-store customer experience. Today, associates in more
    than 180 Bon-Ton retail department stores use Zebra's MC3190-Z RFID
    handheld readers on a daily basis to streamline the display compliance
    process and know with certainty that all available merchandise is on
    display.
        As soon as associates arrive in the morning, they scan the selling
    floor using the MC3190-Z readers to compare items on display against
    on-hand inventories, helping them identify missing items that should be
    on the sales floor. Store audits revealed that with the previously used
    manual system, up to 20 percent of merchandise in certain categories
    might be missing from the sales floor during a given week, resulting in
    missed sales opportunities.
        The RFID inventory system provides Bon-Ton with deeper visibility
    into what merchandise is available at all times. It dramatically
    increases inventory management efficiencies by allowing store
    associates to scan and tag new merchandise as it first arrives in-store
    so it can be immediately placed on display, leading to quicker item
    availability for shoppers and increased sales.
        In rural America, retailers are seeking better ways to bridge their
    online presence with traditional brick-and-mortar stores through cross-
    channel selling. Having the ability to collect information, at every
    point whenever data changes status--from the manufacturer, through the
    distributor, to the sales floor--is significant. Coupling this data
    with sales and marketing metrics collected from fixed point-of-sale
    (POS) devices and smartphones can pay big dividends in driving customer
    loyalty programs. When properly implemented, retailers can link their
    smart devices together with their data center and capitalize on each
    facet of Big Data.
    Healthcare
        Heavily regulated and moving to further digitization, the
    healthcare industry faces major hurdles in the drive to improve patient
    safety, enhance worker efficiency, and control costs. Electronic health
    records (EHRs) adoption paves the way for maintaining detailed,
    accurate, and life-long individual patient records. In addition,
    medical facilities leverage RFID tags to achieve 100 percent asset
    visibility, which helps reduce theft, optimize response times and
    improve asset utilization by medical staff.
        With the right IoT solution, healthcare professionals can integrate
    with EHR systems, minimizing medication and laboratory errors, while
    maximizing patient safety and improving the quality of care. One
    example is our work with Avera Health, an integrated health system
    based in Sioux Falls, serving South Dakota and surrounding areas of
    Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and North Dakota. Avera Health serves a
    population of nearly one million people through 33 hospitals, 208
    primary and specialty care clinics, and 40 senior living facilities.
    Based on our partnership with Voalte, Zebra's technology is being used
    by Avera Health to improve patient outcomes by integrating voice calls,
    text messaging, and alarm and alert notifications on one enterprise
    smartphone platform. These technologies also work to improve the
    discharge process to speed patient throughput, streamline the
    medication order process and optimize alarm management to ensure
    patient safety.
    B2B IoT Solutions Depend on Access to High-Speed Broadband
        For companies in rural America to successfully utilize B2B IoT
    solutions, they must have unfettered access to quality high-speed
    broadband, both wireline and wireless. Without investment in broadband
    infrastructure in rural communities, companies, healthcare providers,
    and consumers will be left behind. Spectrum is the lifeblood of IoT,
    and that is no different for business IoT solutions.
        We urge this subcommittee and the full Committee to support
    infrastructure legislation that promotes the deployment of mobile
    broadband networks, as well as directs the NTIA and FCC to allocate
    more commercial licensed and unlicensed spectrum in a technology
    neutral way. Additionally, we urge Congress to advance policies that
    increase broadband investment and deployment in rural America.
        Zebra also supports coordination among government agencies to
    discourage overlapping government regulation of the Internet of Things
    which could impede innovation. We congratulate the Committee for your
    work to pass the DIGIT Act, and thank you for your efforts to ensure
    that industry has the ability to continue to roll out new technologies
    to improve the lives of American workers.
    In Conclusion
        IoT presents a transformative opportunity for enterprises of all
    types and sizes all over the Unites States. The benefits of B2B IoT
    solutions are allowing companies to work smarter, enhance productivity,
    create jobs and improve the overall economy. At Zebra, we are committed
    to bringing IoT solutions to companies to help them work better and
    smarter, giving them a performance edge. Thank you for the opportunity
    to share our story.

        Senator Wicker. Thank you very much.
        Our next witness is Angela Siefer. Is that correct--Siefer?
        Ms. Siefer. Yes, sir.
        Senator Wicker. Ms. Siefer, tell us about your organization
    and digital inclusion.

            STATEMENT OF ANGELA SIEFER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
                  NATIONAL DIGITAL INCLUSION ALLIANCE

        Ms. Siefer. Thank you. My name is Angela Siefer. I
    appreciate Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Schatz and all of
    you for having me here today.
        I am the Executive Director of the National Digital
    Inclusion Alliance. We are a unified voice for digital
    inclusion programs and policies. By digital inclusion, we are
    referring to public access, home access, digital literacy
    skills, appropriate devices, and tech support. It's incredible
    that you all are wrapping in the broadband issue with IoT
    today. I think that's fabulous.
        I grew up outside of Lima, Ohio, which is about an hour
    from Dayton. My father passed away about 5 years ago, and he
    had this device from the VA. It was a precursor to an IoT, and
    what it did was take his vitals. He had COPD, which means that
    he couldn't breathe. So when they would take his vitals,
    multiple times, a nurse--whoever knows where that nurse was,
    right--would see that he was in distress and call the squad.
        So that device, that precursor to an IoT, saved his life
    multiple times, and what that gained for us was time with my
    dad, and it allowed him to live at home instead of someplace
    else. But none of that would have been possible without
    broadband. He had broadband connection in his home. The device
    was connected to the broadband.
        So as you all are figuring this out--as we as a country are
    figuring out IOT, we have to look at the broadband and not just
    the infrastructure but the adoption, and it's fabulous that
    that was brought up multiple times today, because we have to
    have both in order to get anywhere.
        The biggest issue that we have right now is that we don't
    have a unified strategy. So there are a handful of programs for
    infrastructure, Federal programs. I can tell you there are no
    functioning broadband adoption Federal programs right now. I
    would like to tell you otherwise, but that's not true. We need
    both. We need a Federal strategy that addresses infrastructure
    and addresses adoption, and we need to do it together. We can't
    just say one and then the other. So we have to address them
    both.
        The very first thing we can do--because that's a really big
    ask. I understand that. The first thing we can do is figure out
    the data. Right now, the data that we have is--mostly, what we
    use is from the FCC. It's functional. It tells us who has what
    data. But if you ask anyone in the field if it's accurate, no,
    it's not accurate. That's a huge problem.
        So the FCC has recently asked for comments on their Form
    477 data. That's great. That needs to seriously change, how
    they bring in that data, because that's the first step, because
    having the data is what gets us to the maps, and that's both
    important nationally and locally. So I ask you to consider that
    we all could work together to figure out a strategy for getting
    to the IoT, in order to get to the strategy for IoT, that we
    get to a broadband strategy.
        Thank you, sir.
        [The prepared statement of Ms. Siefer follows:]

           Prepared Statement of Angela Siefer, Executive Director,
                      National Digital Inclusion Alliance
        Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Schatz, and Members of the
    Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today on behalf
    of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) and our 285
    affiliated organizations.
        NDIA represents leaders of local community organizations, public
    libraries, municipalities and other institutions working hard to reduce
    digital disparities among neighbors. To improve the daily lives of all
    community members, NDIA calls for digital inclusion public policies
    that reflect our affiliates' expertise and diverse experiences.
        NDIA's approach is based in the knowledge that broadband adoption
    is most effectively promoted by community-driven efforts combining:

       Affordable home broadband service.

       Public broadband access.

       Appropriate affordable devices.

       Locally trusted technology training and support.

        NDIA represents organizations with a wide range of experience
    reducing the digital divide in the United States. The experiences of
    our affiliates include providing guidance to low-income parents
    connecting to their children's teachers, teaching seniors how to use
    their electronic health records, helping veterans learn digital skills
    in order to acquire a job, and enabling disabled adults to participate
    more fully in their communities. The services of our affiliates include
    digital literacy training, public Internet access, home broadband
    programs and digital inclusion advocacy.
        NDIA currently counts 285 affiliated organizations, including 39
    national nonprofits and 210 local public and nonprofit organizations in
    37 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our
    local affiliates include 23 municipal government bodies, 39 local
    public libraries and regional library councils, 14 college/university
    programs, 10 state government agencies, 3 local school districts, 7
    housing authorities and 114 local nonprofit organizations. The full
    list of NDIA affiliates with links to their websites can be found at
    https://digitalinclusion.org/members.
        The members of this subcommittee clearly recognize the incredible
    impact IoT can and will have on the U.S. economy and our residents.
        My father passed away five years ago. He had chronic obstructive
    pulmonary disease. I grew up outside of Lima, Ohio. The closest VA
    clinic to my parents was in Dayton, Ohio, about an hour away. The VA
    provided my dad with a device that measured his vitals, including his
    oxygen levels. The device used my parents' Internet connection. I have
    no idea where the nurse was but somewhere, a nurse reviewed the data
    from the device. When necessary, the nurse called the squad for my dad.
    That device, a precursor of the IoT, saved my dad's life multiple
    times. It bought my family time with him. And it allowed him to live at
    home. That would not have been possible without an Internet connection.
        But in order for the U.S. to have an IoT strategy that benefits all
    Americans, we must understand the barriers to broadband adoption.
        The FCC's ``2016 Broadband Progress Report'' found that 10 percent
    of all Americans (34 million people) lack access to 25 Mbps/3 Mbps
    service. 39 percent of rural Americans (23 million people) lack access
    to broadband service as the FCC defines it--25 Mbps/3 Mbps.\1\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \1\ Federal Communications Commission. ``2016 Broadband Progress
    Report''. January 29, 2016. https://www.fcc.gov/reports-research/
    reports/broadband-progress-reports/2016-broadband-progress-report
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        These numbers tell us how many Americans lack access to broadband
    service. But just because service is available to the home does not
    ensure the resident has subscribed to it, or can subscribe. We know the
    greatest barriers to home broadband adoption beyond the infrastructure
    itself are cost of the service and digital skills.
        Pew Research Center tells us that in 2016, 73 percent of urban U.S.
    adults used broadband at home. This drops to 63 percent for rural U.S.
    adults.\2\ Neither is acceptable. We are beyond discussing whether or
    not home broadband is essential today. Now we must discuss how we
    ensure all Americans have affordable home broadband and digital skills
    in order to not only make the most of the Internet on a computing
    device but to also make the most of IoT. The more of us purchasing and
    using IoT, the more valuable those IoT are.
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \2\ Pew Research Center. ``Internet/Broadband Fact Sheet''. January
    12, 2017. http://www.pew
    internet.org/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Right now, efforts to address lack of infrastructure and cost of
    broadband service and digital skills trainings are local. The Federal
    government has a handful of programs addressing infrastructure, but
    those efforts are operating without a cohesive Federal strategy.
        I can say without a doubt, we have no substantial Federal programs
    addressing either the cost of broadband or digital skills. The United
    States needs an organized Federal strategy to increase broadband access
    and adoption.
        There has been a consistent 10-15 percent gap in adoption rates
    between rural and urban areas going back to the early 2000s. Research
    shows rural broadband adoption (not just access) is crucial for
    improved economic outcomes.\3\
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        \3\ Brian Whitacre, Roberto Gallardo, and Sharon Strover. 2014a.
    ``Broadband's Contribution to Economic Growth in Rural Areas: Moving
    towards a Causal Relationship.'' Telecommunications Policy 38(11):
    1011-1023. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/
    S0308596114000949
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
        The first step toward such a strategy is to improve access and
    adoption data. Let's start with the FCC's basic data source--Form 477.
        NDIA recently took the opportunity to submit comments in response
    to the FCC's Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ``In the Matter of
    Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program''. A copy of those comments
    is submitted with these remarks. To summarize them very briefly:

      (1)  The FCC's Form 477 process has a significant problem with the
            way it collects fixed broadband deployment information.
            Providers are required to report, for each technology used in
            each Census block, only the Maximum Advertised Download Speed
            and Maximum Advertised Upload Speed available to any
            residential customer in the block. Of course, that lucky
            maximum-speed customer isn't necessarily typical of the
            neighbors. This method has the effect of exaggerating the
            speeds available to most households in both urban and rural
            communities. It's a serious impediment to our realistic
            understanding of the state of broadband access throughout the
            U.S. NDIA suggests a simple fix: Form 477 should require each
            provider to list, for each home broadband technology deployed,
            the speed tiers provided via that technology to households in
            each block, and the number of households in the block for which
            each tier is the maximum available.

      (2)  Form 477 also provides the only localized information we have on
            actual household broadband adoption, in the form of Census
            tract-level fixed broadband subscription counts used to create
            the FCC's Internet Access Services mapping data. NDIA suggested
            two modest changes in the FCC's collection and reporting of the
            provider subscription data incorporated in the Internet Access
            Services reports: Collect household totals for each tract at
            three or four meaningful speed benchmarks, not just the current
            200 kbps and 10 mbps thresholds; and publish those totals as
            actual percentages of total households, rather than the
            unnecessarily broad ranges now in use.

        The point of these recommendations is the need to improve the
    accuracy and usefulness of the broadband deployment and adoption data
    that the FCC collects, maps, and reports to us all--the data that
    informs public discussion of the Nation's progress in making both the
    Internet of Things and the Internet of People available to us all.
        With better public data on both topics--and a clear understanding
    that the Internet of Things isn't likely to make its way into homes
    that either can't access or can't afford conventional broadband
    connections--NDIA is certain we have a much better chance of making the
    benefits of IoT available to all Americans, rural and urban alike.
        I must stress, again, the need for the U.S. to have a cohesive and
    funded broadband access and adoption strategy.
        Thank you.
                                   Attachment
    [GRAPHICS NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

        Senator Wicker. Thank you very, very much.
        I will now recognize members for questions, using the five-
    minute rule, and I will defer to later and recognize Senator
    Fischer.

                    STATEMENT OF HON. DEB FISCHER,
                       U.S. SENATOR FROM NEBRASKA

        Senator Fischer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you for
    convening today's hearing to discuss the importance of
    technology and innovation that's driving the development of the
    Internet of Things across all sectors of our economy.
        Chief among the industries supplying IoT innovations is
    production agriculture. Farmers and ranchers face high levels
    of risk that range from extreme weather conditions to
    fluctuating commodity markets. To counteract these challenges
    and remain competitive, ag producers rely on technological
    advancements to continue to provide for their families and also
    to feed a hungry world.
        Today, I want to welcome Tim Hassinger, CEO and President
    of Lindsay Corporation, which is located in Omaha, Nebraska.
    While Mr. Hassinger is not new to production agriculture, he is
    new to Lindsay. He has been CEO a little less than a month.
    Prior to joining Lindsay, he was President and CEO of Dow
    AgroSciences. I want to thank him for testifying today about
    the technological needs of our nation's farmers.
        Lindsay Irrigation System manufactures Zimmatic center
    pivots, which dot our Nation's countryside and provide
    essential natural resource enhancement capabilities. Nebraska
    is rich in groundwater, thanks to the Ogallala Aquifer.
    Innovators like Lindsay provide our ag producers with the
    resources and tools necessary so that they can maximize yields,
    safeguard the soil, and better manage our pressure water
    resources. Access to technology has become the number one
    driver to accelerate ag producers into the future, and today's
    rural areas experience increased productivity due to the
    adoption of new technologies that are fueling U.S. agricultural
    growth.
        However, many producers still lack access to basic Internet
    and broadband technologies, and that leaves them at a
    competitive disadvantage. While we cannot be data rich, we seem
    to be information poor, and it's important that we provide our
    ag producers and our leading innovators like Lindsay the
    connectivity and the tools that they need.
        Mr. Hassinger, can you please expand on the broader picture
    of when farmers are not able to access broadband, such as
    planting and productivity, and how does this lack of
    connectivity affect when you have machine operations or machine
    to farm operations?
        Mr. Hassinger. Well, thank you, Senator Fischer, and I
    would describe your summary as well said in terms of the
    challenge in front of us. Just to bring a little more context
    to it, a recent USDA report indicates that just under 30
    percent of the farms across our rural country do not have
    access to broadband capability. So when you look at that--and
    I'll just use the technology that Lindsay has brought forward
    called Field Net Advisor, which is simply a pivot control tool
    that allows science-based recommendations to the irrigation.
    Our trials would say that that is generating roughly an
    additional $40 per acre, to put that in--again, more
    information.
        On corn trials, that was a 3 percent yield. It was reducing
    the trips over the field. It reduced the energy cost, which
    brought a $40 per acre profit. But, equally important, it
    reduced the amount of water used per acre by 17 percent.
    Senator Fischer, what that says is roughly 30 percent of our
    farmers are not getting access to that type of technology. So
    that's a competitive disadvantage for them, and this is a space
    where increasing investment is being made, and you would
    anticipate that divide would only get wider over time.
        Senator Fischer. You know, when we look at the connectivity
    that's available for broadband, especially mobile broadband,
    what kind of metrics do you think we need to consider when we
    address that network? A lot of times, we look at road miles.
    Don't you think we ought to look at acres?
        Mr. Hassinger. Well, I think absolutely. The----
        Senator Fischer. Especially in sparsely populated areas?
        Mr. Hassinger. Without a doubt. You know, here, I'm
    mentioning that roughly 30 percent of the farms that don't have
    access. The more critical metric, as you said, would be the
    amount of acres that are not covered related to that. I put
    this--I think something that's very powerful on this is at a
    time when we know--and there's a lot of talk about the need to
    increase food production--irrigated acres represent roughly 16
    percent of the total acres, but they represent 44 percent of
    the total output. So making sure that those acres, as you
    mentioned, Senator Fischer, have access to the newest
    technology becomes only even more important as we go forward.
        Senator Fischer. Thank you, sir.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your courtesy.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Senator Fischer.
        Senator Schatz.
        Senator Schatz. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all
    of the testifiers.
        Ms. Siefer, I have a question for you about the two
    rulemakings that are happening at the FCC. The first is to
    change the form, and I think there's some support for that. I
    wanted to get your comments on that.
        But the second is to redefine what broadband is, and I want
    to make sure the Committee understands what the FCC is doing.
    They're redefining broadband from 25 down, 3 up--please nod if
    I'm getting that right--yes--25 down, 3 up, to 10 down, 1 up.
    So what they're doing is just--they're going to redefine
    broadband so that they can declare that more people have
    broadband now. But all they're doing is playing with words as
    opposed to helping people to get access to broadband.
        I'm wondering if you can comment on both of those
    rulemakings, Ms. Siefer.
        Ms. Siefer. Senator Schatz, I'll be happy to. The change in
    the speed is really significant for IoT. If anything, IoT means
    we're going to need more speeds, not less speeds. The issue
    related to the 25-3 down to 10-1 is inclusion of mobile in that
    definition. But mobile comes with data caps. As mentioned
    earlier, mobile is not a solution, at least not currently,
    until we could not have data caps. Ask any farmer if data caps
    are useful, right, and they'll be very frustrated with the
    question.
        Senator Schatz. Is there any community of users of IoT or
    broadband that is pushing for this change from 25-3 to 10-1?
    I'm just wondering who's asking for this change? Why is this
    change being made?
        Mr. Adcock, I wanted to, first of all, thank you for
    everything you've done on----
        Senator Wicker. Does anyone wish to volunteer to answer
    that question?
        Mr. Terzich. Senator, I was just going to add I'm not aware
    of anyone that's asking for that, specifically. Quite frankly,
    it's a bit illogical, given the density and the information
    exchange requirements on a go-forward basis.
        Mr. Hassinger. I would just add that I share the same view.
    From a farming community, I'm not aware of any push for
    reclassifications, as you mentioned.
        Senator Schatz. Anybody else?
        [No verbal response.]
        Senator Schatz. Mr. Adcock, my favorite topic--telehealth.
    We've been working together with Senator Cochran's staff and
    you and the University of Hawaii, and we're making good
    progress. Just a big picture question: What should the
    Congress--I know we worked together on amending the statute to
    allow Medicare to reimburse for telehealth services, and that's
    for another committee to consider. But what, in terms of the
    deployment of broadband, do you think is the next step that
    either the FCC or this committee should undertake?
        Mr. Adcock. Thank you very much, and it has been a pleasure
    to work with you and different Members of Congress to try to
    advance telehealth. We have great need in Mississippi. I know
    that there's great need across the country. I would say that
    the deployment of broadband is extremely important.
        While there are things that we can do--remote patient
    monitoring--there are things that we can do that don't require
    video, constant video. As the technologies advance and as the
    adoption increases with physicians and providers across the
    country, there's going to be more and more done in a patient's
    home, including video visits. While that's happening now, it's
    not happening with a great spread across the country.
        So we need to be able to have high-speed Internet in a
    patient's home that's reliable. It's not just about getting the
    capabilities there. It's about making sure that it's reliable
    and available. You can have as much connectivity into the home
    as you want. If it's not available at the time that it's
    needed, it's not going to help the patient. So we have to be
    able to have that priority of usage.
        I think that the Rural Wireless Act and also the SPEED Act
    will help some of the deployment, to streamline review,
    accelerate deployment. Anytime that we can decrease the time
    that it takes to get the infrastructure out into these
    communities that have lower population density, that decreases
    cost and actually increases deployment, and being able to
    standardize that data reporting will help distribute funds to
    areas that are in need. So there's----
        Senator Schatz. A quick final question for Mr. Terzich. Do
    you think there should be minimum security standards for IoT
    devices, and do you think that should be set in statute or
    rule, or do you think that should be done primarily by the
    private sector?
        Mr. Terzich. Well, you know, I'm not in a position to
    comment on the legislative side of that question. But I would
    offer the following. You know, for us, we're principally a B-
    to-B organization, and security is always a central part of the
    equation with our enterprise customers. I do believe, however,
    that at the consumer level, on the B-to-C side, that with the
    proliferation of interconnected devices, that some
    standardization should be applied, because I do see the
    consequential risk associated with broad proliferation of those
    devices across cloud-based computing capability.
        Senator Schatz. Thank you very much.
        Senator Wicker. I have next Senator Gardner followed by
    Senator Moran.
        Senator Gardner.

                    STATEMENT OF HON. CORY GARDNER,
                       U.S. SENATOR FROM COLORADO

        Senator Gardner. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you for
    this hearing today. Thanks to all the witnesses and your
    statements this morning.
        Thanks as well to Mr. Armitage, who joins us today from the
    great state of Colorado, where it's snowing a little bit, and
    we do, as a reminder to the Committee, have some ski resorts
    that are open right now.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Gardner. The Internet of Things is quickly
    transforming the way that we do business, go about our daily
    lives, and interact with our surroundings. As a member of the
    Internet of Things Working Group with Senators Fischer, Schatz,
    and Booker, I had the opportunity to work to promote
    legislation like the DIGIT Act, which some have already spoken
    about today, to encourage public-private collaboration on IoT
    related issues and prepare for the exciting future that these
    products really do mean for us.
        While we should continue expanding and encouraging
    development of IoT, we must also be mindful of the security
    concerns, as Senator Schatz has talked about, which is why
    Senator Warner and I introduced the IoT Cybersecurity
    Improvement Act of 2017. Smarter devices should contain smart
    advancements in secure technology, and the Federal Government
    should set the gold standard for basic cyber hygiene. I do
    think it's an important conversation that we have, and Senator
    Schatz stumbled upon the question when he talked about setting
    the standards at the Federal level versus having that driven by
    the private sector, perhaps guided by a Federal procurement
    process.
        One warning that this body has to consider is when Congress
    tries to set a standard and define the technology. We have to
    be careful that the technology doesn't evolve to a point where
    it backfires on us. A perfect example being in Colorado, where
    we created a criminal statute on Internet luring of a child
    using a Blackberry, and a judge determined that a Blackberry
    did not have the computing capability to be defined as a
    computer, and, therefore, the statute was no longer able to be
    applied in that instance. The case had to be dropped because we
    tried to define a technology, and a judge thought that we
    didn't actually get it right.
        We have to be very careful when we're defining technology
    in a statute, and that's why the approach that we've taken is
    sort of a procurement level process that tries to drive private
    sector innovation. I'm excited that we have a group of
    individuals here today that can explain the benefits of IoT to
    our communities, and I look forward to having many more
    conversations with you.
        Mr. Armitage, you mentioned in your testimony the need for
    connectivity along with routes that your oil and gas company
    partners travel on a daily basis. You also talk about efforts
    to enhance that connectivity through partnerships and
    collaboration with the wireless industry. Could you talk a
    little bit more about this point? Obviously, Ms. Siefer talked
    a little bit about the challenges between mobile wireless
    issues and broadband availability. Do you view the business
    need for IoT in rural areas as a catalyst for expanding rural
    broadband and connectivity? I guess it's kind of a chicken and
    the egg kind of question, so to speak.
        Mr. Armitage. Mr. Hassinger brings up a very important
    notion that we should be really evaluating, at least in the
    context of the industrial IoT, which is the availability of
    broadband connectivity in a per-acre as opposed to per-road
    network. When we look at the coverage on the Nation's road
    networks and around the population centers, it's stunning. But
    when we look at the coverage available out in remote and rural
    areas off of those roads, it's pretty dead out there.
        There's no question that the work this committee can do to
    encourage and enhance the private sector to push more and more
    coverage and more and more bandwidth into those areas is
    critically important to the viability of agriculture, the
    economic prosperity of the energy industry, and many, many
    other sectors.
        One thing that I think is interesting to consider is that
    the FCC should be encouraged, in my opinion, to open up more
    frequency, more bandwidth spectrum to push more wireless
    coverage into these remote areas. It's not always economically
    viable to string wires and pull fiber into remote fields, but
    it is absolutely true that enhanced high-speed cellular
    networks will serve as a catalyst for everything that this
    group up here is talking about today.
        Senator Gardner. Thank you, Mr. Armitage. I know Senator
    Hassan and I are working on legislation that would make more
    spectrum available across the country, and it would also take a
    unique approach that I hope this committee takes very
    seriously. When we raise the funds through the auction that
    this spectrum would require, it would take about a 10 percent
    chunk of that and set the money raised through that spectrum
    auction, and make it available for rural broadband deployment.
    I think that could be a significant benefit for this closing of
    the digital divide that we've talked about and the challenges
    we face.
        I can guarantee you that while the cellular phone map shows
    that south of Yuma, Colorado, there is cell coverage between
    Yuma and Joes, Colorado, by the time you hit Smith Dairy into
    Abarr, Colorado, and you go down to Joes and Kirk, you do not
    have cell coverage. I know that means absolutely nothing to
    anybody here. However, for those of us who look at a map and
    say we should have coverage, it means a whole lot.
        Mr. Hassinger, you and I may be the only people in this
    room, particularly, maybe even in this Congress, who have made
    a living selling farm equipment. We have a Zimmatic sprinkler
    on our farm north of town. We sell Case IH farm equipment. We
    started out with our first--I guess we sold a subscription, a
    satellite subscription, for a GPS system, and then we moved
    from that to try to use the Coast Guard beacons. We're too far
    away from the Coast Guard beacons in eastern Colorado to use
    them, so we now have our own signal.
        You know, you're not going to be able to run a sprinkler
    some day when you manually change the drop nozzles, or the drip
    nozzles, on a sprinkler if you're going to have an IoT device
    applying individual amounts of chemigation to an individual
    plant. You're going to have to have broadband capability to do
    that. I'm running out of time. It's exciting stuff, and we've
    got a lot of work to do.
        Mr. Hassinger. I would echo exactly what you said.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Senator Gardner. Senator Schatz
    wanted to point out that in Hawaii, it's currently 85 degrees.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Wicker. There is some mountain in Hawaii that has
    snow.
        Senator Schatz. I'm sorry--75. The sun is not out yet.
        Senator Gardner. The skiing in Haleakala is just not that
    good.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Wicker. Senator Moran.

                    STATEMENT OF HON. JERRY MORAN,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM KANSAS

        Senator Moran. Kansans are always delighted when there's
    snow in Colorado, assuming that the water will then come to our
    state.
        Let me start with Mr. Hassinger. A bit of follow-up to
    Senator Gardner. You said in your commentary that 30 percent of
    our farms are not getting that technology. Is that a Nebraska
    statistic? Based upon this conversation we're having about how
    we determine who has broadband and who doesn't, how does one
    reach that conclusion or that specific number?
        Mr. Hassinger. Senator, first of all, to the earlier
    comment, that's a definition as it was described as 25 down and
    3 up, from that standpoint. Let me give you the specific
    source. It is from USDA. Specifically, the National
    Agricultural Statistics Service released its Farm Computer
    Usage and Ownership Report in August, and that's where that
    data is coming from. Just slightly under 30 percent of the
    farms do not have that access, under the definition that I just
    described.
        Senator Moran. It didn't lend itself to a definition of
    farms, which is an agriculture question. I see your equipment
    in Kansas a lot. I'm familiar with Lindsay Corporation. I would
    highlight for my colleagues on the Committee that our
    Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Data Security will have
    a hearing next Tuesday, November the fourteenth, to focus on
    data usage practices specifically for farms and innovative
    opportunities to improve yield, sustainability, and
    interconnection among our rural farmers. We're continuing this
    conversation.
        I wanted to ask you, Mr. Hassinger. What is the most
    prominent challenging barriers to successfully connecting rural
    communities and farms to high-speed broadband? What are the
    programs? In the FCC, we would have Universal Service Fund;
    USDA, we'd have Rural Development dollars. What is it that the
    Federal Government is not doing that Congress needs to do?
        Mr. Hassinger. Senator, I feel very comfortable
    representing where the value and the opportunity is in front of
    us. I'm going to have to pause and say that my expertise and
    knowledge in terms of how to exactly solve it is still further
    behind, from that standpoint. So what I really want to
    reinforce is the value that I can see through the technology
    that companies like ours is bringing and the need for it. But
    I'll have to pause on answering specifically your question.
        Senator Moran. Let me also ask you a question about
    something you said. Are 16 percent of the acres that are
    irrigated represent 44 percent of the yields? Is that a
    Nebraska or is that a national statistic?
        Mr. Hassinger. No, that's a national number also.
        Senator Moran. Thank you very much.
        Let me ask you a question, Ms. Siefer. In regard to
    veterans' issues, what you described with your father is very
    compelling. I understand the value of that circumstance. What
    role did the VA play in your father's capability to access that
    technology, if any?
        Ms. Siefer. Right. So the VA's role was to bring him the
    device, and then I hooked it up, and that was 5 years ago. So
    the VA today--I would hope--frankly, they're not very
    communicative--maybe that will change shortly--about their
    broadband efforts. But I would encourage them to have efforts
    where they are making sure that the individuals that they're
    working with do have access at home, not just for the health
    reasons, the health IoT, but jobs and economy and everything
    else.
        Senator Moran. Ms. Siefer or Mr. Adcock, do you have any
    understanding of the differences between the private sector and
    the VA in regard to what they're doing to provide in-home
    healthcare through technology? Is the private sector ahead of
    the VA?
        Mr. Adcock, any sense of that?
        Mr. Adcock. I would say that the VA is a leader in
    telehealth, obviously. I can tell you about our program. We
    actually--when we're doing remote patient monitoring, we go in
    and check the cell signal in the home where it's going to be
    used to make sure that it's going to qualify for being able to
    utilize the equipment. So we make sure that that cellular
    service is available by utilizing the local providers and the
    regional providers in our state.
        And if, for some reason, it's not available, we work to try
    to see if there's a wired option available. If that's not
    available, we talk to the service providers and let them know
    where there are coverage lapses so that we can look down the
    road to be able to enhance that coverage. I will tell you that
    because of remote patient monitoring not needing as much of the
    high speed, we're able to deliver that service in more areas
    throughout the state.
        Senator Moran. When you say more areas--Mr. Hassinger and I
    talked about the 30 percent of acres not--the broadband, the
    technology, not available. What's your experience for when this
    service is not available to patients who need it because of
    lack of service?
        Mr. Adcock. For remote patient monitoring, again, it can
    run on a 3G connection, so there are very few patients that
    we've come across, probably less than 1 percent, that cannot--
    that we can't use our remote patient monitoring solution on.
    Now, if you start talking about being able to do video visits
    into the home, which is coming, we're going to run into a lot
    more issues, a lot more connectivity issues in the homes. Right
    now, we're able to meet most of those issues, whether it's in
    the home or in the school, wherever it might need to be.
        Senator Moran. Do you have a sense of what percentage would
    be unable to have video?
        Mr. Adcock. I do not at this point, but that's something I
    can look at and get back to you.
        Senator Moran. Thanks to all the panelists for your
    testimony.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Senator Moran.
        Senator Klobuchar.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. AMY KLOBUCHAR,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA

        Senator Klobuchar. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
        I'm one of the co-chairs of the Broadband Caucus. We've
    been working really hard, especially to try to get
    infrastructure funding in any kind of an infrastructure bill
    that could come across our desk. I know that the President
    pledged to make infrastructure a priority, and we think rural
    broadband should be a major part of that.
        So, Mr. Hassinger, I was just in Winnebago, Minnesota, on
    Friday and saw a company called Aker Ag, and they're doing some
    incredible work with drones and looking at being able to get
    soil samples out, and then being able to figure out in a better
    way for the environment, but also a more cost-effective way for
    our farmers--former Congressman Tim Penny was with me there.
    He's helped--his foundation has helped fund some of this
    operation. It just made me think about--this is all going to be
    great, but if they don't have broadband to get the data, to
    report it back to the companies that are supplying these
    farmers, it's not going to work.
        So could you talk about this precision ag that we're
    heading into now and how important it's going to be to have
    real-time data updates and reliable service for our farmers?
        Mr. Hassinger. Well, Senator, I'll go back and hit the key
    points that I said earlier, and, again, I'm just using one
    example, the Field Net Advisor. But a $40 per acre profit--on
    average, is what we're seeing--is a significant difference, and
    only to your point, the investment is increasing there, so you
    would expect that divide to get greater as we go forward. I
    think it's a fundamental competitiveness that, longer term, is
    going to be a significant challenge if these farms that are not
    having access to this broadband capability--it's going to
    really put them at a disadvantage.
        Senator Klobuchar. Exactly. And I think there is also--for
    a lot of my friends on the Committee that are focused on
    environmental issues as well, there is a major advantage to
    that for where they put pesticides, or how much water they put
    in, if they're able to measure that soil to make it better, and
    they can't do that if they don't have that information.
        Mr. Hassinger. Absolutely. And, Senator, I would just add
    that at a time when farms are getting bigger, and the need for
    managing those larger acreages, this type of technology only
    becomes even more important also.
        Senator Klobuchar. OK. Very good.
        I introduced the Measuring the Economic Impact of Broadband
    bill, including--I think Senators Capito and Sullivan worked
    with me on that, and this focuses on a study out of the
    Department of Commerce to conduct an analysis of the effects of
    broadband deployment and adoption on the U.S. economy.
        Ms. Siefer, how would that be helpful for organizations
    like the National Digital Inclusion Alliance to reduce this
    divide?
        Ms. Siefer. Having that data would help us convince
    funders, frankly, because that's the big challenge right now. A
    lot of folks will say, ``Yes, we definitely need broadband. We
    need folks who know how to use it.'' But then when you turn to
    figuring out who it is that's going to pay for it, that's a
    little more challenging, because they want the end numbers.
    They want to know did someone get a job. So that study could
    help that argument in making sure that we do have adequate
    funding for the programs.
        Senator Klobuchar. Maybe it'll help here, around this
    building, too.
        Mr. Adcock, recently, Senators Roberts and Moran and I led
    a letter with 39 Senators urging the FCC to continue advancing
    broadband deployment in rural communities through the USF fund,
    the Universal Service Fund, and we've seen some progress, but
    not enough. Could you talk about the Universal Service Fund,
    how that's helped in Mississippi, and have you seen price
    disparities for broadband service between rural and urban
    areas?
        Mr. Adcock. Thank you very much. Yes, we have been active
    in the Universal Service Fund for quite a while, where we--
    we've based ourselves in the hub to lots of the other sites
    across the state, and it's allowed us to not only build
    infrastructure, but also decrease the cost of that wireless
    that's--I mean, the broadband that's available to those
    institutions. I do not have an exact dollar figure of how much
    those funds have helped, but it has been a great program that
    we continue to be interested in. As far as the disparities in
    rural versus urban, I do not have the answer to that question.
        Senator Klobuchar. Well, I think we have to modernize the
    Universal Service Fund. Some work has been done at the FCC, but
    not enough----
        Mr. Adcock. Right.
        Senator Klobuchar--and there's a ton of money in there, and
    then we have these rural areas that basically--while they now
    have Internet, they don't have the kind of Internet in many
    places in my state that's going to allow them to compete, as
    was just pointed out.
        I will leave my question on Chairman Wicker's Rural
    Wireless Access Act for the record. I don't want to go over my
    time. But I'm a co-sponsor of that bill and it's very
    important. So thank you.
        Senator Wicker. And thank you, Senator Klobuchar.
        Senator Hassan.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. MAGGIE HASSAN,
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE

        Senator Hassan. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Good morning to all of our witnesses. Thank you so much for
    being here this morning, and thank you for shining a light on
    the importance of this so-called Internet of Things to rural
    communities. It is clear from your testimony that the Internet
    of Things will bring major positive changes all across our
    country, and I'm certainly eager to see the benefits to our
    society and our economy.
        Coming from a state with many rural areas that New
    Hampshire has, I am also very concerned about the broadband
    issue, that last mile issue, and I wanted to take the
    opportunity--if you all don't know it and if my colleagues
    don't know it--Commissioner Rosenworcel on the FCC has an e-
    mail address, broadband
    fail@fcc.gov, where people can report in their lack of
    broadband access, because she thinks it's about time, as do I,
    that we crowdsource this rather than waiting on the census
    block maps which are so inaccurate. So I would encourage
    constituencies everywhere to report in whether they've got
    broadband or not in certain areas.
        Toward that end--no, it's not just broadband. It's
    obviously access and availability of spectrum that is going to
    be so important as we deploy more and more of the IoT. So I
    joined with my friend, Senator Gardner, to introduce the
    AIRWAVES Act, which aims not only to get some funding for rural
    broadband, but also to free up more spectrum. The legislation
    creates a pipeline of spectrum so that industry has something
    to rely on as we move forward.
        So I'd love your comments to the Committee on the
    importance of the availability of spectrum for IoT as well as
    the importance of having an abundant supply of both licensed
    and unlicensed spectrum for these devices to function. We can
    start with Mr. Adcock and just work right down the line.
        Mr. Adcock. I don't have an answer to that at this point.
    I'm sorry.
        Senator Hassan. That's fine.
        Mr. Armitage.
        Mr. Armitage. We currently process at Cartasite over 3,000
    events per second from 34 countries. I can tell you that in the
    United States, more than 10 percent of the workers' time is
    spent outside of coverage areas--10 percent. This is an
    enormous amount of our country that is currently not covered by
    spectrum, by any cellular coverage at all. We don't see it when
    we drive down the nation's highways. We absolutely see it when
    we drive in these rural areas of the U.S. So we can provide
    some very interesting insight as to where that coverage is
    lacking right now.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you.
        Mr. Hassinger.
        Mr. Hassinger. Senator, I don't have anything further to
    add.
        Senator Hassan. OK. Thank you.
        Mr. Terzich. Senator, I would just make a simple statement
    that says both across spectrum and broadband, in general, that
    for our business, for our enterprise customers, it's, quite
    frankly, table stakes. You absolutely can't enable some of the
    business, the B-to-B benefit. You can't enable the exchange of
    real-time information without having this capability.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you.
        Ms. Siefer.
        [No verbal response.]
        Senator Hassan. Well, then, the other thing I wanted to
    just explore a little further with all of you is concerning
    cybersecurity. It's estimated that 8.4 billion things will be
    used this year alone, which opens up a lot of risk, and as you
    probably all know, in New Hampshire, a company named Dyn, Inc.,
    knows all too well how this risk translates into a devastating
    cyber attack. In late 2016, Dyn was subjected to a major cyber
    attack in which the attackers co-opted baby monitors and other
    Internet connected devices infected with malware, and that
    flooded the servers of this Internet hosting company. The
    attack led to dozens of major retailers and media sites being
    taken offline for several hours, causing an unknown amount of
    loss of revenue for those companies.
        So if we're going to prevent the ability of hackers to
    disrupt our economy and the flow of information, we're going to
    have to take action to try to raise the cyber defenses of
    consumers' Internet connected devices. I join Senator Warner
    and Senator Gardner's legislation on the Internet of Things
    Cybersecurity Act, and as we have discussed, that really is
    focused on requirements for things that the government
    purchases. But I would be interested in your thoughts on how we
    can enhance cybersecurity in the entire Internet of Things
    market. What's your approach to cybersecurity, and how should
    the Federal Government work with the private sector to ensure
    devices are secure?
        Ms. Siefer, I'll start with you, and I realize we're short
    on time. So just quick answers, if you can.
        Ms. Siefer. Just to make sure everyone realizes that the
    cybersecurity issues also influence broadband adoption, because
    if you are scared, right, because you don't trust the Internet
    of Things, you're not going to use the Internet of Things.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you.
        Anyone else, just briefly?
        Mr. Hassinger.
        Mr. Hassinger. The only thing I would add, Senator, to
    broaden your question is the actual ownership of the data.
        Senator Hassan. Yes.
        Mr. Hassinger. Speaking of our situation, the customer owns
    the data, and then our responsibility is only to collect it,
    store it, and transfer it. So the broader part of that is the
    security, but also the ownership of the data.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you.
        Anyone else?
        Mr. Adcock. Obviously, being in healthcare, security is
    always a concern. It's something that we pay a lot of attention
    to and make sure that we encrypt data on both ends, both in
    transit and at rest. But, again, if the patients aren't
    comfortable with that cybersecurity and what steps we're
    taking, they're not going to use it.
        Senator Hassan. Thank you.
        Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, for letting me go over.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Senator Hassan.
        Senator Cortez Masto.

               STATEMENT OF HON. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO,
                        U.S. SENATOR FROM NEVADA

        Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you
    for this discussion. It's one we have been having and
    rightfully so. I'm from Nevada--110,000 square miles of the
    five largest counties across the country. We have two of them
    in Nevada with small populations. And when we're talking about
    rural Nevada, and you want to get off the grid, drive through
    rural Nevada. You literally cannot connect.
        That's the challenge. That's the challenge for many people
    that live in rural parts of our state, and that's why I, along
    with my colleagues, have been fighting to bring broadband and
    connectivity to our rural communities for the very reasons that
    we're talking about. Telemedicine is key. There's so many
    services that we can bring to our rural communities that are
    challenged.
        But I'd like to start also with Mr. Hassinger. Obviously,
    some of the agriculture in Nebraska is a little different than
    that in Nevada. But you hit on a similar concern, and that's
    water. Can you speak further about the opportunity of improving
    the precision of measuring drought or measuring possible
    conditions to predict wildfires?
        Mr. Hassinger. So, Senator, what I was referring to--and,
    again, the tool I'll highlight is referred to as Field Net
    Advisor. What this is is there has been technology for several
    years that help determine the center pivots, the irrigation
    equipment. But now we're moving to a level of being able to
    align that with recommendations based on soil conditions, the
    weather, the specific genetics of that crop. What we're seeing
    is not only are we getting an increase in yield by use of that
    technology, but you're using less water. Simply, you're putting
    it right where the plant needs it with only the amount that it
    needs.
        In the example that we have, the trials, we were able to
    get an increase in yield with 17 percent less water. So the
    conservation of water is obviously critical for the whole
    agricultural story, and we see this being a key driver in what
    we're talking about and the need for the adoption of this type
    of technology.
        Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
        Mr. Terzich, I appreciate the various applications you
    underscored in your testimony. Can you talk to me about
    examples of where the Internet of Things is benefiting tourism,
    mainly in rural areas, for example, the hospitality sector or
    the outdoor economy?
        Mr. Terzich. I can. You know, for us in the hospitality
    space, it's become a growing area of interest. I can point to
    some specific examples. They may not necessarily be as relevant
    to Nevada as they are to other places. Mr. Young had left. But
    in the state of Colorado, we use a variety of real-time
    locationing tags that principally go on every skier that
    attends any of the Vail resorts in Colorado. So it enhances
    your hospitality experience. It tells you the vertical feet you
    skied, the miles you skied, which runs you did, and people
    share that information, post their experience on social media,
    as an example.
        In the cruise and transportation industry, you're seeing
    more use of passenger identification for applications as simple
    as mustering or simply as we're leaving a certain port. A
    cruise ship is leaving a port. It has to know within an instant
    moment that everyone is available, is back on that ship as
    planned. If something happens in transit, they want to know if
    somebody has left the ship, as examples.
        In areas of theme parks, there are lots of use of Internet
    of Things to adjust the traffic at various attractions. So they
    actually look at dynamic work flow in the form of which
    attractions have a large volume of people. They use lots of
    technology, fast pass technology, things you may hear of in the
    public domain, to basically do better crowd management so that
    you enhance your experience and get the opportunity to see more
    attractions through the course of your day.
        Senator Cortez Masto. So in our rural communities, where
    there's hiking and rock climbing and mountain biking,
    literally, in areas that are remote, it's important to bring
    that sort of broadband there to have that security kind of
    connectivity for individuals that, unfortunately, may
    experience some sort of injury or something. We want to make
    sure we track people and be able to help them and access them
    immediately if there's some sort of injury.
        Mr. Terzich. Absolutely, the ability to respond to a
    critical situation, and I would venture to guess that for
    hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, the same interest applies,
    right? They want to know where they went, how many vertical
    feet they climbed, or how many trails they encountered. So you
    get the ancillary benefit of some social response as well as
    the ability to handle critical situations.
        Senator Cortez Masto. Thank you.
        Any other comments?
        [No verbal response.]
        Senator Cortez Masto. I notice my time is up. I've got
    other questions, but I'll submit those for the record.
        Thank you.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Senator Cortez Masto.
        Senator Cantwell.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. MARIA CANTWELL,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM WASHINGTON

        Senator Cantwell. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and I thank the
    witnesses.
        Mr. Armitage, thank you for your testimony. I look at it
    with great interest because I think that you described well
    what happens as technology comes to any sector. I always say
    around here--I try to explain the transitioning economy and say
    to my young colleagues, the people in my office, there's a
    reason Ma Bell doesn't exist anymore, and they look at me and
    they say ``Who's Ma Bell?'' because they don't know.
        [Laughter.]
        Senator Cantwell. So I'd say that we've gone through this
    major transition of a big behemoth in telecomm to now this data
    we get in our handheld devices every day. So your testimony
    talks about that, particularly as it relates to the workforce
    and the impact on the workforce. Yet I'm assuming you believe
    that the efficiencies are still worth--driving efficiencies to
    be competitive in your sector, and I'm assuming that you want
    to be rewarded for those, not penalized for those. By that, I
    mean there are some people who are discussing, you know,
    letting people waive environmental issues just to--so that
    they'll drill in certain areas, and I think you've been a state
    that's adhered to all the environmental issues. So my guess is
    you wouldn't want to be waiving those. That's not really the
    subject of my question, but if you want to comment on that, you
    can.
        Mr. Armitage. Let me just touch on that point. My
    experience in the last 35 years working in the oil and gas
    industry is that the executives that I know are extraordinarily
    concerned about the safety of their workers and about the
    social responsibility of operating in an environmentally
    conscientious way, very committed to environmental stewardship,
    consistently across the board throughout the industry.
        Senator Cantwell. Right. So on the larger cyber issues,
    since we're seeing all these attacks by state actors, if you
    will, on critical infrastructure, everything from the networks
    of nuclear power plants to pipelines. I mean, we don't want to
    see the Ukraine situation here in the U.S. What do you think we
    should be doing to further our cybersecurity?
        Mr. Armitage. It is a subject that confronts us literally
    every day. It is an incredibly important issue, and we should
    bring it to light and talk about it extensively. Our servers
    get hit by bad actors literally multiple times a day. We're
    deployed, I believe, now in 34 countries. Many of those
    countries are not friendly to the United States. We have
    American workers and millions of dollars of assets that we
    monitor for U.S. companies throughout the world, and as a
    result, we are tested continuously. We've worked very closely
    for the last 11 years with Amazon and with Google and many
    other cloud providers to ensure the integrity of our systems,
    both from the perspective of security and availability.
        So I will tell you that this is an issue near and dear to
    my heart. Mr. Adcock mentioned before the notion of encrypting
    on both sides of the transaction--vitally important. It's one
    of a myriad of issues that we should be paying attention to as
    we consider the industrial Internet of Things.
        Senator Cantwell. Well, thank you for that. I know that--to
    me, I believe that there's much efficiency in what you've done
    with your business and in smart buildings and everything else.
    But we do have to get more serious about the cybersecurity
    issues as a nation, and, as you said, some of this is state
    actors, acting with malice against our country. So I hope we
    can up our game here, and I look forward to following up with
    you on that in collaboration. Thank you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you.
        Senator Udall.

                     STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL,
                      U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO

        Senator Udall. Thank you so much, Senator Wicker, for this
    hearing and the importance of what you all have testified to
    today.
        The application of the Internet of Things to rural America
    is absolutely critical, and I think your testimony has
    demonstrated that. I worry that unless we act aggressively and
    with purpose now, rural America will be stuck with the Internet
    of nothing. This is particularly true for my home state of New
    Mexico, where Internet services, connections, and applications
    lag way behind.
        Each one of us know that rural areas do not have the same
    coverage and access as urban areas. To catch up, we must invest
    in high-speed broadband networks as well as other technology to
    connect the hardest to serve areas. And while I appreciate my
    colleague's efforts to help ease permitting and other hurdles,
    what companies need is sustainable, reliable funding and
    investment.
        The FCC's Universal Service Fund programs are essential to
    connecting all areas of the country. But I'm concerned with the
    current direction of some of these programs. For example, the
    Rural Healthcare Program has been capped at $400 million since
    its inception, even now, as that demand has been growing every
    year. This year, providers in New Mexico have been adversely
    impacted due to the unilateral actions of the program
    administrator, denying requests for funding because there is
    not enough funding. This is not sustainable for rural
    healthcare providers, and it's not fair to patients in rural
    communities.
        New Mexico has successfully used the Rural Healthcare
    Program, and it has saved significant healthcare dollars. For
    example, Project Access, a partnership between the University
    of New Mexico and a rural hospital, has performed over 1,200
    consults across the state, saving patients the expense of being
    transported hundreds of miles to our largest city, Albuquerque.
    This program alone is estimated to have saved rural New Mexico
    hospitals $12 million, which is obviously a very significant
    savings.
        The high-cost fund and the Connect America Program support
    carriers providing service to rural areas, but too many rural
    carriers in New Mexico face both shrinking support from the FCC
    and increased costs. We must do better if we genuinely want the
    Internet of Things to be a reality for rural connectivity.
        Mr. Adcock, has the University of Mississippi Medical
    Center received support from the Rural Healthcare Fund?
        Mr. Adcock. We have, as the hub of several spokes, so yes,
    in the rural areas.
        Senator Udall. Do you think that fund should be increased
    to better support increased participation in the program?
        Mr. Adcock. I think the more funds that are available, the
    more that we can spread our service.
        Senator Udall. And, Mr. Adcock, healthcare providers in New
    Mexico have expressed concern that the Universal Service
    Administrative Company requires them to enter into long-term
    contracts with service providers without a guarantee of funding
    from the Rural Healthcare program. Do you have the same
    concern?
        Mr. Adcock. I can't speak to that. I'll have to get back to
    you with that answer.
        Senator Udall. Are there any others that are familiar with
    that, the Universal----
        [No verbal response.]
        Senator Udall. OK.
        Mr. Terzich, I'm concerned about the cybersecurity and
    protection of information that could be transmitted in the
    event of a cybersecurity attack. Can you talk about the
    appropriate cyber hygiene procedures that should be in place to
    protect business and consumers?
        Mr. Terzich. Thank you, Senator. From a Zebra perspective,
    we principally deal with enterprise B-to-B business, and a big
    part of the planning and the rollout of IoT solutions is a
    conjoined effort between the enterprise customer and our
    organization. A lot of our devices, as similarly mentioned in
    some prior conversation--a lot of our devices are generating
    information that is transmitted, and analytical data is shared
    over the broadband infrastructure.
        So, for us, it's imperative that we design, in cooperation
    with the enterprise customer, the appropriate security measures
    to prevent cybersecurity issues. We have some of the world's
    largest customers that have a very high degree of interest in
    this particular area.
        On the consumer side, I do see and I do recognize the
    proliferation of IoT devices will result in more encroachment
    opportunities if there isn't some form of certification and/or
    regulation for some of those devices. We've seen too many
    examples now of devices that become a portal for some
    wrongdoing, and I do think that there has to be some more
    controls imparted on the device manufacturers as part of that
    network.
        Senator Udall. Thank you to all of you for your testimony.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Senator Udall.
        Senator Duckworth.

                  STATEMENT OF HON. TAMMY DUCKWORTH,
                       U.S. SENATOR FROM ILLINOIS

        Senator Duckworth. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        I want to thank the Chair and Ranking Member for today's
    hearing, and I also want to thank our witnesses for
    participating in this very important conversation.
        Today, in the 21st Century, approximately 1.1 million
    people in Illinois are without access to broadband, and 1.2
    million people have access to only one wire provider, and
    another 368,000 don't even have wired Internet providers where
    they live. Frankly, we have children who can't do their
    homework because of the lack of access.
        Mr. Terzich, it's such a pleasure to have you here today
    representing Zebra Technologies, headquartered in Lincolnshire.
    I understand that Zebra's work in the healthcare sector
    provides smartphone platforms that provide a network of
    healthcare facilities in the Midwest to facilitate faster,
    better information sharing, and also response to individual
    patient care.
        I know you've talked a little bit about the logistics part
    of your work, but I'd love to focus a little bit more on the
    healthcare side. About an hour south of where you're located is
    Edward Hines, Jr., VA Hospital, where I go to get my
    healthcare. It's operating a virtual ICU that provides
    continuous monitoring of veterans receiving ICU care throughout
    the entire region. They also offer outpatient care to satellite
    clinics, including six CBOC community-based outpatient clinics,
    via telehealth equipment so these patients don't have to be
    located in the Chicagoland area. They can be anywhere in
    Illinois, Manteno, or any place like that.
        Can you discuss how Zebra's smartphone platforms work and
    how this type of technology can provide more efficient and
    better quality government services, such as by our VA
    hospitals?
        Mr. Terzich. Thank you, Senator, for the question. The
    healthcare segment--for the record, the healthcare segment for
    our business is the fastest growing segment that we have in our
    business. It has principally been driven off of the fact that,
    by and large, the healthcare value chain, if you will--supply
    chain, value chain--is still one of the most inefficient,
    error-fraught value chain that there is in the marketplace. So
    healthcare providers, both at the VA level and at the private
    sector, have been turning to more IoT-based solutioning.
        The challenges of healthcare are many. The patient safety
    initiative has been a very viable one. We use a lot of our
    mobile computing IoT solutions to do a positive patient bedside
    application of medicine to avoid catastrophic errors or
    misapplication of meds so it improves the patient safety
    initiative.
        There's a critical need in healthcare across the network of
    finding available equipment. It's no longer sufficient to know
    where equipment exists in a hospital. You need to know that
    that equipment is staged and ready to be applied. So hospitals
    are using dynamic workflow to get better utilization out of
    equipment, ensuring the right equipment is in the right
    surgical centers at the right time.
        Mr. Adcock had mentioned earlier there is a growing--we see
    a growing interest by the private sector and by the VA to push
    more healthcare to the home. That's principally based on a
    number of reasons. There's a drive for better patient
    satisfaction, but there's also a significant push to lower the
    cost of healthcare, which is a challenge in and of itself here
    in the United States.
        Senator Duckworth. Thank you. Can you talk a little bit
    also about other potential applications in healthcare that
    maybe are more future-based, beyond just where you are now? As
    you said, it's a growing sector. It can bring down healthcare
    costs. But I just think of the myriad of applications, for
    example, for patients in rural communities who can't get to a
    large hospital and being able to direct them to the kind of
    care that they need or to get the care to them.
        Mr. Terzich. The home healthcare space is growing. The
    satellite network care application is growing as well. So
    hospitals are forming smaller satellite locations where the
    exchange of information--they bridge some of the distance that
    patients have to travel in order to get some form of in-
    hospital healthcare--is a growing area.
        You had mentioned earlier the Edward Hines Hospital. We're
    doing a lot of work now, a lot of exploratory work, where they
    are optimizing the workflow of a surgical center. The idea of
    turning the surgical center over more frequently is no
    different than turning airplanes off of a gate more quickly.
    You have high-priced equipment, you have high-priced
    caregivers, and how do they stage equipment, stage the surgical
    teams in an appropriate way to move more patients through,
    increase patient safety, get greater utilization of assets.
        Senator Duckworth. Thank you so much.
        I yield back.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you, Senator Duckworth.
        Mr. Adcock, in your testimony, you say that mobile
    broadband has worked for the remote patient monitoring pilot
    program, but, quote, ``as telehealth grows and additional
    services are available in the home, a more flexible fixed
    solution will be necessary.'' What do you mean by that and why?
        Mr. Adcock. I think that some of the issues that we run
    into with mobile technology--and thank you for the question.
    Some of the issues that we've run into with mobile technology
    is around the type of materials homes are built around. So if
    you have a tin roof, if you have a tin mobile home, we have
    some issues with signal getting in from a cellular standpoint.
    So being able to have access to different reliable means that
    aren't affected by the type of home, aren't affected by
    weather, aren't affected by line of sight, is extremely
    important to us.
        As we connect with patients across the state and the
    telehealth grows across the country, we need to be able to
    get--we need to be able to deliver healthcare where and when
    you need it, and the only way to do that is to have reliable
    service, whether that's fixed service, whether that's mobile
    service, that is more reliable and more available and faster.
    Any and all of those are important to us as we try to deliver
    healthcare.
        Senator Wicker. Well, how realistic is that? Wouldn't more
    reliable mobile be a little more realistic than fixed, in terms
    of actually our ability to get it done?
        Mr. Adcock. In patients' homes, absolutely, for sure.
        Senator Wicker. Let me ask you, Ms. Siefer. A number of us
    have stressed the Universal Service Fund. In my opening
    statement, I said the FCC needs to take steps to ensure that
    this provides adequate and predictable support. At the current
    rate, where are we going to be 5 years from now or even 10
    years from now, at the current rate of deployment of broadband
    coverage?
        Ms. Siefer. So the current rate is too slow, in terms of
    the deployment itself and the speed of what it is they're
    deploying. So if you look at the different Federal programs,
    they're not all 25-3. Some of them are 10-1. So we're putting
    Federal money into new infrastructure that's only 10-1.
        Senator Wicker. OK. Well, help us out here. Is this a
    measurement?
        Ms. Siefer. Correct.
        Senator Wicker. A measurement of coverage, which is
    technical and which we understand a little bit about. You said
    that--in your testimony, you said that 39 percent of rural
    Americans lack access to broadband service, and that's if you
    measure it at----
        Ms. Siefer. At 25-3.
        Senator Wicker.--at 25 up and 3 down.
        Ms. Siefer. Yes, sir.
        Senator Wicker. Now, as I understand it, that's going to
    change to 25 down and 1 up? Is that right?
        Ms. Siefer. The current recommendation of the FCC is to
    change it, but it has not changed yet.
        Senator Wicker. If that changes, what would that 39 percent
    become? I guess it would be a better looking figure.
        Ms. Siefer. It's a better looking figure, but it hasn't
    changed anybody's life, no.
        Senator Wicker. Well, let me ask the rest of you. At the
    current rate, are we expanding service at any rate that's going
    to get us where we need to be 5 years from now, 10 years from
    now? Would anybody like to comment on that?
        Mr. Armitage.
        Mr. Armitage. On the wireless side, absolutely. On the
    wired side, probably less so. This is very dependent upon the
    availability of wireless spectrum, but our ability to deploy
    new wireless technologies that deliver high speed to remote
    areas is extraordinary. There are two new technologies coming
    out right now, this year, called LTE, NB, and LTE Cat M1, which
    are transforming the industrial Internet of Things and bringing
    connectivity to remote areas through the existing LTE network,
    that, frankly, is the most important thing probably that's
    happened in the last 10 years, in my experience in the
    industrial IoT space. So the world is changing quickly on the
    wireless side.
        Senator Wicker. I believe you had a recommendation in your
    testimony, Mr. Armitage, that incentives need to change. Would
    you explain what you meant by that?
        Mr. Armitage. I don't believe that was in my testimony. I
    believe the oil and gas industry has every incentive in the
    world, driven by low commodity prices, to reduce operating
    expenses, and that they are acting quickly to streamline their
    business process and leveraging industrial IoT to do it.
        Senator Wicker. All right. Thank you.
        I think we now go back to Senator Markey.
        Senator Markey, you are recognized.

                   STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD MARKEY,
                    U.S. SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS

        Senator Markey. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, very much.
        The Internet of Things could also be considered the
    Internet of Threats. It has a dual personality, and it is
    absolutely essential that we provide protections for
    appropriate cybersecurity and data security to be built into
    these devices. As many as 50 billion IoT devices are projected
    to be in our pockets and homes by the year 2020. Cybersecurity
    will continue to pose a direct threat to economic prosperity,
    privacy, and our Nation's security. That's why I introduced the
    Cyber Shield Act, which would create a voluntary cybersecurity
    certification program for IoT devices.
        The Cyber Shield Act will establish an advisory committee
    of cybersecurity experts from academia, industry, consumer
    advocacy communities, and the public to create cybersecurity
    benchmarks for IoT devices, such as baby monitors, cameras,
    cell phones, laptops, and tablets. The IoT manufacturers can
    then voluntarily certify that their products meet those
    industry standards, the leading cybersecurity and data security
    benchmarks, and display this certification to the public. The
    program will both reward manufacturers adhering to best
    practices and assure that consumers can reliably identify the
    most secure products.
        For each witness, do you believe that a program like this
    will help to improve our devices' cybersecurity?
        Mr. Adcock.
        Mr. Adcock. Again, I think that with the programs that
    we're using, we make sure that the data is encrypted. But, yes,
    anything that we can do to increase the security standards
    would be greatly appreciated from a healthcare standpoint.
        Senator Markey. Great.
        Mr. Armitage.
        Mr. Armitage. In a word, no.
        Senator Markey. Please explain.
        Mr. Armitage. The pace of sophistication of the bad actors
    is extraordinarily fast, probably can outstrip any regulatory
    standards that we could put in place, and, in fact, those well
    defined standards may provide a bull's eye for the bad actors
    rather than the objective, which is to provide a shield. So I
    would suggest that, at least in the industrial sector, the
    industries have tremendous incentive to secure all ends of
    every piece of telemetry, and they are doing that aggressively,
    and, literally, week by week, month by month, they are evolving
    their sophistication.
        Senator Markey. Of course, the problem is not the ones who
    are doing it. The problem is the ones who aren't doing it.
    That's the problem. So by giving a special status to those who
    are doing it, it essentially is saying to consumers, it's
    saying to the world, well, here's a whole crowd over here
    that's changing this thing, and they're not spending the money,
    and that could be half of all of the entities that we're
    talking about.
        Mr. Armitage. And I don't focus on the consumer space, in
    all fairness. I focus strictly on B-to-B. So in the business
    space, those companies will not be selling products for very
    long if they don't secure their products.
        Senator Markey. Right. They won't be, but the public should
    know. They can see it on a car. They can see it on energy star.
    They can see, you know, what gets a good rating and what
    doesn't, so you could vie for the rating, at least, to say for
    this past year they were in the ball park. But it doesn't last
    forever, an energy star rating. But you don't see any merit in
    that at all, Mr. Armitage?
        Mr. Armitage. I think the challenge is that standards are
    evolving----
        Senator Markey. I appreciate that. I'm not saying it lasts
    forever, but for the duration of time that we establish it,
    you've got it, you know, and if you don't keep it up, then----
        Mr. Armitage. I absolutely hear you, and I support the
    notion of creating standards, as long as we understand that
    they're very transient.
        Senator Markey. Right, but they're very transient in every
    area. It's like--if you have no standards, then the only person
    that ultimately gets hung is the consumer. They don't know
    anything. They're just assuming that some CEO that's trying to
    squeeze out a few extra bucks for their pocket, you know, and
    they don't want to spend the money on improving their security
    is actually concerned about them when it's only crocodile tears
    that are coming out of their eyes. So we want them to adopt an
    RSA standard. We want them to adopt a top standard.
        Mr. Hassinger, I'm going to run out of time here. What do
    you think?
        Mr. Hassinger. I sure acknowledge that there is a need for
    standards. Specifically to the Shield Act, I can't speak to it.
    I would need to come back to you with----
        Senator Markey. But the concept of having some information
    out there that people can rely upon?
        Mr. Hassinger. I support that standards are set, as I say.
    To go further than that, I actually need to come back to you
    with more of a thorough response.
        Senator Markey. Right.
        Mr. Terzich, the industry participant, we just voluntarily
    put up that they're actually complying with the standard. What
    do you think?
        Mr. Terzich. I think in the B-to-C space, it would
    certainly be additive and helpful. It would deter, but not
    prevent, as we know. I think there will be and there is an
    expectation of a proliferation of devices on a go-forward
    basis, and there are other complicating factors associated with
    deterrence, including, for the consumer, the home network in
    and of itself and other forces and other factors.
        Senator Markey. One of the standards would be that as the
    security evolves that it improves over time with patches, that
    that company is going to be patching as they see it, and that's
    the standard they're going to adopt. What do you think about
    that?
        Ms. Siefer. I would just ask that within that, there also
    be the education of the consumer so that they understand how to
    use it.
        Senator Markey. But how about if you're meeting the
    standard, that you make it--you're allowed to make it public,
    and that you're going to be updating.
        Ms. Siefer. Yes, because, as we know, if folks aren't
    comfortable--if they think that their data is going to be
    stolen, if anything is going to be stolen from them, if they're
    scared, they're not going to participate in the IoT.
        Senator Markey. I got you.
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
        Senator Wicker. Thank you.
        Let me just ask Ms. Siefer this about the Commission's Form
    477 data collection process. Can you share your views on how
    the Form 477 data collection process can be modernized to
    improve our understanding of where broadband coverage is not
    adequate to support IoT technologies?
        Ms. Siefer. We need to know who has broadband and where.
    Currently, the Form 477--if a provider is serving one
    individual in a census block, that census block is good, which
    we all know is particularly problematic in rural areas, because
    if you have a large census block and one person has coverage,
    we're getting an inaccurate picture.
        So we need to narrow it down much smaller than a census
    block, and we also need to know the speeds at which--because
    right now, they have these very unusual, doesn't kind of make
    sense, blocks of speeds. But rather, we need to be able to look
    at what speeds are actually being offered by the providers and
    know that that's what's available in those areas.
        The one extra thing that nobody wants to talk about is
    cost. It's not part of Form 477 discussions, generally, because
    the providers are really uncomfortable sharing what they are
    charging the consumer. So a bigger issue that's kind of out
    there, that's probably not going to be addressed by Form 477,
    is that we need to know what the cost of broadband is for the
    consumer.
        Senator Wicker. Does the Form 477 answer your census block
    concern?
        Ms. Siefer. Not currently, no.
        Senator Wicker. So you think that needs to be fixed?
        Ms. Siefer. And that is one that is very fixable.
        Senator Wicker. How do we fix that?
        Ms. Siefer. The providers need to be telling us at a
    smaller level and/or more accurately. We cannot say that it's
    OK that they tell us a census block--that they have coverage in
    that census block if only one person has coverage.
        Senator Wicker. Who's going to decide how narrowly to
    divide those blocks up?
        Ms. Siefer. The FCC has the authority to decide that.
        Senator Wicker. On this 25 down and 3 up and 10 down and 1
    up measure of broadband speeds, what broadband speeds does one
    need to currently operate IoT technologies?
        Ms. Siefer. So that's a hugely--the answer varies massively
    by the technology and by the individual who's using the
    technology. So, as mentioned earlier, as video becomes more
    common within the health industry, and we are then wanting that
    patient in their home to use that video with their health
    providers, 10-1 is insufficient, but we're not at a point where
    everybody needs video, currently. But we all shouldn't be
    making decisions about what our situation is now. We as a
    country need to be planning for the future.
        Senator Wicker. Does anyone else want to engage in the
    issue about what speeds are adequate now in terms of operating
    IoT technologies?
        [No verbal response.]
        Senator Wicker. No volunteers? One other thing.
        Ms. Siefer, you say we don't currently have a program to
    address cost. What do you advocate?
        Ms. Siefer. So we don't currently have data that tells us
    what it costs for someone to have broadband in their home. If
    you even do a quick online search, what you'll be able to find
    is an introductory price from a provider at that particular
    address, and you might be able to find what their regular cost
    is. And, sometimes, if you call the provider, they'll tell you
    what the regular cost is. But they don't always, and you can't
    go online right now and find a map that tells us if it's more
    expensive here, it's least expensive here, and these are the
    different price points. So that is something that would need to
    be legislated. That is not--the FCC is never going to tell the
    providers----
        Senator Wicker. Do they have the authority?
        Ms. Siefer. They have the authority, but I don't know that
    they have the political interest.
        Senator Wicker. So administration in and administration
    out, Democrat, Republican?
        Ms. Siefer. No, none of them.
        Senator Wicker. They have not done so. Would you advocate
    legislation?
        Ms. Siefer. It would have to be legislation.
        Senator Wicker. Does anyone wish to take issue with that?
        [No verbal response.]
        Senator Wicker. Well, thank you all for your testimony. I
    think it has raised a lot of questions that need to be looked
    at, but I think we're considerably better off having had your
    testimony, and thank you for working with us and spending the
    time.
        Now, I have to make an announcement before we close. I
    would like to enter into the record a letter from the
    Competitive Carriers Association, which underscores the
    importance of expanding high-speed, reliable Internet
    connectivity to rural areas to advance the Internet of Things
    in these communities. We'll do that without objection.
        [The letter referred to follows:]

                               Competitive Carriers Association
                                                       November 7, 2017

    Hon. Roger Wicker, Chairman,
    Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the
    Internet,
    U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation,
    Washington, DC.

    Hon. Brian Schatz, Ranking Member,
    Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the
    Internet,
    U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
    Washington, DC.

    Dear Chairman Wicker and Ranking Member Schatz:

        Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) commends the Subcommittee
    for holding today's hearing on the use and benefits of the Internet of
    Things (IoT) in rural areas and respectfully asks that this letter be
    added to the hearing record. CCA's members serve many rural and remote
    parts of our country and understand how providing mobile broadband
    services in these areas is fundamental to providing consumers,
    businesses, public safety officials, health professionals, farmers and
    others with the latest advances in IoT. It is important to note,
    however, the innovations discussed at today's hearing will not be
    possible without robust network connectivity. Coverage and access to a
    network are the beginnings of all things IoT.
        IoT is transforming every sector of America: healthcare, education,
    finance, agriculture, transportation, public safety and commerce. In
    fact, rural Americans stand to benefit most from these revolutionary
    innovations, and are today early adopters of the latest technologies.
    New innovations will help support continued investment in networks in
    rural areas as business models built on a ``river of pennies'' approach
    aggregate scale economies from thousands of new connections. However,
    this future is far from certain, and absent policy decisions to
    preserve and expand mobile broadband in rural America, the future of
    IoT in rural areas will be limited.
    Universal Service
        Congress created the Universal Service Fund to support reasonably
    comparable services in urban and rural areas. In today's increasingly
    connected world, those services must include ubiquitous mobile
    broadband services. With the support of bipartisan and steadfast
    leadership from this Committee, the Federal Communications Commission
    (FCC) is moving forward with Phase II of the Mobility Fund.
    Importantly, the FCC is collecting updated and more reliable mobile
    coverage data to determine eligible areas based on a map that should
    more closely resemble consumers' on-the-ground experiences. CCA
    appreciates this Committee's support and ongoing oversight of Mobility
    Fund II as it is implemented to preserve and expand mobile services
    today and lays the foundation for the future of 5G. Next generation
    networks will power untold innovations and are key to unleashing IoT
    technologies in rural areas, and Congress should continue work to
    ensure that the high cost areas connected through USF support, combined
    with private investments, become and remain served.
    Streamlining Deployment
        Today, the mobile broadband infrastructure deployment process is
    fraught with unnecessary hurdles and delays that frustrate deployments
    and increase costs across the country. To support expanded IoT
    connections, Congress should champion policies that promote investment
    and streamline unnecessary hurdles through increased certainty
    regarding the facility siting process and timelines for application
    review. Siting is particularly challenging when seeking to deploy on
    Federal lands and facilities, where deployment is often necessary to
    serve rural areas. CCA supports legislative efforts to streamline the
    process and provide increased certainty, including the bipartisan
    ``Streamlining Permitting to Enable Efficient Deployment of Broadband
    Infrastructure Act of 2017'' or the ``SPEED Act'' (S. 1988), as well as
    the Senate-passed ``Making Opportunities Available for Mobile Broadband
    Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless
    Act'' or the ``MOBILE NOW'' Act (S. 19). Advancing and enacting these
    and other legislative efforts will promote mobile broadband deployment
    to keep pace with IoT proliferation.
    Spectrum
        Consumers have become accustomed to ubiquitous service even as
    increasingly the ``last mile'' technology is wireless. In addition to
    physical infrastructure, mobile broadband depends on the invisible
    airwaves that carry ever-growing amounts of data. Access to finite
    spectrum resources, including in rural America, is critical to keeping
    up with consumers' insatiable demand for data services and will be
    further strained as carriers work to deploy 5G next-generation
    technologies. These services, including IoT, require competitive
    carriers to have access to low-, mid-, and high-band spectrum. As the
    Federal government is the largest holder of spectrum, incentivizing
    opportunities to reallocate Federal spectrum for commercial mobile use
    will help support exponentially growing uses. Legislative initiatives
    such as the bipartisan ``Advancing Innovation and Widespread Access to
    Viable Electromagnetic Spectrum Act'' or the ``AIRWAVES Act'' (S. 1682)
    facilitate greater spectrum access while also supporting deployment in
    unserved and underserved areas using a portion of auction proceeds to
    expand services.
        Mobile networks are a key economic driver, and connecting Americans
    through new IoT technologies and innovations has the potential to
    improve quality of life for every citizen. Policymakers must ensure
    rural consumers are not left behind. CCA thanks the Subcommittee for
    its leadership on these important issues, and looks forward to
    continued engagement. We welcome any questions or comments on this
    timely topic.
                Sincerely,
                                               Steven K. Berry,
                                                     President and CEO.

    CC: The Honorable John Thune, Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science,
    and Transportation
    The Honorable Bill Nelson, Ranking Member, Committee on Commerce,
    Science, and Transportation

        Senator Wicker. The hearing record will remain open for two
    weeks. During this time, Senators are asked to submit any
    questions for the record. Upon receipt, the witnesses are
    requested to submit their written answers to the Committee as
    soon as possible, with all deliberate speed.
        If anyone has any reason why we should not conclude the
    hearing, speak now or forever hold your peace.
        [No verbal response.]
        Senator Wicker. The hearing is now adjourned, and we thank
    the witnesses.
        [Whereupon, at 11:46 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.]

                                A P P E N D I X

       Prepared Statement of Hon. Bill Nelson, U.S. Senator from Florida
        Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing. The Internet of
    Things has great potential to keep American industry competitive and
    productive and to keep Americans healthy.
        I am looking forward to learning about the latest technological
    developments and what they are doing for rural America. But I am also
    aware that the Internet of Things cannot reach its full potential
    without robust Internet connectivity.
        We also need to remember that the promise of the Internet of Things
    must be balanced with real concerns about privacy and the security of
    our networks. We should all work together to make sure the great
    potential of the Internet of Things does not fall victim to a lack of
    foresight and protections for these systems and the consumers and
    industries that will come to rely on them in the future.
                                     ______

          Response to Written Question Submitted by Hon. Tom Udall to
                                Michael Terzich
        Question. During our discussion in Committee, you stated that
    customers of your company, typically enterprise customers, will work
    with you to provide the particular cybersecurity needs. Is there a list
    of common requests you receive from the enterprise customers?
        Answer. Zebra has an internal cross-functional Information Security
    Council that works with Zebra customers to answer questions about our
    security architecture. Zebra's Information Security Council membership
    includes technical, legal and business leaders that respond to specific
    product security questions.
        Customers typically want to confirm that Zebra has formal policies
    and standards covering information asset restrictions, information
    asset classification and management, cryptographic controls, access
    controls, legal and regulatory compliance programs, operations and data
    systems security and facility security. Zebra provides assurances
    regarding the regular testing of key controls, systems, policies and
    procedures related to our security programs.
        In addition, customers often request a review of the Service
    Organization Control 2 (SOC2) report for Zebra's production data
    centers which documents various organizational controls related to
    security, availability and processing integrity.
        Finally, customers also seek confirmation that Zebra has
    appropriate access controls, administrative and technical measures to
    maintain the confidentiality of Customer's data including any
    Personally Identifiable Information (PII).
        The following are common high-level requests received from
    enterprise customers:

       Details on Zebra's use of encryption technologies.

       How physical-layer security is implemented in products.

       Details on the methods Zebra deploys for real-time detection
            and prevention of security-related incidents.

       Details on Zebra's compliance with international data
            privacy regulations.

       Specific information on policies related to the regular
            auditing of security controls. Examples of actual questions
            from customers by subject matter:
    Network Security
       Describe your network architecture.

       What is your firewall infrastructure?

       Is the network monitored 24/7?

       Is there proper security testing procedures to network
            infrastructure?

       Is your network properly secured (two step authentication,
            secure gateway, restricted network access etc.)?

       What are password standards?

       Have you implemented commercial software solutions that
            address virus/malware related issue?

       How is remote access to your network monitored and
            protected?

       Are appropriate user account restrictions in place to only
            allow employees to access information needed to complete their
            job duties?

       What mechanisms are in place to log, store and review all
            significant activity?

       Are server builds standardized and hardened to a level
            appropriate to the environment in which they operate?

       What procedures are in place for remaining up to date with
            system and security fixes, performing adequate testing and
            applying to production servers?

       Do you adhere to industry standards?

       Do you comply with applicable laws and regulations related
            to security and privacy?

       Does Zebra maintain insurance that covers security
            incidents?
    Data Handling
       How do you handle storage/transmission/use of personal
            information?

       How is one customer's data isolated from the data of other
            customers?

       Are databases encrypted?

       Where applicable, is Zebra PCI compliant?
    Backup/Disaster Recovery Plan
       How do you ensure ongoing service in the event that a system
            fails?

       What is your incident response procedure?

         Are all incidents logged?
    Managing Threats & Vulnerabilities
       How do you ensure that security measures are up to date?

       How are system patch and vulnerability identification
            managed?

       Are internal audits of information security systems present?

       Will customer information be stored outside of U.S.?

       Is third party network access restricted?

       Are third party security assessments performed?
    Personnel Access Security
       How are security policies communicated within the
            organization?

       How are confidentiality and security responsibilities
            addressed with employees, vendors, and consultants?

       Are pre-employment background checks performed?

       Are individuals subject to disciplinary action for violation
            of security requirements?

       Are staff only allowed to access the minimum amount of
            confidential information required to fulfill their job?

       Is there a security awareness program and is it included in
            employee training?

       What is required to access these applications (ID, Password,
            Token)?
    System Management
       How is security administered on Zebra systems?

       Does Zebra employ methods to detect and prevent malicious
            and/or accidental changes?

                                      [all]

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