[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 113 (Tuesday, September 10, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8463-S8468]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. LANDRIEU (for herself, Mr. Burns, Mr. Lott, Mr. Gregg, Ms. 
        Mikulski, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Kerry, and Mr. Dodd):
  S. 2922. A bill to facilitate the deployment of wireless 
telecommunications networks in order to further the availability of the 
Emergency Alert System, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Commerce, Science, and Transportation.
  Ms. LANDRIEU. Mr. President, today I rise to introduce the Emergency 
Communications and Competition Act, ECCA, along with my colleague from 
Montana, Senator Burns. I am pleased that this legislation has also 
been cosponsored by Senators Lott, Gregg, Mikulski, Leahy, and Baucus.
  This bill will ensure that consumers will soon be able to avail 
themselves of an innovative new wireless technology, recently approved 
by the Federal Communications Commission. It is called the Multichannel 
Video Distribution and Data Service, MVDDS, a title which accurately 
describes what this new service will provide consumers: cable 
competition and a high speed access to the Internet.
  Unless Congress Acts, however, it may be years before service is 
actually

[[Page S8464]]

deployed to the public. That would be a lost opportunity for consumers, 
we would lose the opportunity to improve our communications 
infrastructure, not only for our citizens' access to cable and the 
Internet, but also for public safety purposes. MVDDS technology can 
address all of these needs, and we should remove unnecessary and 
counterproductive regulatory obstacles that prevent its swift 
deployment.
  This bill is supported by consumer groups. The Consumers Union has 
endorsed this legislation, because it will help ensure that competition 
rapidly emerges for video programming as well as high speed Internet 
services. The Consumers Union notes that cable rates have risen 45 
percent since cable was deregulated in 1996, an increase that is almost 
three times faster than inflation. According to the FCC, just one 
percent of cable communities enjoy ``effective competition.'' MVDDS can 
go head-to-head with incumbent cable systems everywhere, and I believe 
that this good old fashioned competition will result in lower prices 
and better service for consumers even for those who don't choose to 
subscribe to MVDDS.
  This legislation has also been endorsed by the National Grange, 
America's oldest general farm and rural public interest organization. 
The National Grange recognizes the extraordinary opportunity this new 
wireless technology can offer rural Americans, but it fears that the 
FCC Order authorizing MVDDS failed to ensure that it will indeed 
adequately serve rural America. At this time I would ask that these two 
letters, and other letters of support, be published in the Record 
following my statement.
  The bill Senator Burns and I are introducing today will restore 
fairness in the FCC licensing process, and in so doing, speed the 
deployment of MVDDS to applicants that are ready to launch service to 
the public now.
  The ECCA provides that MVDDS applicants will be licensed in the same 
manner as satellite companies who applied on the same day to share the 
same spectrum. Currently, the FCC plans to subject only MVDDS 
applicants to an auction process. This would impose a discriminatory 
tax on an innovative new technology. Unfortunately, this is more of the 
same burdensome regulation that I believe has contributed to the 
collapse of the telecommunications sector. Government regulation is 
necessary, certainly; but we must be smart in how we regulate business. 
We must ensure that our laws and regulations are technologically 
neutral so that government policies don't replace the role of the 
marketplace in determining the fate of consumer products and services.
  Furthermore, an auction would drastically delay the introduction of 
service to the public. Mr. President, this is quite the opposite of 
what spectrum auctions are supposed to do. In this case, industry 
incumbents can use the auction to block the introduction of new 
competition. A company with vast resources available could easily 
trounce a small startup in an auction--and then, under the terms of the 
FCC's Order, it would not have to deploy service for 10 years. 
Consumers cannot wait for spectrum to be ``shelved'' for an entire 
decade.
  The ECCA solves this problem by ensuring that only qualified 
applicants will be licensed. That is, within six months of enactment, 
the FCC would issue licenses to any applicant that can demonstrate 
through independent testing that it will employ a technology that won't 
cause harmful interference to DBS operators with whom they would share 
spectrum. Then, to be sure that service is in fact deployed, the ECCA 
requires licensees to provide service to consumers within five rather 
than ten years.
  This legislation also requires that parties who apply for licenses 
under this provision must assume specific public interest obligations 
in exchange for their prompt licensing. The bill requires full must-
carry of local television stations, and an additional set aside of 4 
percent of system capacity for other public interest purposes such as 
tele-medicine and distance learning. I can assure my colleagues that 
these are issues particularly important in rural areas in states like 
Louisiana.
  The ECCA will also promote public safety, in two ways. First, it will 
require MVDDS licensees to air Emergency Alert System warnings. These 
alerts are presently carried by cable systems and over-the-air 
broadcasters. However, they are not seen by those who get their 
programming from DBS unless the viewer happens to be watching a local 
channel. In states like Louisiana, where DBS operators do not carry 
local stations, this is particularly important. Unfortunately, my state 
is not alone--local stations are also not carried in Alaska, Arkansas, 
Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North and South 
Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In total, over 1,100 TV stations 
are not carried by DBS.
  Second, this legislation requires MVDDS licensees to make their 
transmission systems available to national security and emergency 
preparedness personnel on a top-priority basis in times of need. We all 
know that when emergencies strike, the need for public safety personnel 
to communicate with one another skyrockets. MVDDS wireless networks, 
which will be deployed ubiquitously throughout the country, can help 
alleviate this thirst for spectrum.
  For these reasons, I believe that Congress should act on this matter 
as soon as possible. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and vote 
for enactment this year. I ask unanimous consent that the text of this 
bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2922

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Communications and 
     Competition Act of 2002''.

     SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

       The purposes of this Act are as follows:
       (1) To facilitate the deployment of new wireless 
     telecommunications networks in order to extend the reach of 
     the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to viewers of multichannel 
     video programming who may not receive Emergency Alert System 
     warnings from other communications technologies.
       (2) To ensure that emergency personnel have priority access 
     to communications facilities in times of emergency.
       (3) To promote the rapid deployment of low cost multi-
     channel video programming and broadband Internet services to 
     the public, without causing harmful interference to existing 
     telecommunications services.
       (4) To ensure the universal carriage of local television 
     stations, including any Emergency Alert System warnings, by 
     multichannel video programming distributors in all markets, 
     regardless of population.
       (5) To advance the public interest by making available new 
     high speed data and video services to unserved and 
     underserved populations, including schools, libraries, tribal 
     lands, community centers, senior centers, and low-income 
     housing.
       (6) To ensure that new technologies capable of fulfilling 
     the purposes set forth in paragraphs (1) through (5) are 
     licensed and deployed promptly after such technologies have 
     been determined to be technologically feasible.

      SEC. 3. LICENSING.

       (a) Grant of Certain Licenses.--
       (1) In general.--The Federal Communications Commission 
     shall assign licenses in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band for the 
     provision of fixed terrestrial services using the rules, 
     policies, and procedures used by the Commission to assign 
     licenses in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band for the provision of 
     international or global satellite communications services in 
     accordance with section 647 of the Open-market Reorganization 
     for the Betterment of International Telecommunications Act 
     (47 U.S.C. 765f).
       (2) Deadline.--The Commission shall accept for filing and 
     grant licenses under paragraph (1) to any applicant that is 
     qualified pursuant to subsection (b) not later than six 
     months after the date of the enactment of this Act. The 
     preceding sentence shall not be construed to preclude the 
     Commission from granting licenses under paragraph (1) after 
     the deadline specified in that sentence to applicants that 
     qualify after that deadline.
       (b) Qualifications.--
       (1) Non-interference with direct broadcast satellite 
     service.--A license may be granted under this section only if 
     operations under the license will not cause harmful 
     interference to direct broadcast satellite service.
       (2) Acceptance of applications.--The Commission shall 
     accept an application for a license to operate a fixed 
     terrestrial service in the 12.2-12.7 GHz band if the 
     applicant--
       (A) successfully demonstrates the terrestrial technology it 
     will employ under the license with operational equipment that 
     it furnishes, or has furnished, for independent testing 
     pursuant to section 1012 of the Launching Our Communities' 
     Access to Local Television Act of 2000 (47 U.S.C. 1110); and
       (B) certifies in its application that it has authority to 
     use such terrestrial service technology under the license.

[[Page S8465]]

       (3) Clarification.--Section 1012(a) of the Launching Our 
     Communities' Access to Local Television Act of 2000 (47 
     U.S.C. 1110(a); 114 Stat. 2762A-141) is amended by inserting 
     ``, or files,'' after ``has filed''.
       (4) PCS or cellular services.--A license granted under this 
     section may not be used for the provision of Personal 
     Communications Service or terrestrial cellular telephony 
     service.
       (c) Prompt Commencement of Service.--In order to facilitate 
     and ensure the prompt deployment of service to unserved and 
     underserved areas and to prevent stockpiling or warehousing 
     of spectrum by licensees, the Commission shall require that 
     any licensee under this section commence service to consumers 
     within five years of the grant of the license under this 
     section.
       (d) Expansion of Emergency Alert System.--Each licensee 
     under this section shall disseminate Federal, State, and 
     local Emergency Alert System warnings to all subscribers of 
     the licensee under the license under this section.
       (e) Access for Emergency Personnel.--
       (1) Requirement.--Each licensee under this section shall 
     provide immediate access for national security and emergency 
     preparedness personnel to the terrestrial services covered by 
     the license under this section as follows:
       (A) Whenever the Emergency Alert System is activated.
       (B) Otherwise at the request of the Secretary of Homeland 
     Security.
       (2) Nature of access.--Access under paragraph (1) shall 
     ensure that emergency data is transmitted to the public, or 
     between emergency personnel, at a higher priority than any 
     other data transmitted by the service concerned.
       (f) Additional Public Interest Obligations.--
       (1) Additional obligations.--Each licensee under this 
     section shall--
       (A) adhere to rules governing carriage of local television 
     station signals and rules concerning obscenity and indecency 
     consistent with sections 614, 615, 616, 624(d)(2), 639, 640, 
     and 641 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 534, 
     535, 536, 544(d)(2), 559, 560, and 561);
       (B) make its facilities available for candidates for public 
     office consistent with sections 312(a)(7) and 315 of the 
     Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 312(a)(7) and 315); and
       (C) allocate 4 percent of its capacity for services that 
     promote the public interest, in addition to the capacity 
     utilized to fulfill the obligations required of subparagraphs 
     (A) and (B), such as--
       (i) telemedicine;
       (ii) educational programming, including distance learning;
       (iii) high speed Internet access to unserved and 
     underserved populations; and
       (iv) specialized local data and video services intended to 
     facilitate public participation in local government and 
     community life.
       (2) License boundaries.--In order to ensure compliance with 
     paragraph (1), the Commission shall establish boundaries for 
     licenses under this section that conform to existing 
     television markets, as determined by the Commission for 
     purposes of section 652(h)(1)(C)(i) of the Communications Act 
     of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 534(h)(1)(C)(i)).
       (g) Redesignation of Multichannel Video Distribution and 
     Data Service.--The Commission shall redesignate the 
     Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS) as 
     the Terrestrial Direct Broadcast Service (TDBS).
                                  ____



                                              Consumers Union,

                                  Washington, DC, August 29, 2002.
       Dear Senator: On behalf of Consumers Union, we are writing 
     to seek your support for the Emergency Communications and 
     Competition Act of 2002, sponsored by Senators Landrieu and 
     Burns. This legislation would benefit consumers by ensuring 
     that quality wireless spectrum is available for video 
     programming and a wide range of public services, including 
     emergency warnings.
       Consumers Union has long advocated for policies that will 
     increase competition to cable television and encourage 
     deployment of advanced Internet services to rural and 
     underserved communities, and we support policies that 
     encourage efficient use of wireless spectrum. We believe that 
     multichannel video and data distribution service (MVDDS) 
     could provide an extraordinary opportunity for consumers to 
     receive video programming, local broadcast, and broadband 
     Internet access at affordable prices, by efficiently reusing 
     satellite spectrum. However, a recent FCC order authorizing 
     MVDDS fails to ensure that this spectrum will be used for the 
     purpose of competition for video programming.
       Nationwide, consumers have seen their cable television 
     rates rise 45 percent since cable was deregulated in 1996, an 
     increase almost three times faster than inflation. In the few 
     areas where there is robust competition among cable 
     providers, rate increases have been less draconian; consumers 
     receive more channels for less money. Direct competition for 
     video services should be a high public policy priority 
     because it results in lower prices and better service for 
     consumers.
       Instead, the FCC's decision seems to better serve the 
     interests of companies who want to provide wireless data 
     services to businesses, by defining markets in a way that it 
     will be difficult to provide video services. By basing MVDDS 
     licenses on an entirely different geographic system than what 
     is currently used for television markets, the FCC order would 
     render local television carriage all but impossible, 
     perpetuating artificial scarcity for video spectrum. This 
     virtually forecloses the possibility that MVDDS could be a 
     robust competitor to cable.
       At a time when the FCC has also eliminated the 45 MHz 
     spectrum cap, inviting more wireless consolidation, it is far 
     less critical to put additional spectrum on the market for 
     non-video services. Accordingly, we support the Emergency 
     Communications and Competition Act of 2002 as a sound 
     approach to ensure that MVDDS is a vehicle for real 
     competition to cable television, especially in rural and 
     underserved areas.
       First, the bill would facilitate licensing of companies in 
     the 12.2-12.7 GHz band that are committed to providing these 
     needed consumer services. Moreover, this bill requires that 
     licensees build out these services within five years, 
     compared with the FCC's order which allows license holders to 
     warehouse MVDDS spectrum as long as ten years before 
     providing services. Second, the Emergency Communications and 
     Competition Act of 2002 would ensure access to local 
     broadcast signals by including full must carry requirements 
     and retransmission consent requirements in all television 
     markets. Third, this bill fixes the market boundary 
     definition problem by setting license boundaries that conform 
     to existing television market boundaries.
       Importantly, the bill would also require each licensee to 
     disseminate Federal, State and local Emergency Alert System 
     warnings to all subscribers. Currently, subscribers to 
     Digital Broadcast Satellite (DBS) programming only receive 
     alerts if they happen to live in an area where local 
     programming is carried by DBS providers. This possibility is 
     denied to subscribers in the 13 states in which DBS provides 
     no local channels (AK, AR, ID, IA, LA, ME, MT, MS, NE, ND, 
     SD, WV, and WY). Given the heightened need for effective 
     local security and emergency management plans, consumers must 
     be able to receive Emergency Alerts regardless of where they 
     live and how they access video programming services.
       Finally, the Emergency Communications and Competition Act 
     of 2002 includes a number of specific public interest 
     obligations of tremendous benefit to consumers. The bill 
     requires a licensee to make its facilities available for 
     candidates for public office and to provide at least 4% of 
     its capacity for services that promote the public interest, 
     including telemedicine services, educational programming, 
     including distance learning, high speed Internet access to 
     unserved and underserved populations, or local data and video 
     services intended to facilitate public participation in local 
     government and community life.
       Consumers Union has long argued that American consumers 
     must have competitive alternatives for video programming as 
     well as for high speed Internet services. The Emergency 
     Communications and Competition Act 2002 will help ensure such 
     competition rapidly emerges. For all of these reasons, we ask 
     you to support the Emergency Communications and Competition 
     Act of 2002.
           Respectfully,
     Chris Murray,
       Internet & Telecommunications Counsel.
     Gene Kimmelman,
       Senior Director.
                                  ____

                                                  National Grange,


                         of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry,

                                  Washington, DC, August 16, 2002.
     Hon. Mary L. Landrieu,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu: On behalf of the National Grange, I 
     am writing to thank you for introducing the Emergency 
     Communications and Competition Act of 2002 (ECCA) sponsored 
     by Sen. Mary Landrieu (LA) which would assure that 
     multichannel video and data distribution services (MVDDS) 
     will be available and affordable in every rural community 
     across the nation.
       The National Grange is America's oldest general farm and 
     rural public interest organization. Founded in 1867, today 
     the Grange represents nearly 300,000 Grange members 
     affiliated with 3200 local, county and state Grange chapters. 
     The Grange members are families and individuals who share a 
     common interest in community involvement, agricultural and 
     rural issues. The Grange is a genuine grassroots, bipartisan, 
     political advocacy organization. The goal of Grange advocacy 
     is the well being and prosperity of rural America.
       Rural telecommunication service deployment is a top 
     priority for the National Grange. In our priority issues 
     document Blueprint for Rural America 2002, we described the 
     vital need for telecommunications services in rural areas:

     ``Adequate access to telecommunications services such as 
     telephone, Internet, satellite and cable is important to 
     rural America. The Internet delivers services and products 
     efficiently, irrespective of geographic location. Today, 
     workers who telecommute can enjoy a rewarding career and a 
     rural life style. Satellite technology can bring new 
     information to every farm in America. We must assure

[[Page S8466]]

     that advanced telecommunications technologies are available 
     in every rural community at affordable costs.''

       We believe that multichannel video and data distribution 
     services (MVDDS), as set forth in the ECCA, provide an 
     extraordinary opportunity for rural Americans to receive 
     video programming, local broadcast, and broadband Internet 
     access at affordable prices. However, the FCC order 
     authorizing MVDDS failed to ensure that rural America will be 
     adequately served by this new technology. By contrast, the 
     ECCA would assure that MVDDS is available and affordable in 
     every rural community.
       First, the ECCA would facilitate licensing of services in 
     the 12.2-12.7 GHz band. It requires that licensees build out 
     services within five years. The FCC rule allows license 
     holders to warehouse MVDDS spectrum for as long as ten years 
     before providing services. Rural Americans cannot afford to 
     wait another ten years for access to advanced 
     telecommunitions technologies such as MVDDS. The National 
     Grange believes that license holders should be held to a 
     strict ``use or lose'' standard if they fail to deploy 
     services within the statutory five-year time frame.
       Second, the ECCA would reverse the FCC's inappropriate 
     decision to auction licenses in this band. Historically, 
     auctions have failed to foster competition, particularly in 
     rural markets. Only 31% of spectrum licenses offered for sale 
     in 2001 were actually sold. Rural areas remain grossly 
     underserved by spectrum licensing programs.
       Third, it would include full ``must carry'' requirements 
     for all local broadcast signals in all television markets 
     served by MVDDS providers. Consumers in rural areas depend on 
     local programming for news, information about local events, 
     and other important interests. However, in many states, rural 
     consumers are unable to receive those signals over Direct 
     Broadcast Satellite (DBS) services or even, in some cases, by 
     means of over-the-air free broadcasting.
       Fourth, the ECCA would require each licenses to disseminate 
     Federal, State and local Emergency Alert System warnings to 
     all subscribers. Currently, subscribers to DBS programming 
     may or may not receive alerts. DBS provides no local channels 
     in 13 states (AK, AR, ID, IA, LA, ME, MT, MS, NE, ND, SD, WV, 
     and WY). DBS subscribers in these states receive no emergency 
     or local broadcasts at all. Given the heightened need for 
     effective local security and emergency management plans, 
     rural Americans must receive Emergency Alerts regardless of 
     where they live and how they access video programming 
     services.
       Finally, the ECCA includes a number of specific public 
     interest obligations that will benefit rural consumers. The 
     bill requires a licenses to provide at least 4% of its 
     capacity for services that promote the public interest, 
     including telemedicine services, distance learning, high 
     speed Internet access to unserved and underserved 
     populations, or local data and video services intended to 
     facilitate public participation in local government and 
     community life. If implemented effectively, these provisions 
     could dramatically change the way that rural Americans engage 
     in civic life, experience education, and find necessary 
     medical services.
       The National Grange has a suggestion for improving this 
     bill. We support adding language to the ECCA to protect the 
     property interests of rural Americans with a provision 
     forbidding MVDDS licenses from being used as evidence of 
     public good for private property condemnation proceedings, 
     other than in the cases of existing utility or railroad 
     rights of way. We understand that MVDDS transmission 
     technology is very small, and should not require building new 
     towers or other projects that would require condemnation of 
     private property. Because of this we do not believe there 
     will be any technical justification for license holders to 
     ask local governments to exercise eminent domain authority on 
     private property in order to meet build out requirements.
       The National Grange has long argued that rural Americans 
     must have competitive alternatives to cable and Direct 
     Broadcast Satellite services, both for video and high speed 
     Internet services. The Emergency Communications and 
     Competition Act of 2002 will ensure that competitive service 
     is deployed in a timely manner along with critical local and 
     emergency broadcast signals in rural underserved areas. For 
     all of these reasons, we strongly support the Emergency 
     Communications and Competition Act of 2002.
           Sincerely,
     Kermit W. Richardson, President.
                                  ____

                                             Leadership Conference


                                              on Civil Rights,

                                Washington, DC, September 9, 2002.
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator: The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights 
     (LCCR), the nation's oldest, largest, and most diverse 
     coalition of organizations committed to the protection of 
     civil and human rights in the United States, writes to 
     express our support for the Electronic Communications and 
     Competition Act of 2002, sponsored by Senators Landrieu and 
     Burns. We believe that the legislation will help bridge the 
     digital divide by encouraging rapid deployment of a new 
     wireless multichannel video and data technology (MVDDS). This 
     new technology will bring low-cost broadband Internet and 
     video services to rural and underserved areas and increase 
     the prospects for media ownership by minorities and women.
       While LCCR was pleased that the Federal Communications 
     Commission approved the creation of MVDDS, the order failed 
     to ensure that MVDDS would provide local broadcast 
     television, video programming, and broadband Internet 
     services throughout the country. There is no question that 
     auctions favor incumbents and are a major impediment to 
     minority media ownership. The Electronic Communications and 
     Competition Act will ensure that MVDDS fulfills, among other 
     things, its potential to increase minority ownership and 
     bridge the digital divide.
       Notwithstanding the decades of civil rights community 
     advocacy, minority broadcast ownership is declining. Although 
     minorities represent more than one quarter of the nation's 
     population, they are just 23, or 1.9% of the 1288 owners of 
     licensed, full-power commercial broadcast television stations 
     in the United States.
       The Electronic Communications and Competition Act will 
     eliminate the auction requirement and compel immediate 
     licensing of all conforming MVDDS technologies. In addition, 
     it will require license-holders to build out services within 
     five years, significantly narrowing the digital divide. The 
     act will also require that a percentage of each license-
     holder's capacity be used for public interest purposes such 
     as distance education, telemedicine, or other important local 
     purposes.
       In sum, I urge you to support the Electronic Communications 
     and Competition Act. It provides a rare opportunity to 
     increase media diversity and to narrow the digital divide.
           Sincerely,
                                                Wade J. Henderson,
     Executive Director.
                                  ____



                                  National Council of La Raza,

                                Washington, DC, September 4, 2002.
       Dear Senator: As you know, the National Council of La Raza 
     (NCLR) has long advocated on behalf of the nation's growing 
     Hispanic community on a number of economic, education, and 
     other social policy issues. You may not be aware, however, 
     that NCLR has also had a long-standing interest in policy 
     affecting telecommunications, access to the Internet, and the 
     growing concentration of the media industry. That is why I am 
     writing today to seek your support for the Emergency 
     Communications and Competition Act of 2002, sponsored by 
     Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Conrad Burns (R-MT).
       NCLR has been a strong supporter in the past for policies 
     that will increase competition in the cable industry and 
     encourage deployment of advanced Internet services to rural 
     and underserved communities. We have also urged ``must 
     carry'' rules for all video programming competitors, 
     regardless of platform, to ensure that communities, 
     especially rural ones, have full access to local and 
     emergency broadcast signals. That is why earlier this summer 
     we wrote to a number of lawmakers expressing our support for 
     new technology that will provide multichannel video and data 
     distribution services (``MVDDS'') (a copy of that earlier 
     communication is attached). MVDDS provides a significant 
     opportunity for consumers to receive video programming, local 
     broadcasts and broadband Internet access at affordable 
     prices. As noted in that earlier correspondence, the FCC 
     order authorizing MVDDS failed in many significant respects 
     to serve the interests of consumers and underserved 
     communities.
       We urge Congress to enact the Emergency Communications and 
     Competition Act of 2002 to ensure that MVDDS benefits are 
     available to all consumers, especially in rural and 
     underserved areas, for a range of reasons.
       First, the bill would facilitate licensing of companies in 
     the 12.2-12.7 GHz band who are committed to providing these 
     needed consumer services. Additionally, this bill requires 
     licensees to build out these services within five years, 
     compared with the current FCC rule which allows license 
     holders to warehouse MVDDS spectrum for as long as ten years 
     before providing services.
       Second, the Emergency Communications and Competition Act of 
     2002 would include full ``must carry'' requirements and 
     retransmission consent requirements in all television 
     markets, thereby ensuring access to local broadcast signals. 
     Moreover, this bill sets license boundaries that conform to 
     existing television market boundaries. Local access is 
     critical as consumers depend on local programming for news, 
     information about local events, language appropriate 
     programming, and other critical interests. Current FCC rules 
     for the MVDDS licenses call for entirely different geographic 
     boundaries, which would render local television carriage 
     almost impossible.
       Third, the bill would require each licensee to disseminate 
     federal, state and local Emergency Alert System warnings to 
     all subscribers. Today, subscribers to Digital Broadcast 
     Satellite (``DBS'') programming only receive alerts if they 
     happen to live in areas where local programming is carried by 
     DBS providers. This possibility does not even exist in the 14 
     states in which DBS provides no local channels (AK, AR, ID, 
     IA, LA, ME, MT, MS, NE, ND, SD, VT, WV, and WY). Given the 
     heightened need for effective local security and emergency 
     management plans, consumers should be able to receive 
     Emergency Alerts regardless of where they live and how they 
     access video programming services.
       Fourth, the Emergency Communications and Competition Act of 
     2002 provides other

[[Page S8467]]

     important benefits to consumers by requiring a licensee to 
     provide at least 4% of its capacity for services that promote 
     the public interest, including telemedicine services, 
     educational and long distance learning proramming, high-speed 
     Internet access to unserved and underserved populations, and/
     or local data and video services intended to facilitate 
     public participation in local governments and community life, 
     and also requires a licensee to make its facilities available 
     for candidates for public office.
       Finally, as noted in our earlier correspondence, MVDDS is 
     likely to increase for minority broadcasting ownership 
     opportunities and Latino content over the airwaves, a 
     critically important consideration for NCLR.
       NCLR believes that all American consumers are entitled to 
     have access to competitive alternatives to cable and DBS 
     services, for both video and high-speed data services. For 
     the reasons set forth above, we ask you to support the 
     Emergency Communications and Competition Act of 2002.
           Sincerely,
                                                   Raul Yzaguirre,
     President.
                                  ____

                                               Avoyel-Taensa Tribe


                                                 of Louisiana,

                                  Simmesport, LA, August 28, 2002.
     Hon. Mary L. Landrieu,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu: I am writing on behalf of the 
     Avoyel-Taensa Indian Organization. We are a rural people by 
     nature and have an obvious concern about the development of 
     rural areas in Louisiana. The Emergency Communications and 
     Compensation Act of 2002 is critical for further development 
     in this legislation and hope that you decide to sponsor it.
       This legislation provides benefits for rural areas 
     previously not available. Schoolchildren will have access to 
     the internet--a significant advancement in education for 
     rural communities. Also, this legislation will provide access 
     to a wide-range of television stations for an entire rural 
     area at an affordable cost. Having telemedicine capabilities 
     in community health centers is becoming essential. This new 
     Bill would bring this technology to the rural communities.
       This new Bill will also require full ``must carry'' 
     requirements for all local broadcast signals in all 
     television markets. Consumers in rural areas depend on local 
     programming for news, information about local events, and 
     other important interests. Subscribers to Direct Broadcast 
     Satellite (DBS) do not have access to local broadcast signals 
     in the State of Louisiana.
       Most importantly, however, the Emergency Communications and 
     Competition Act of 2002 brings a new level of security to our 
     rural communities. DBS does not distribute Federal, State, 
     and Local emergency alerts to its subscribers. This Act will 
     ensure that emergency alerts will reach the rural 
     communities. Given the heightened need for local security and 
     emergency management, it is imperative that rural Americans 
     receive emergency alerts.
       There is a new technology, led by Northpoint Technology 
     that can effectively bring the luxury of satellite television 
     and the necessity of local programming and emergency alerts 
     at an affordable cost to the rural areas of Louisiana. We are 
     pleased you have taken an interest in this legislation and 
     stand by you if you decide to sponsor it.
           Sincerely Yours:
                                                    Romes Antoine,
     Tribal Chief
                                  ____

                                                  Wilma Mankiller,


                                             Route 1, Box 945,

                                    Stilwell, OK, August 16, 2002.
     Hon. Mary Landrieu,
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu: Thank you for drafting the 
     ``Emergency Communications and Competition Act.'' Passage of 
     your legislation will help facilitate the rapid deployment of 
     the Multichannel Video Distribution and Data Service (MVDDS), 
     a new wireless service that the Federal Communications 
     Commission recently authorized.
       This innovative wireless technology can provide affordable 
     video programming (including all local channels) and 
     broadband Internet access to consumers throughout the entire 
     country, and it will be particularly important to Native 
     Americans who live in rural areas where competition all too 
     often is lacking or non-existent.
       Your legislation will ensure that the FCC promptly issues 
     licenses to qualified applicants. As you know, the FCC has 
     decided to issue MVDDS licenses through an auction process. 
     Auctions have yet to facilitate the deployment of video 
     service or broadband to Native American communities. I'm 
     particularly worried that in this case an auction may prevent 
     the deployment of actual service for at least a decade.
       Unless Congress enacts your legislation, well-heeled 
     opponents of new completion could outbid small startups. 
     Auction participants aren't required to have a proven 
     technology and they don't have to deploy any service for ten 
     years. Your bill corrects this by requiring all applicants to 
     demonstrate they are capable of deploying MVDDS and requiring 
     them to do so in five years.
       The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the 
     nation's oldest, largest and most representative tribal 
     government, as well as the National Indian Telecommunications 
     Institute (NITI), a tribally-owned and operated not-for-
     profit organization dedicated to ensuring that Native 
     Americans have the same opportunity to participate in, and 
     benefit from, the digital revolution as other Americans have 
     urged the FCC to licenses to qualified applicants without an 
     auction process.
       As the NCAI wrote to the FCC on March 22, 2002, ``The 
     difficulty in finding service providers willing and able to 
     provide telecommunications to Native American communities is 
     well documented. As the FCC's own records show auctions do 
     nothing to narrow that gap and indeed may exacerbate the 
     problem.... If the FCC auctions use of the 12.2-12.7 GHz 
     band, the potential to bring video and broadband services to 
     our communities in that spectrum will remain unfulfilled.''
       I heartily share these concerns and thus I am very grateful 
     that you have crafted legislation that will ensure the 
     promise of MVDDS in rural America and tribal communities can 
     be fulfilled through prompt licensing of companies that are 
     ready, willing and able to offer new competitive service.
       I and several other Native Americans are local affiliates 
     of Northpoint Technology, the only company that has 
     demonstrated its technology through independent testing. We 
     clearly lack the resources to compete at an auction against 
     giant communications companies. I find it remarkable that 
     they are eligible to seek a license when they have no MVDDS 
     technology.
       It's also grossly unfair to subject us to MVDDS applicants 
     to an auction when the FCC is issuing licenses--without 
     auction--to several satellite companies that applied to share 
     the same spectrum on the same day I filed my license 
     application. Your legislation will ensure that terrestrial 
     and satellite applicants for the same spectrum are treated in 
     a like manner. While I believe that Northpoint is currently 
     the only qualified terrestrial applicant because it alone 
     submitted equipment for the independent testing conducted by 
     the MITRE Corporation last year, your legislation clearly 
     offers an opportunity for other companies to similarly become 
     qualified by subjecting their own technology to independent 
     testing this year.
           Sincerely,
                                                  Wilma Mankiller,
     Principal Chief, Cherokee Nation.
                                  ____

                                              Marzulla & Marzulla,


                                              Attorney at Law,

                                  Washington, DC, August 30, 2002.
     Re the Emergency Communications and Competition Act of 2002.

     Hon. Mary Landrieu,
     Senate Hart Office Building, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Landrieu: I am writing to thank you for 
     sponsoring the Emergency Communications and Competition Act 
     of 2002.
       This measure will promote the deployment of the Multi-
     channel Video Distribution and Data Service (``MVDDS''), an 
     innovative ground-based wireless digital technology that will 
     share spectrum with satellites in the 12.2-12.7 GHz spectrum 
     band. Sharing this spectrum will dramatically increase the 
     capacity of radio spectrum, and promises consumers new and 
     competitive choices for multi-channel video programming and 
     internet broadband services.
       Because of its affordability, this technology will also 
     make possible provision of broadband services to underserved 
     populations such as students, library users, Indians on 
     reservations, community center users, seniors, and residents 
     in low-income housing.
       However, this bill does more than benefit the consumer. 
     This bill also protects the intellectual property rights of 
     the inventors of this new technology, and thus is consistent 
     with the constitutional framers' intent that creators and 
     owners of intellectual property rights enjoy the fruits of 
     their labor.
       As you know, rather than permitting the inventors to 
     utilize their new technology, the FCC instead chose to 
     dismiss the inventors' licensing applications (after allowing 
     their application to languish for over three years), and 
     called for a nationwide spectrum auction. The FCC's refusal 
     to process the inventors' permit application for over three 
     years itself raises serious due process concerns. See, e.g., 
     MCI Telecommunications Corp. v. FCC, 627 F.2d 322, 341 (1980) 
     (``[D]elay in the resolution administrative proceedings can 
     also deprive regulated entities, their competitors or the 
     public of rights and economic opportunities without the due 
     process the Constitution requires.'').
       The FCC's decision to auction off the right to use the 
     inventors' technology, the only technology currently proven 
     able to allow terrestrial service to reuse the same spectrum 
     currently used by satellite systems, to the highest bidder 
     also smacks of a taking of private property without payment 
     of just compensation. See Ruckelshaus v. Monsanto Co., 467 
     U.S. 986, 1003 (1984) (``[I]ntangible property rights ... are 
     deserving of the protection of the Taking Clause has long 
     been implicit in the thing of [the Supreme] Court. . . .''); 
     Webb's Fabulous Pharmacies, Inc. v. Beckwith, 449 U.S. 155, 
     164 (1980) (holding that government may not ``by ipse 
     dixit,... transform private [property into public property 
     without just compensation.'').
       Thus, this bill should be enacted not only because it 
     protects the property rights of the inventors, but because it 
     also benefits consumers. This bill will require the FCC to 
     accept an application for a license to operate a

[[Page S8468]]

     fixed terrestrial service in the 12.2-2.7 GHz band only from 
     an applicant that ``will employ terrestrial service 
     technology under the license that has been successfully 
     demonstrated with operational equipment that the application 
     has furnished for testing pursuant to section 1012 of the 
     Launching Our Communities' Access to Local Television Act of 
     2000 (47 U.S.C. Sec. 1110) and certifies in its application 
     that it has authority to use such terrestrial service 
     technology under the license.'' See proposed bill at Sec. 3 
     (b)(1)(B)(i). This bill will also require a license to build 
     out the system covered by the license within five years of 
     the grant of the license. See proposed bill at Sec. 3 (c).
       These requirements will ensure that the FCC issues licenses 
     promptly and in a fair and constitutional manner to qualified 
     applicants (i.e., any party that demonstrates its own 
     technology can share spectrum with satellites would be 
     eligible for a license). This bill will finally enable 
     consumers to enjoy an important new competitive service that 
     is so long overdue.
       Seldom does one bill protect private property rights, 
     increase competition, and provide more service options for 
     the public. I am happy to report that this bill accomplishes 
     all three. I commend you for authoring this important 
     legislation and ask that you call upon me if any can be of 
     any assistance to help secure its passage.
           Yours truly,
     Nancie G. Marzulla.
                                  ____

  Mr. BURNS. Mr. President, today I rise with my colleague from 
Louisiana, Sen. Landrieu, to introduce the ``Emergency Communications 
and Competition Act of 2002'' or ``ECCA.''
  This bill will build upon previous legislation I authored, the LOCAL 
TV Act, to help ensure that all local TV stations, not just those in 
the largest markets are available to consumers. As a former 
broadcaster, I know Montana has some of the smallest of the Nations' 
210 television markets, from 169th-ranked Missoula all the way down to 
210th-ranked Glendive.
  Today, the satellite operators provide local channels in 52 markets. 
I'm not crossing my fingers that they will get to Glendive anytime 
soon. That's why we need this legislation. It will enable the rapid 
deployment of the new Multichannel Video Programming and Data 
Distribution Service, MVDDS, which the Federal Communications 
Commission authorized earlier this year.
  I commend the FCC for authorizing this new service, it not only 
promises to bring local channels to all markets, regardless of size, 
but it will also provide broadband Internet access to rural Americans 
who have no such access today. I expect that the low cost of this 
wireless technology will translate into low prices for consumers. This 
is precisely the kind of innovative new technology we should encourage 
and promote.
  I am most concerned, however, that unless we pass this legislation, 
we may never see the deployment of this new service. The FCC has 
determined that licenses for this new service should be auctioned. I 
appreciate the FCC's effort to help generate new revenues for the 
Federal Treasury, but we must never let that consideration override 
good public policy judgments. The public interest is best served when 
the spectrum is licensed promptly to applicants that are ready to 
deploy service.
  While auctions make sense in many instances, this is not always the 
case. Two years ago, Congress passed the ORBIT Act, legislation I 
authored which, in part, exempted from auctions ``spectrum used for the 
provision of international or global satellite communications 
services.''
  We are now confronted with a case of first impression in which the 
FCC has determined to issue licenses to both terrestrial and satellite 
applicants that share the same spectrum. Previously this was thought to 
be technologically impossible, as I mentioned, the FCC has now 
determined that the terrestrial-based MVDDS can share with satellites. 
In my judgment, the same Federal resource must be licensed in the same 
manner to all applicants, regardless of the technology they will 
employ. To do otherwise is to pick industry winners and losers. This 
bill corrects this problem.

                          ____________________