Sen. Thune Schedules Hearing on MOBILE NOW

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) has scheduled a hearing on the implementation of his MOBILE NOW Act.

The hearing, titled appropriately enough “The Evolution of Next-Generation Technologies: Implementing MOBILE NOW,” will be Dec. 5 at 10 a.m. 

The hearing will examine the implementation of several mandates required by the Making Opportunities for Broadband Investment and Limiting Excessive and Needless Obstacles to Wireless Act (MOBILE NOW). Witnesses will discuss MOBILE NOW’s spectrum provisions and the streamlining of broadband infrastructure on federal lands, among other things. 

Witnesses for the hearing are Paul TenHaken, mayor, Sioux Falls, S. D.; Jonathan Adelstein, president, Wireless Infrastructure Association (and former FCC commissioner); Scott Bergmann, senior vice president, regulatory affairs, CTIA—The Wireless Association ; Mary Brown, senior director, technology and spectrum policy, Cisco; and Sarah Morris, director, Open Technology Institute, New America. 

The MOBILE NOW Act makes sure that the FCC makes mid-band spectrum available for commercial use by 2020. It both promotes making more next-gen 5G wireless spectrum available and reduces obstacles to building out networks. 

The witnesses are being asked to talk about spectrum provisions in the bill and streamlining infrastructure buildouts on federal lands.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.