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The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bipartisan bill to reauthorize NTIA after 30 years
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The legislation aims to modernize NTIA’s functions, including spectrum management and cybersecurity oversight in telecom sector
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Congress’ passing the bill has garnered support from industry groups, including USTelecom
In a decisive vote late Wednesday the House of Representatives passed legislation to reauthorize the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) for the first time in over 30 years. The aim of the decision: to modernize the administration’s functions and responsibilities in the telecom sector.
New Street Research analyst Blair Levin told Fierce Network that the reauthorization “reflects that in this moment in time, NTIA has become a much more important player in telecom issues.”
The bipartisan bill, which passed by a vote of 374-36, aims to equip the NTIA with the necessary tools to fulfill its mission of providing ”affordable, reliable, high-speed” internet access to all U.S. households.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-OH) initially spearheaded the effort to reauthorize the NTIA in July 2023, saying the NTIA’s duties have “changed since it was last reauthorized.”
“This legislation reauthorizes the National Telecommunications and Information Administration for the first time in over 30 years and modernizes the mission of the agency,” Rodgers said in a statement this week.
The reauthorization bill, which extends the NTIA’s mandate through fiscal year 2025, introduces several key modifications to the agency’s structure and functions. Notably, it elevates the head of the NTIA to the rank of Under Secretary of the Department of Commerce and establishes statutory authority for two NTIA offices focused on public safety communications and international telecommunications policy.
The bill grants statutory authority to the NTIA Office of Spectrum Management and reforms the agency’s spectrum resource management, including new procedures for disclosing federal concerns. It mandates the NTIA to enhance spectrum resource efficiency and facilitate sharing.
Additionally, it expands the NTIA’s cybersecurity role, requiring initiatives such as a cybersecurity literacy campaign and reports on technology supply chains and mobile network cybersecurity.
Under the legislation, the NTIA must develop a strategy to bridge the digital divide and establish an interagency process to assess national security implications of foreign ownership in telecommunications. That process will replace the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the U.S. Telecommunications Services Sector, formerly known as “Team Telecom.”
At a budget hearing this week, NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson noted that the agency was last reauthorized in 1992, “before Google existed, before the web was popular, and today we find ourselves with massive responsibilities in those areas.”
He called reauthorizing the statute “long overdue,” and said it would provide more clarity about NTIA’s responsibilities in areas like internet policy, cybersecurity and spectrum “which are going to be incredibly important.”
At the hearing Rep. Frank Pallone for New Jersey’s District 6 noted the NTIA has important responsibilities in public safety communications and examining emerging technologies like artificial intelligence and open radio access networks (RAN). As a large proponent of the NTIA Reauthorization Act of 2023, he said the bill “touches on many of these issues.”
Congress’ passing of the bill has also garnered support from industry groups, including the Competitive Carriers Association, USTelecom and WISPA.
