UPDATE The Senate Commerce Committee voted yesterday to send Arielle Roth’s nomination to lead the NTIA to the full Senate. Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) highlighted how Roth’s current role as the telecommunication policy director for the Senate Commerce Committee Majority staff, as well as her previous work at the FCC and across Congress, make her an “exceptionally qualified candidate” for NTIA administrator. “She’ll bring energy and enthusiasm to NTIA, where she will pursue a win-win solution on spectrum that addresses both commercial and national security concerns,” Cruz said.
He noted that during her confirmation hearing, Roth “promised to administer the BEAD program ‘to the benefit of the American people, not any single individual or company.’ BEAD desperately needs a revamp,” he emphasized.
Cruz summed up, “To my Democrat colleagues, while you may have strenuous objections to the direction of the Trump administration, know that Arielle is thoughtful, honest, and as receptive to the concerns of your side of the aisle as any nominee we’ll have before us. We all know the importance of knowing a person in the executive branch whom we can call on and trust to listen to our views.”
Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) listed the reasons why she could not vote for Roth. “We need a fully coordinated national strategy [for spectrum] in the next WRC,” said Cantwell.
The World Radio Communication Conference is a treaty-level forum held by the International Telecommunication Union where countries decide on spectrum frequency allocations. The next WRC is slated for 2027 and U.S. planning has begun.
“Unfortunately, at the nomination hearing, I didn’t hear much of an NTIA commitment. Independent studies need to be completed so we can understand the full impact [of any changes]. Roth was not clear about this,” Cantwell said.
Cantwell continued, “When I asked her about the lower 3 GHz band, she did not commit. Spectrum is one of the issues where I thought we could have more clarity. Roth refused to commit to an agreement NTIA has already made. She had an opportunity to answer those questions for the record.” Cantwell said Roth also did not provide more information on spectrum issues after the hearing.
During her nomination hearing, Democrats tried to get Roth to say whether she believes fiber is less expensive than satellite-delivered broadband. She did not say “yes” or “no,” but rather said several times when it came to potential BEAD changes, she’d confer with career NTIA staff, follow the law and try to remove “excessive red tape,” Inside Towers reported.
Roth has worked for the Senate Commerce Committee on the Republican staff for two years, according to Cruz. She previously was the wireline advisor to former FCC commissioner Michael O’Rielly and was detailed to the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Originally, Senators voted 15-13 along party lines with the Republicans in the majority. John Fetterman, (D-PA) then changed his vote from no to yes by proxy afterwards, changing the vote to 16-12, according to Broadband Breakfast.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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