|
<?xml version="1.0"?> |
|
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" href="billres.xsl"?> |
|
<!DOCTYPE bill PUBLIC "-//US Congress//DTDs/bill.dtd//EN" "bill.dtd"> |
|
<bill bill-type="olc" bill-stage="Introduced-in-Senate" dms-id="A1" public-private="public" slc-id="S1-OLL21355-72F-9K-839"><metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"> |
|
<dublinCore> |
|
<dc:title>117 S1036 IS: Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2021</dc:title> |
|
<dc:publisher>U.S. Senate</dc:publisher> |
|
<dc:date>2021-03-25</dc:date> |
|
<dc:format>text/xml</dc:format> |
|
<dc:language>EN</dc:language> |
|
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights> |
|
</dublinCore> |
|
</metadata> |
|
<form> |
|
<distribution-code display="yes">II</distribution-code><congress>117th CONGRESS</congress><session>1st Session</session><legis-num>S. 1036</legis-num><current-chamber>IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES</current-chamber><action><action-date date="20210325">March 25, 2021</action-date><action-desc><sponsor name-id="S388">Ms. Hassan</sponsor> (for herself and <cosponsor name-id="S372">Mrs. Capito</cosponsor>) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the <committee-name committee-id="SSCM00">Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation</committee-name></action-desc></action><legis-type>A BILL</legis-type><official-title>To direct the Federal Communications Commission to promulgate regulations that establish a national standard for determining whether mobile and broadband services available in rural areas are reasonably comparable to those services provided in urban areas.</official-title></form><legis-body style="OLC" display-enacting-clause="yes-display-enacting-clause" id="H4EFA70D171824B74849708575D04DAEA"><section section-type="section-one" id="id202d55a5-46fe-41b2-8151-4250f6100491"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Rural Reasonable and Comparable Wireless Access Act of 2021</short-title></quote>.</text></section></legis-body><legis-body style="OLC" display-enacting-clause="no-display-enacting-clause"><section id="id4b3a789d-53ef-4f54-80b1-f4c73bf077c4"><enum>2.</enum><header>Availability of mobile broadband service in underserved rural areas</header><subsection id="idf81d91d3-81fd-4355-95fe-1da81134cecf"><enum>(a)</enum><header>Definitions</header><paragraph id="idE64855B038F64B65B765A8088CD71276"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text>In this section:</text><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idb8f55c7b-1596-41a9-bd15-cebc882853a4"><enum>(A)</enum><header>Commission</header><text>The term <term>Commission</term> means the Federal Communications Commission.</text></subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="id3ba7090a-349b-4513-9103-19783b431620"><enum>(B)</enum><header>Rural telephone company</header><text>The term <term>rural telephone company</term> has the meaning given the term in section 3 of the Communications Act of 1934 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/47/153">47 U.S.C. 153</external-xref>).</text></subparagraph><subparagraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="ide7c9b1bb-a86e-4af5-b103-1782ec8547a3"><enum>(C)</enum><header>Service area</header><text>The term <term>service area</term> has the meaning given the term in section 214(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/47/214">47 U.S.C. 214(e)</external-xref>).</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="idF508F3503FB644AB9A9C7F465A79F894"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Mobile broadband service</header><text>The Commission shall define the term <term>mobile broadband service</term> for purposes of this section.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id6dfd0725-74b6-401c-8a1c-af29f99b2bf1"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Establishment of standard</header><paragraph id="idFBE2FB915ECD45F58EF05ECAC38FB976"><enum>(1)</enum><header>Commencement of rulemaking</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall commence a rulemaking to establish a national standard to determine, with respect to access to universal service in rural, insular, and high cost areas under section 254(b)(3) of the Communications Act of 1934 (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/47/254">47 U.S.C. 254(b)(3)</external-xref>), whether mobile broadband service available in rural areas is reasonably comparable to mobile broadband service provided in urban areas.</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id1C2621328451485B9608AA17F323487B"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Progress reports</header><text>Not less frequently than once every 180 days after commencing the rulemaking under paragraph (1), the Commission shall submit to Congress a report on the progress of the Commission in establishing the standard under that paragraph.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection id="id01aa5d0b-b953-47ff-a52a-288f4714c378"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Considerations</header><text>In establishing a standard under subsection (b), the Commission shall consider—</text><paragraph id="id3b268e52-898b-4374-b7b2-94e060956faf"><enum>(1)</enum><text>defining a rural area as any area—</text><subparagraph id="id69c5e78f-d0ef-444e-8a99-75b0339ec223"><enum>(A)</enum><text>in which a school or library designated as <quote>rural</quote> under section 54.505(b)(3)(i) of title 47, Code of Federal Regulations, as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act, is located; or</text></subparagraph><subparagraph id="idcef77098-5814-4a62-8489-47464c3b1ef7"><enum>(B)</enum><text>that is a service area that is served by a rural telephone company;</text></subparagraph></paragraph><paragraph id="id0ea32144-a496-47f4-be81-0ece964d22d7"><enum>(2)</enum><text>defining a rural area as underserved, with respect to mobile broadband service, if mobile broadband service that meets or exceeds the standard established under subsection (b) is not available in the area; and</text></paragraph><paragraph id="id3a4b4950-30a0-491d-88eb-134c0a28ad89"><enum>(3)</enum><text>providing that a rural area shall be considered underserved, with respect to mobile broadband service, if tests show that the average speed and signal strength of mobile broadband service available in the area do not meet or exceed the average speed and signal strength of mobile broadband service provided in the 20 most populous metropolitan statistical areas in the United States.</text></paragraph></subsection><subsection commented="no" display-inline="no-display-inline" id="iddebf3aad-e027-43d8-9486-bf803b974557"><enum>(d)</enum><header>Data from urban areas</header><text>To help inform the standard established under subsection (b), the Commission shall gather, and periodically update, data on mobile broadband service provided in the 20 most populous metropolitan statistical areas in the United States.</text></subsection></section></legis-body></bill> |
|
|
|
|
|
|
