Rural Broadband Enhancement Act

Summary: Amends the National Telecommunications and Information Administrative Organization Act to direct the Rural Utilities Service of the Department of Agriculture to make loans or other credit extensions to eligible telecommunications carrier providers, or to companies that accept the obligations of such carriers, to finance the deployment of broadband service to eligible rural communities.
Authorizes appropriations for FY 2001 through 2005.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rural Broadband Enhancement Act''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION TO PROVIDE SUPPORT FROM 
              UNIVERSAL SERVICE FUND.

    Section 254(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 254(e)) 
is amended--
            (1) by redesignating so much of the text of such subsection 
        as follows ``(e) Universal Service Support.--'' as paragraph 
        (1);
            (2) by inserting before ``After'' the following heading: 
        ``(1) In general.--''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Rural area broadband support.--In addition to any 
        other support provided under paragraph (1), the Commission 
        shall, within 90 days after the date of enactment of the Rural 
        Broadband Enhancement Act, initiate a proceeding to provide 
        Federal universal service support for the deployment of 
        broadband service (as defined in section 156(e)(1) of the 
        National Telecommunications and Information Administration 
        Organization Act) to eligible rural communities (as defined in 
        section 156(e)(2) of that Act). The proceeding shall be 
        completed within 240 days. Federal universal service support 
        provided as a result of that proceeding shall be determined 
        without cost averaging of any above-average cost areas with any 
        lower cost areas, such as would occur in statewide or study 
        averaging, and may be used for the deployment of--
                    ``(A) loop treatments and digital subscriber line 
                access multiplexers;
                    ``(B) cable modems;
                    ``(C) wireless technology; and
                    ``(D) satellite technology.''.

SEC. 3. RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE LOAN PROGRAM.

    Part C of title I of the National Telecommunications and 
Information Administration Organization Act (47 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end thereof the following:

``SEC. 156. BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Rural Utilities Service of the Department of 
Agriculture, after consultation with the NTIA, shall make loans or 
other extensions of credit to companies certified as eligible 
telecommunications carriers providers, or that accept the obligations 
of an eligible telecommunications carrier, in accordance with the 
provisions of this section to finance the deployment of broadband 
telecommunications services to eligible rural communities.
    ``(b) Eligibility Requirements.--To be eligible for a loan or other 
extension of credit under this section, a project shall--
            ``(1) be capable of delivering broadband service;
            ``(2) be for the purpose of making access to broadband 
        service available to an eligible rural community where 
        broadband service is not otherwise generally available 
        throughout that community; and
            ``(3) be subject to the standards for service and area wide 
        coverage applicable to other projects administered by the Rural 
        Utilities Service.
    ``(c) Terms and Conditions.--Loans made under this section--
            ``(1) shall be made available in accordance with the 
        requirements of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 
        661);
            ``(2) shall bear interest at an annual rate of not more 
        than 2 percent per annum; and
            ``(3) shall be made for the longer of--
                    ``(A) a term of 30 years; or
                    ``(B) the useful life of the assets constructed, 
                reconstructed, or acquired.
    ``(d) Limitations.--
            ``(1) Technology neutrality.--In making loans under this 
        section, the Rural Utilities Service may not take into 
        consideration the technology proposed to be employed.
            ``(2) Security interest.--The Rural Utilities Service may 
        take a security interest in assets or revenue streams, in 
        connection with a loan or other extension of credit made under 
        this section, of not more than the amount sufficient to cover 
        the assets financed by that loan or extension of credit.
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Broadband service.--The term `broadband service' 
        includes, without regard to any particular transmission medium 
        or technology, high-speed, switched, broadband 
        telecommunications capable of delivering not less than 1.0 
        megabits of data per second to the user and 0.5 megabits of 
        data per second from the user that enables users to originate 
        and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video 
        telecommunications. The Commission shall, from time-to-time as 
        circumstances warrant, revise the rate-of-data-transmission 
        criteria stated in the preceding sentence upward to reflect 
        technological advances, and the criteria, as so revised, shall 
        be applied under the preceding sentence in lieu of the rate-of-
        data-transmission criteria stated or previously revised by the 
        Commission under this sentence.
            ``(2) Eligible rural community.--The term `eligible rural 
        community' means any incorporated or unincorporated place 
        that--
                    ``(A) has not more than 20,000 inhabitants, based 
                on the most recent available population statistics of 
                the Bureau of the Census; and
                    ``(B) is not located in an area designated as a 
                Metropolitan Area by the Office of Management and 
                Budget.''.

SEC. 4. FUNDING.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of 
Agriculture to carry out the provisions of section 156 of the National 
Telecommunications and Information Administration Organization Act 
$3,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, through 2005, 
such amount to remain available until expended.